Most likely Failed. Additional Practice exam suggestions?
I took the CE Exam today and the result at the end said I most likely failed.
I studied both the Gang Chen, Ballast, the AIA docs, and the AHPP, and I think the test questions and these study materials are disproportionate, and the test questions are tricky nonetheless.
I'm curious on which section I did not do well in.
Any suggestions on what other sample tests I should practice on before taking this test again? I pretty much memorized all the answers in my Gang Chen and Ballast work books. They are not helpful anymore.
-
XQ app by Kevin Griendling has great questions, Young Architect CE course with incredible case studies, DesignerHack has nice no-brainer questions to help one memorize general concepts. Blackspectacles CE exam podcast on Spotify is easy to listen to. And the final, but not the least important, Practice Questions and Exam Questions by Ballast. They are such an emotional Rollercoaster of hate/love, one thinks the answer is clear only to find out it is different. It really gets you ready for the exam, I do not dare to take any exams without meticulously scrutinizing every question.
-
Christina, sorry to hear that.
It seems like you've already covered a lot of materials.
It may sound a little plain, but based on my experience try to dig deeper on the contracts. Understanding the details of the contracts (A101, A201, B101, C401, A701 and etc.) is the key point to pass CE as well as details drawings from Building Construction Illustrated.
In addition to that if you are still looking for additional practice questions or exams, I'd recommend to check out CE practice questions from MyAREguide. Hope that helps preparing your next CE exam.
Wish you the best luck,
-
James Shelton Which would you recommend? Architecture Exam Prep or Black Spectacles? My test result came out and showed that the portion that I did not do well in is in Pre-Construction. I guess it would be with all the Bidding stuff. I remember being very confused with the questions on selecting the lowest bidder or the lowest responsible bidder. Everything else I guess I did pretty well.
-
I used Black Spectacles for PcM and Arch Exam Prep for PjM. They both had pros and cons but I think I got more out of AEP because I could view the materials outside of their website, either printed or the audio guides. I find that they both word the questions in such a way that you will be ok with either if you're after practice tests that vary from what you've used.
For CE (which I'm taking tomorrow) I didn't use any practice tests beyond the Blue Ballast book and really just used it to read their questions and answers and the rationale. I find myself getting tripped up with the wording so I focused more on knowing the content (I used the CSI Resource Manual (wordy! but great for pre-construction), Fundamentals of Building Construction, Hanahan Audio lectures for contracts (as well as reviewing printed versions) and forcing myself to read everything carefully and AHPP. Work experience helps to a point but it can also hurt because you find yourself thinking if that would happen in the field but you're not being tested on that, you're being tested on what the material says should happen.
-
Christina Fu & James Shelton just FYI: I also find questions from Black Spectacles are also trying to trick you sometimes, and their answers are not always correct as well, but it is a great source for getting used to exam format with their practice tests. I've failed my first CE too, trying to pick up the study again...
-
I passed CE on the first try. Something that works for me is to make sure you read the questions carefully and if there is a way to relate the questions or info you're studying to something you've seen elsewhere. I tend to use the practice tests less for actually testing and more for learning the rationale of the answers. That's more useful for me because no practice test out there will be exactly the same as the actual exam. Good luck to you both, I'm sure you'll get there!
-
I used Designer Hacks on all six exams for a solid week just before tests. I think its a good balance between cost, questions, and content. 10, 25, and 100+ question quiz/exam. They are not the most difficult, but it trains you to read the question and evaluate the possible answers. Whatever flavor you go with be sure to review the practice exams afterwards - make notes, flash cards, draw diagrams, whatever works. You got this!
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
10 comments