PA - Programming & Analysis - STRIKE 3!!! Useful feedback on failed exams in a problem.
Ok look.... I have a lot I would like to say about NCARB's testing format and what I perceive to be real problems with the way this test is structured, but, I don't want this thread to just be me ranting. Rather, my goal with this thread is to see how many of you feel the same way I do and HOPEFULLY either A) get enough of you involved in this thread that NCARB actually decides to change something, or B) get something useful from one of you that can help me on future tests.
Therefore, please engage in this thread. Just write something (Agree, Disagree, Somewhat Agree, <insert paragraph here>)
MY THOUGHTS:
I want to hear from all of you out there if you are seeing/feeling the same way I am with regard to the way NCARB has structured these tests. Full disclosure: I am writing this after having just "preliminarily failed" the PA exam for the 3rd time, so if this article comes off like I am frustrated... I am. That said, I had a very respectful discussion with an NCARB representative over the phone today just to discuss the issues outlined below, and, well he was atleast respectful and sympathetic to what I was going through if nothing else.... he did provide me a email to some sort of helpful links for future study..... but, there really wasn't anything else...which is what I think is the issue as you will read. See below for a list of some of the barriers/challenges I feel are detrimental to the testing experience and not only my opportunity to succeed but yours as well. (Listed in order of most egregious)
- The policy that prevents test takers from using a piece of paper or pencil. Not even if it is provided by the testing organization. I am so tempted to rant on this but simply put... this is just wrong... the "whiteboard" is not an effective tool. No one, nowhere uses this archaic of a tool in our modernizing profession as a way of working out math problems. This tool is not a "feature" but a "hindrance" to anyone trying to succeed on these tests and become a licensed professional. I can't overstate enough how needless this policy is that NCARB can't simply allow test takers a blank piece of paper and a #2 pencil. The test is literally making the same thing in a clunky form that takes up screen real estate and becomes a real strategic barrier to taking the test when someone has to simply take the test in order to learn how to effectively navigate back and forth between reading the essays (otherwise known as problems) and then jotting down info on this whiteboard.
- The uselessness of these vague score reports. In short, I can see how someone might argue, "well at-least we get something back rather than just the word FAIL", but, to be honest that is a weak argument in my opinion and I just think these score reports are not in the slightest way helpful. NCARB reorganizing the words; evaluate, identify, prioritize, analyze, sustainability, environmental, etc. etc. into a bunch of similar sentences and compiling that into PDF does nothing to help narrow down the topic area(s), or sub-topic area(s), people are really struggling in. Those terms in the score report are so broad that I am sure one could read entire textbooks and not cover all the categories, sub-topics, and specialized topics that would fall under a term like; sustainability, environmental, qualitative & quantitative attributes of a site. Wow NCARB! Thanks for clearing it up for me.
- Score reports & semantic word games. This probably should be my #1 most egregious item since it is the one I am most upset / discouraged / hopeless about. Does anyone else feel like NCARB is needlessly confusing you and playing semantic tricks on you with vague terminology, poorly worded questions and even more poorly worded answers? As I am sure some of you know what I am talking about, you may feel like you have fully studied a content area and are a near master at it, however, then you get into the test and you're forced to decipher "hidden meaning", or, try and interpret the "underlying meaning" of specific descriptive words that NCARB has intentionally placed into the questions and answers as a way of INTENTIONALLY tripping you up! This is discouraging to me to say the least because I no longer feel like I am being tested about my knowledge of particular content but rather playing this odd game (a game that sometimes feels like a gamble) where I have to not only know the content but also try and figure out what the test writer means when they use certain wording...and then... "analyze", "evaluate", "synthesize" how this new wording changes my view of the content I am confident I know. But OK.. FINE NCARB.. I understand you need to make the tests a bit more difficult to see if testers can truly think through all the variables of a situation and conclude the "best" answer or "most appropriate solution" given certain variables. That's all well and good. I do see value in that. Fine, I will just have to play this semantic game and do my best if I want to get licensed, right? Challenge accepted. BUT, but what makes this issue so infuriating, what I do not find valuable and honestly leaves me feeling a bit helpless is, again, these super vague score reports that do nothing to help me as the test taker know if I am interpreting descriptive words about the subject matter correctly. To be very specific, there are questions where the wording of the question, or more likely the answer(s), IS the stumbling block and not my lack of knowledge on the content in question. I find myself wasting valuable testing time debating internally on what the test writer is trying to convey by using certain words over another. And, in many cases it feels like I am having to just take a gamble that my definition / interpretation of how a word is being used matches with the intent of the test writer's. Ok..so NCARB says, "Correct, that's how we made the test. That was intentional. So what?" And my response is, "How am I supposed to improve my test scores, correct my mistakes and get the answers correct on the 4th time I take this test if NCARB isn't going to tell me which problems I got correct, or more specifically which semantic word games I interpreted the underlying meanings correctly and which ones I didn't? I will never know if I am making the correct judgements and therefore I feel this is a major flaw in this testing format. I feel I am being tricked into second guessing information that I know to be true based on word games, word games that you won't tell me if I ever got them correct, so next time I take the test I could possibly know exponentially more about the content being asked....but....if I fail to interpret the semantics correctly and how those change / or don't change the correct answer then well... good luck gambling!
Ok so this did turn in to a bit of a rant. But I am bothered by this and I feel that if NCARB was more forthright in helping you understand what you got wrong and what you got correct there wouldn't be an issue. But it doesn't feel like they are doing that. I mean come on, I, like many of you, have sacrificed a lot of my money and time (including our family's time) to study for these tests and work to become a licensed professional, and well, I simply believe that NCARB's practice of withholding scoring information, making everything vague and simply not providing USEFUL feedback is the ultimate issue here that continues to cost us testers more time and more money. The wording in the tests is a problem, but, the lack of real feedback is the real issue.
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I have put my comments here
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I completely agree with everything you said Joshua. I have now taken and failed this exam 4 times. I think at this point I am overthinking each question, wondering "is this what I got wrong last time, is this where I need to change my answer?" I am honestly at a loss on where to go from here.
Also the whiteboard function is the most unusable application I have ever used. I am not someone who can work out a math problem in my head. I need to see each step written out, to understand how I got my answer. I spend the majority of my time in the test trying to type it out on the white board. It is absolutely ridiculous!
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@ EVERYONE involved in this thread. Good News! I am officially a Registered Architect in the state of Texas! It has been a long journey, and full of ups and downs, victories and disappointments as you can clearly see by reading my thread above. But the good news is I was able to finally pass all my exams. Therefore, my advice to any of you who feel discouraged by failing the exams, particularly if you have failed the same exam multiple times and are worried about failing for the 3rd time in a row..... well.... don't quit. My best advice to you is if you fail an exam you studied really hard for and then you fail that same exam again after feeling like you added new and useful study to fill in your weak spots, DON'T BE SCARED TO TAKE IT AGAIN. Seriously, reschedule that third test as soon as you can so you don't forget everything you have studied up to that point. Then after that I would focus heavily on practice exams provided by NCARB or your chosen study materials, and flashcards. Below is the journey I took with exams for those of you discouraged and needing some hope that YOU CAN DO IT!!
- PA : Fail
- PA : Fail
- CE : Pass
- PcM: Pass
- PA: Fail
- PPD: Fail
- PDD: Pass
- PA: Pass (on my 3rd try w/in 1 calendar year)
- PPD: Fail
- PPD: Pass (on my 3rd try)
Below are my recommended study resources:
- AmberBooks - Without hesitation! Get over the price and JUST DO IT! It is worth it!
- AmberBooks Flashcards - Please please do NOT overlook the value of these flashcards. I felt like there was just as much value in the flashcards as the rest of the amberbook course combined. Michael and the amberbook team clearly spent a lot of time providing thorough feedback and teaching for each and every flashcard to help people fully round out their knowledge of a subject. Absolutely, without doubt, no question in my mind, study every single flashcard (across all relevant divisions related to your exam) prior to taking your exam. You won't regret it and you will learn so much in the process.
- NCARB ARE Practice Exams - this is pretty self explanatory. Doing this helps you truly understand the nature of how NCARB is asking the question, what specifics they are wanting you to narrow in on, and taking these practice exams allows you to practice with the ARCHAIC whiteboard feature and calculator. Trust me.. you NEED that practice because it WILL slow you down in the exam and likely create frustration as you are taking the exam. Frustration = Unclear mind = more wrong answers / or taking to long on a specific question. Do yourself a favor and take the practice exams simply to help you understand the best ways to navigate the user interface, use the calculator, use the whiteboard, and how to use the "find command" to search for key words within documents
- I had the Ballast book but for some reason didn't find it that helpful.
- **Checkout these youtube channels as well!** 1) The Futur of Design - Michael Hanahan has several extensive lectures going line-by-line through the A101, B101, A201 & other basic contract documents. I can't express loud enough how highly I recommend listening to these videos and walking the contracts while he explains them. This guy does such a great job of explaining each and every item within the contract to not only help you know what it says, but help you understand why it exists within the contract and where in the real world that particular contract language might apply. 2) is ArchiCorner. ArchiCorner on youtube does a great job of sketch animating a lot of the boring code info and making it graphical and easy to visually learn.
Good luck everyone!
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As a non-native English speaker, I appreciate knowing that even native speakers find the test questions poorly structured and unclear. I reviewed the recommended books, but the primary source was completely irrelevant and unhelpful for my exam preparation. About 60% of the test "concepts" were covered in the supplemental books or Ballast materials. However, I have not found a reliable resource that bridges the gap from understanding concepts to applying them in practice quickly, especially when handling three or four concepts simultaneously. The whiteboard and calculator provided during the test were ineffective tools. I have taken three exams—PCM, PJM, and PA—and I believe the PA test's shortcomings reflect NCARB's failures, not mine.
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