what is the cutoff score of Civil Construction Depth

[Tam Construction]

what you think the cutoff score will be for construction? other civil disciplines indicated in old post. However, no information about construction depth

 

[jijir83]

It will be 54 plus 2 points if you wear glasses, minus 3 points if you're under 25 years old, divided my 2 if you're.... hum.... never mind

This post about cutoff score comes up every cycle. No one knows what it is. We only speculate. But, you get a good idea when people start reporting their failing scores. For example, for transpo one cycle, the highest reported failed score on here was 56. For geotech a few cycles ago when I took it, people reported 56 also but my co-worker got a 57 and failed so I figured that was the cutoff that cycle. I doubt there's a way to tell. It's fun to guess though.

 

[Bakheat]

56 right answers out of 80

 

[surge82]

From what I heard from someone taking the test if you get 0 in a section you will fail. He mentioned he got about 75% overall but got a 0 in one of the sections and failed. 

 

[SDB]

what you think the cutoff score will be for construction? other civil disciplines indicated in old post. However, no information about construction depth

Recent previous pass rates ranged from 55 to 58 percent...Does anyone think there is a correlation b/w low pass rates and the cutoff scores?

 

[RBHeadge PE]

 

[SDB]

Lol

 

[EhmayWuntee P.E.]

Serious question here that likely still doesn't have a known answer and will likely not get seen by the right people, but...

Say they toss out a question or two, if you still got that right, will you still earn the point or is it completely removed?
Like if you got 55/80 and then they drop 2, is it 55/78 or 53/78?

 

[SDB]

I did all I can do...it is not up to me anymore! ?

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Let's look at another angle: How does knowing the cutoff score change things? Would you study more or less? Would you use fewer references? If you got a failing score and knew you missed it by 1 point, how would you react?  If while taking the test, you're confident you got the first 56 right, would you then skip the rest of the test?

My point is that it's useless information. You study so you do the best you can, you put as much time and effort as possible into each question to get it right, and then you wait for the pass/fail.

It's like demanding to know what color car you're designing the road for.

 

[EE2013]

Serious question here that likely still doesn't have a known answer and will likely not get seen by the right people, but...

Say they toss out a question or two, if you still got that right, will you still earn the point or is it completely removed?
Like if you got 55/80 and then they drop 2, is it 55/78 or 53/78?

I've actually wondered the same thing.  NCEES mentions throwing questions out but not much how that plays into the scoring afterwards.  

 

[RBHeadge PE]

Serious question here that likely still doesn't have a known answer and will likely not get seen by the right people, but...

Say they toss out a question or two, if you still got that right, will you still earn the point or is it completely removed?
Like if you got 55/80 and then they drop 2, is it 55/78 or 53/78?

My understanding, for at least one specific exam, is that good number of PEs in that discipline will volunteer to take the exam. It may be in an actual session or an organized practice test at a conference. They will score those test questions and see which questions they will all get correct*. That number is the minimum knowledge that an average PE would be able to answer, and it becomes the cut score.

As an example. suppose the control group averages* 55 questions correct out of the same 80 questions, then the cut score is 55. But after the test, statistics may show that one or more questions could be faulty*. If that faulty question is one that the control group answered correctly*, then the cut score is lowered to 54. But if the question is not one the control group answered correctly*, then the cut score remains the same at 55. In this example 55 is a random number and not meant to represent an actual cut score.

However what I a presenting here is based off of one of the lesser exams not developed by NCEES, so it may not be reflective of how things are done for one of the larger exams such as Civil Construction. I'll post the reference if I can find it.

*I am intentionally simplifying this sentence. It is a little more complicated than this.

 

[jijir83]

Let's look at another angle: How does knowing the cutoff score change things? Would you study more or less? Would you use fewer references? If you got a failing score and knew you missed it by 1 point, how would you react?  If while taking the test, you're confident you got the first 56 right, would you then skip the rest of the test?
My point is that it's useless information. You study so you do the best you can, you put as much time and effort as possible into each question to get it right, and then you wait for the pass/fail.

It's like demanding to know what color car you're designing the road for.

Not at all useless information. As human beings, and engineers on top of it, it's a psychological copping mechanism during the waiting period. We (they) all know that it changes nothing but it helps you pass the time. Eighteen months ago I was one of the people asking that same question on here knowing full well that it changes nothing. It's like having a crush on someone you see everyday... they smile at you and that helps you feed a whole month worth of daydreams. All it is, is getting a little bit of fuel to keep the imagination going as you wait. Give the guy a break, you rational you! [emoji12]

Sent from my SURTAB-722-3G-HD-1S using Tapatalk

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

My understanding, for at least one specific exam, is that good number of PEs in that discipline will volunteer to take the exam. It may be in an actual session or an organized practice test at a conference. They will score those test questions and see which questions they will all get correct*. That number is the minimum knowledge that an average PE would be able to answer, and it becomes the cut score.

As an example. suppose the control group averages* 55 questions correct out of the same 80 questions, then the cut score is 55. But after the test, statistics may show that one or more questions could be faulty*. If that faulty question is one that the control group answered correctly*, then the cut score is lowered to 54. But if the question is not one the control group answered correctly*, then the cut score remains the same at 55. In this example 55 is a random number and not meant to represent an actual cut score.

However what I a presenting here is based off of one of the lesser exams not developed by NCEES, so it may not be reflective of how things are done for one of the larger exams such as Civil Construction. I'll post the reference if I can find it.

*I am intentionally simplifying this sentence. It is a little more complicated than this.

^^^ The issue with that is that within each discipline (like Construction), there are multiple sub-disciplines. You can be really strong in 3-4 of the sub-disciplines but weak in 2-3 others and still pass, and each individual's strengths/weaknesses will vary. Therefore a "control group" you describe doesn't really work.  Instead, the test-takers themselves serve as the control group. NCEES reviews every test to see if there are any statistical outliers where "too many" got it right/wrong. They then review that particular question(s) to see if there are any reasonable ambiguities and adjust the test accordingly.

Here's a list of where you can find a break-down of the sub-disciplines:

http://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/Civ-Con-April-2016_with-design-standards.rev-1.pdf

Like Transportation, you can be really good with roadway but **** with airports and still pass.

 

[RBHeadge PE]

Here's a public resource:

http://ncees.org/engineering/engineering-scoring/

How are passing scores determined?


When an exam is introduced or when its specifications change, a committee of subject-matter experts works with experienced psychometricians (testing experts with a background in statistics) to determine the level of performance that corresponds with minimal competence in that discipline. This becomes the passing score. NCEES does not publish passing scores because they change with each administration. NCEES scores each exam with no predetermined percentage of examinees that should pass or fail. All exams are scored the same way. First-time takers and repeat takers are graded to the same standard.

...

 


What is statistical equating?


For subsequent administrations of the exam, statistical equating is used to ensure that this level of performance is consistent across multiple administrations of that exam. Essentially, this means that while the numerical passing score may change with each administration, you are not disadvantaged when one administration of a particular exam is more difficult than another. This process accounts for the 8- to 10-week interval between an exam administration and the release of scores to member licensing boards.

Your exam results are determined by the number of items you answered correctly for the exam in its entirety. There are no minimum requirements for particular sections or topics within an exam. You are not penalized for incorrect answers.

 

[ISpitHotFire PE]

The best coping mechanism during the wait is to focus on the questions you know you got right. It helped me.

Also, if you took enough practice exams you should know about what % you were getting correct.

 

[TNPE]

Avogadro's number

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

Just try getting them all correct, like I did.