PM PROBLEMS - ARE ALL 4 GRADED BY ONE & THE SAME GRADER?

[EBAT75]

Are solutions to all 4 afternoon problems submitted by a given candidate graded by one/same grader or are they broken up and assigned to different graders depending on their expertise on the problem topic and then reassembled?

They conduct workshops for the graders after an exam is administered but just curious. May be because there are two graders involved with a third brought in if there is predetermined variance between the first two, it would be unwieldy to have the solutions booklets farmed out to different graders and reassembled.

 

[tj_PE]

i don't know the actual answer to this but for some reason i feel like i've read somewhere that at least 2 people grade each solution to compare their tallies? idk. 

 

[leggo PE]

I don't know the definitive answer to this either, but a principal at my old company did grade the S.E. exam once, back in 90s. Not sure if it has changed since then, but I believe he said two separate graders graded all of the questions, and a third came in for one or more specific afternoon problems only if the two original graders had graded the problem(s) differently.

 

[EBAT75]

tj and leggo thank you for sharing your understanding. Two graders with the third one coming in as a referee If needed is what I have read also, but the criteria for going to the third grader seems to be narrowed now, meaning it is less common now. In today’s specialization in different materials whether they farm it out to subject matter experts is what I was wondering. 
 

That way two graders with background in the same material subject matter may have less differences of opinions. But then graders attend a workshop where they all go through a grading plan for each problem before they grade the solutions booklets.
 

It all works out in the end!

 

[Nathan55]

tj and leggo thank you for sharing your understanding. Two graders with the third one coming in as a referee If needed is what I have read also, but the criteria for going to the third grader seems to be narrowed now, meaning it is less common now. In today’s specialization in different materials whether they farm it out to subject matter experts is what I was wondering. 
 

That way two graders with background in the same material subject matter may have less differences of opinions. But then graders attend a workshop where they all go through a grading plan for each problem before they grade the solutions booklets.
 

It all works out in the end!

My understanding is that the grading in the afternoon is the key to passing the exam. The afternoon essay problems are graded by subject matter experts in that field. So, you might have people who specialize in wood check your wood problems; people who do concrete would do your concrete, and so on and so forth. That is why the "bar" for passing is so high--you aren't having just random SEs come in and say "yeah, that seems about right, good to go." You're having gurus in a specific subject judge if you know what you're doing. If a subject matter expert in that type of problem does not believe you have the "minimum competency", no dice.

Again, this test is a mastery-level exam, and the credential is intended to communicate as much. Minimum competency is a euphemism for "this person won't harm others as a structural engineer". The way I see this, a minimally competent doctor is still a very good doctor, and can be trusted to not harm people in their chosen field of study. They aren't a bad doctor though, and won't have an unacceptable rate for favorable patient outcomes. 

So when taking the test, approach it that way. Basically intend on showing you've mastered the material they choose to test you on. 

 

[EBAT75]

Nathan, that was my wish too. But whether it is logistically more difficult to do is what I am still not sure how it is actually done. As I also said, in this day of specialization where engineers work on mostly steel and/or concrete and wood especially being a nich segment with many doing wood only, the graders being SMEs is good for applicants as it provides more consistent outcomes.