Repeat Takers Strategies - Civil PE CBT

[steel]

I am confused. On NCEES website under reference materials and prep it says all the design standards will also be provided during the exam.I was under the impression that we will have the references listed in the exam specifications. Can you clarify?

The design standards they speak of are the codes listed on the exam specifications.

 

[dab_org]

Starting this new thread for anyone who is interested in teaming up. After my second failed attempt I feel like I need a drastic change in strategy. My first attempt was 34/80. My recent second attempt was 44/80. First go around I took ITRE class and was convinced this was the way to go. I spent most of my time on my references and a couple of practice tests. That exam day was brutal and I knew I planned incorrectly. Second attempt I spent my entire focus on working problems and worked over 1200 +. That exam the recent Oct exam went way better in my mind and while I did improve I thought I did better than my diagnostics showed. So now it is a CBT and new approach all together. It would be great to team up with anyone interested and share ideas on strategies. One thing that comes to mind is how to better understand the diagnostics and those poor areas. I definitely have some weak areas I tried to work around and thought my strengths would make up for my weakness’s. Well that didn’t work. So for anyone interested let’s use every resource we have to get this done! That being said this forum is a great resource and perhaps something we can utilize better to our advantage. Who’s with me let’s get this done!!!

Yes, I’m ready!

 

[sicko]

I still haven’t gotten over the hump of passing after this 4th attempt. I thought I’ve done well enough to pass.

Hey, so if you have fail the exam 3 times, how and where do you reapply to take it again? Do you have to show any type of paperwork that wither you have acquired a year of experience or taken a 6 semesters hours?

 

[DBLM10]

Day 2 of failing results sucks as bad or worse than day one and waking up this morning just feeling destroyed by this is creating so much doubt about whether I can do this again and put my family through this torture. Here is what I’ve done and thoughts about the exam if I decide to keep going.

1. How many attempts we each made and what was our correct number answered.

1st attempt was 34/80
2nd attempt was 44/80

2. Study strategy for each prior exam that didn’t work and what to avoid including practice exams that are poor from internet.

1st attempt took itre class and created an index based off of their notes. Did several practice exams but spent too much time on references and failed badly.

2nd attempt I spent most of my time working problems and updating index. I logged in 250 hrs and worked over 1200 problems. Last few weeks I could score 100 on most practice exams including the ncees

3. Diagnostic list in order with worse area being # 1 and discuss how we can help each other on our weak areas.

1-temporary structures
2-means and methods
3-structural
4-hydro
5-earthwork construction and layout

other areas weren’t too bad but these 5 were less than half answered correctly.

5. Ncees CBT reference manual strategy.

From what I’ve read the reference supplied is a searchable pdf and few people have commented it’s way faster than searching through books. I looked at the preview practice exam by ncees and several problems are not in the reference which is concerning. Maybe the preview is different than the actual but I will be in real trouble if any exam problems rely on school knowledge as it’s been 21 years since I graduated.

6. Suggested classes.
Are there any classes now that are conforming to the CBT if so who

7. Possible zoom meeting and teaming up.

I’m available anytime someone is interested in a discussion by phone or zoom. Sometimes it’s faster and more valuable to talk.


8. Common mistakes such as waste factors , units, etc.

During many practice exams earlier on I missed many questions because of simple steps like not including a waste, or productivity factor. I actually caught myself 3 times during the exam making this mistake.

If I do continue forward which I most likely will my thought now is how long to wait before taking the CBT. I actually started a new job this week so all the daytime hrs I had previously for studying are no longer an option which makes my decision even tougher. Lots of doubt and frustration at this point. Many first time passers I’ve spoken with seem to be relatively fresh out of school which even creates further doubt for me

Did you find any information on the new CBT test? Also, regarding the references, are they going to provide the full materials or just parts of those materials?

 

[LAMEngineer]

For those that have taken construction depth... what do you feel like is the most challenging part of the exam? For example, length of questions, depth of design standard/code knowledge required (i.e. obscure items), required background knowledge that is not present in design standards/reference, something else???

Construction is regularly the least passed exam and I am wondering where to put my emphasis since design standards are very broad and have not been a part of my career to date, it feels like a major effort to get familiar with them vs. focusing on practice problems.

https://engineerboards.com/threads/cbt-testing-2022.37901/
https://engineerboards.com/threads/...ing-for-the-civil-construction-pe-exam.37019/

 

[KOKOMO777]

Hey, so if you have fail the exam 3 times, how and where do you reapply to take it again? Do you have to show any type of paperwork that wither you have acquired a year of experience or taken a 6 semesters hours?

Yes, it will depend on the board requirements. Every board is different.

 

[vishwa]

Hello All,
I gave the PE:Civil Construction exam yesterday.
They did have reference manuals listed and the reference handbook.
The reference handbook is useful only on few topics.
The first portion have 41 questions before scheduled break of 50 mins.
The questions are mixed, you will see your depth related questions in the morning portion as well.
You can open only one manual at a time
your word or phrase search has to be as specific as it can be to get appropriate results.

 

[AngelaK]

Hello All,
I gave the PE:Civil Construction exam yesterday.
They did have reference manuals listed and the reference handbook.
The reference handbook is useful only on few topics.
The first portion have 41 questions before scheduled break of 50 mins.
The questions are mixed, you will see your depth related questions in the morning portion as well.
You can open only one manual at a time
your word or phrase search has to be as specific as it can be to get appropriate results.
For Crane stability related questions, material is virtually useless.

Was the exam comparable to the the written exam in terms of the type of questions and the time required to do the questions? How did you plan you exam strategy for morning session and afternoon?

 

[vishwa]

Was the exam comparable to the the written exam in terms of the type of questions and the time required to do the questions? How did you plan you exam strategy for morning session and afternoon?

The standard of questions was same as the P&P format. Time required varies by questions, I would suggest not to spend more than 5 mins to solve the question and would strongly suggest to use "Flag for review" tool if you think it needs more time, so you can get back to the question after completing remaining questions.
Once you end the session and take scheduled break, you cannot go back the morning session questions
There is no differentiation between morning session and afternoon session.
Morning session - 41 questions and will be from both breadth and depth part (% of mix might vary)
Afternoon session - 39 questions and will be from both breadth and depth part (% of mix might vary)
Try to avoid unscheduled breaks, the timer will not stop and the proctor has to check you out and check back in where you will lose at least 5 additional mins per break

 

[AngelaK]

The standard of questions was same as the P&P format. Time required varies by questions, I would suggest not to spend more than 5 mins to solve the question and would strongly suggest to use "Flag for review" tool if you think it needs more time, so you can get back to the question after completing remaining questions.
Once you end the session and take scheduled break, you cannot go back the morning session questions
There is no differentiation between morning session and afternoon session.
Morning session - 41 questions and will be from both breadth and depth part (% of mix might vary)
Afternoon session - 39 questions and will be from both breadth and depth part (% of mix might vary)
Try to avoid unscheduled breaks, the timer will not stop and the proctor has to check you out and check back in where you will lose at least 5 additional mins per break

Thank you very much.

 

[steel]

Hello All,

I'd edit your post to remove the last line. You're not allowed to divulge content from the exam, and that seems like it might be specific enough to potentially get you into trouble with NCEES. They monitor this site.

 

[Tunnelstiff]

Yes, I’m ready!

I am ready

 

[Pra4surf1]

The standard of questions was same as the P&P format. Time required varies by questions, I would suggest not to spend more than 5 mins to solve the question and would strongly suggest to use "Flag for review" tool if you think it needs more time, so you can get back to the question after completing remaining questions.
Once you end the session and take scheduled break, you cannot go back the morning session questions
There is no differentiation between morning session and afternoon session.
Morning session - 41 questions and will be from both breadth and depth part (% of mix might vary)
Afternoon session - 39 questions and will be from both breadth and depth part (% of mix might vary)
Try to avoid unscheduled breaks, the timer will not stop and the proctor has to check you out and check back in where you will lose at least 5 additional mins per break

Thanks for feedback. How do you think you did? Best of luck keep us posted.

 

[vishwa]

Thanks for feedback. How do you think you did? Best of luck keep us posted.

Not getting my hopes high, we will know on Wednesday(most probably)

 

[Pra4surf1]

Not getting my hopes high, we will know on Wednesday(most probably)

Well how did you do?

 

[vishwa]

Couldn’t clear it

 

[Pra4surf1]

Couldn’t clear it

Welcome to the club. You’ll get it next time! Did they give you a diagnostic from the CBT?

 

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

Couldn’t clear it

...this time! You will get it.

 

[AngelaK]

Did you get the diagnostics ? How well/bad did you do from the previous try? Could you please share?

 

[Tiresomedegree0]

Was a group ever created? If so what does it take to get in?