Pre-Test Questions
Hello,
I found out after failing PcM & PjM that there are pre-test questions that are not counted in the exam even if answered correctly. NCARB does not reveal which of these questions are pre-tests and which are counted into the exam. How is that fair? It is hard enough to pass these exams, why do this? I think us candidates go through enough emotionally and FINANCIALLY (because each time we have to take these exams, it's a $235 fee) to have to deal with unnecessary mind games. We study, we do the work but I guess none of that matter. Some of the questions are confusing enough and then this... This is not me whining but me being frustrated. I genuinely would like to know other candidates' thoughts and specially NCARB's explanation on how these hidden pre-test questions are relevant to the licensure process.
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Soraya,
Including pretest items in the exam is an integral part of the test development process. NCARB gathers statistics on performance on these items to determine if they should be included in the scored items in the future or if they need reworked or discarded. We don't want to include items as scored on the exam if they are not a good gauge of competence to practice. Since the items aren't scored when in pretest status, they don't count against candidates; they are in place to provide performance statistics.
I hope this helps.
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I think the tradeoff here is that all questions do consume time, which is important on a test day. While pretest questions don't detract from a score when answered incorrectly, they don't contribute to adding up to a passing score when answered correctly, though time is spent on them... Perhaps NCARB has the statistics, but intuition would say that pretest items are probably less well worded and thus may consume more time than a question of comparable difficulty - and that time cost falls on the applicant to bear.
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