ARE Online Proctoring Launches Mid-November
Hey ARE Community,
NCARB is excited to announce that Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) candidates will be able to schedule online-proctored appointments in mid-November 2020. Online (or remote) proctoring enables candidates to take the ARE in a private location that meets specific requirements.
Scheduling Appointments
Changes that will make online proctoring possible are expected to launch November 16, at which point you will be able to schedule online appointments through My NCARB. Exam fees will remain the same, whether you test in-person or via online proctoring. To ensure the ARE’s security and validity, exam appointments will be closely monitored by a live “online proctor,” who will ensure compliance with testing conditions. In addition to a private location, you will also need a computer with a live video and audio feed; Prometric’s secure testing application; and high-speed internet. This fall, we’ll provide step-by-step instructions on how to schedule an online exam, plus the minimum technical and environmental requirements.
ARE Content, Format, and Resources
Once online proctoring is available, you’ll have the flexibility to choose between in-person or online testing for each exam appointment you schedule. Regardless of delivery mode, all ARE candidates will experience the same format.
It is important to note that the ARE’s content areas and division structure will not change. You can continue to use your existing study materials and resources. However, several elements of the exam’s delivery will be updated to enhance ARE security, make the ARE more efficient, and support online delivery—including navigation, breaks, the number of questions per division, and overall testing time per division. NCARB will provide detailed information regarding any policy changes in late-September.
We’re also planning to release updated resources in October, including a new demo exam and updated ARE 5.0 Handbook. Be on the lookout for an announcement about the exam’s updated format in the weeks ahead.
NCARB's New Vendor
As we look to the future of licensure and the continued evolution of our programs, NCARB will switch to a new test administration vendor, PSI, in summer 2021. PSI offers both in-person and online proctored exam appointments. More information around the migration to PSI will be available early next year.
If you have questions about online proctoring, post them within the newly created online proctoring discussion area.
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I do not plan on taking the online version because I had enough issues with the in-person version of 5.0. I can't imagine how I would navigate the same exam issues online with no human witnesses. Especially if the online proctor is Artificial Intelligence (AI). I have heard nightmare stories of online test takers being kicked off a test due to online proctoring issues! Maybe no scratch paper could be a part of the online test experience only?
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Hey Everyone,
It looks like there are a lot of questions here, and I'll do my best to help clarify the change from physical to digital scratch paper.
The evolution to a built-in electronic whiteboard (digital scratch paper) and the elimination of physical scratch paper has always been part of the technical roadmap to increase security around the ARE. The launch of the whiteboard is being tied to the online proctoring launch but does not mean it is being done only to support online delivery. Physical scratch paper is an exam liability that is being eliminated.
The digital scratch paper tool will allow candidates to take notes, complete calculations, and outline potential solutions. Candidates will be able to test the digital scratch paper tool in the updated Demo Exam, which will be available in My NCARB in mid-October.
We understand that this is a major change for some candidates, and are working to ensure that the digital version is a useful replacement. NCARB does not take the removal of physical scratch paper lightly. However, it is an essential change to increase the exam’s integrity with the licensing boards that use the exam results to grant individuals a license. -
Richard Balkins I get it. It needs to be the same all around whether you test in-person or online. I just am disappointed because the scratch paper has been a very helpful tool in the past and I highly doubt this new online tool will not be as quick or as helpful for people who want to jot down quick notes...
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Nick at NCARB,
Would a graphic tablet like the Wacom Intuos 4 or Bamboo or Huion H420 (~$35 on Amazon) as in ones without a computer display screen be acceptable to use?
I'm not talking about smartphones or tablet computers (iPad or Android or Windows tablet computers). The key thing that the tablet computers have are the LCD computer display.
The Intuos 4 and many others do not have display screens or their own computing functionality. They would more or less just control the movement of the pointer on the computer screen like the mouse. The 'pen' would help with sketching on the virtual 'white board'. It would take practice for some to look at the computer screen while sketching or writing the 'notes' on the digital "scratch pad".
I recommend for ease of administration for the proctors that the graphic tablets don't have a computer video display like those seen in the Wacom Cintiq and similar units because it is harder to tell the difference between it and an Android or iOS tablet (of similar size). It would also cost a lot less to get a tablet without a display compared to one that does so it's easier for test takers to buy if they want one.
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Nick,
Can you please explain how having physical scratch paper on the testing center is a liability, if you have to hand them in when you get out of the exam?. This doesn't makes sense. Look a the passing rate of PPD, if this exam didn't have enough integrity do you think it will 42%?.
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Maireny,
What if a test taker took the scratch paper home? What if they wrote down exam questions as they were on the test? In an online proctoring, the examinee would keep the scratch paper while at the test center, the idea is you don't take those papers with you as you leave.
From an exam proctoring point of view, it makes it easier for people to be sharing confidential exam details offline between test candidates when they are studying because they have the actual exam questions. In this age of 'dark net' and ways of sharing such things under the radar where NCARB can not possibly detect, because the candidates directly share files and whatever else via direct file transfering using software using most any instant messaging / chat (including voice chat) programs. People can do this without leaving easily accessible trails like forums.
They are trying to keep the exam secure and how is the proctor going to collect the scratch paper? Are they going to shred and actually burn the scratch paper in front of the proctor. That is technically what happens to scratch paper left at the test center. They need to be able to discard the notes securely so it isn't recoverable so you can't share it with others offline.
They can't rely entirely on test takers being honest and with integrity. As much as these exams cost and as much as the licensing is the goal, there is so much temptation for people to cheat just like some lie about their AXP hours because they fudge the hours here and there. People cheated. People lied. People are willing to do whatever to get their goal even by crooked means. People done that with the ARE. People in the past disclosed exam content on the ARE in the past. They have to assume all test takers are possible cheaters because all examinees have the temptations and incentives to cheat. They need to prevent cheating or possible cheating. Why is scratch paper removed for both online and in-person? It is because they are requiring essentially the same exam experience and allowing those taking the exam at test centers to have scratch paper but not those taking it online is making giving those taking the exam at test centers an advantage and making it easier for them because not only will they have the virtual "scratch paper" (white board) but they'll also have scratch paper but those taking it online would not. How is taking it online remotely going to be easier than taking it at a test center? It is the same exam but the exam should be the same experience as practical without creating or establishing an advantage for going to a test center. I'm pretty confident that 90% or so of the ARE test takers are young enough to know how to use digital tools. Hell, you guys Revit and Archicad had collaboration and markup tools which is akin to the "white board" thing. How many of you worked on such programs and features? I'm sure you have. I know, it'll be a learning curve but its likely to be less of a learning curve than the p.o.s. garbage that was used back in the old vignettes days of yore of ARE computer based testing.
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Richard,
I agree that for the remote proctor testing the scratch paper shouldn't be allowed. But I don't see the reason for it to be removed from the in-person. The testing centers have all the protocols and security regarding scratch paper. In term of making the exams the same, that's not the message NCARB is saying: "...The launch of the whiteboard is being tied to the online proctoring launch but does not mean it is being done only to support online delivery. Physical scratch paper is an exam liability that is being eliminated..." What liability?...and even if it is, you will have the choice to take it at home or at a physical testing center. The exam software is slow as it is, do you think a white board will make it any faster, do you know how long it takes to load the case studies and reference materials? and now to handle the notes we take too. I'm sorry but I think this is a step backward. They should first fix the software.
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Reposting what I wrote on the NCARB Disqus:
Here is something from the CPBD certification exam's candidate handbook. We do the exam online with the building designer certification exam and they do allow for scratch paper but it's worth a read and I hope NCARB takes a chance to read it.
Read pages 30-36. Take note of pages 33 and 34. This is how you can resolve the scratch paper problem. Inspect the papers during the checkout steps during online proctoring to make sure test "items" (test "questions") are not on the papers so as to resolve issues. Collect the papers when testing at a test center.
I'm sure there are procedures for that with any testing proctor. I'm not suggesting making the exam open book or all the other difference but this is an idea on how to address the 'scratch paper' issue. Inspect the scratch paper before the exam to be sure they are blank and proper inspecting of such papers to make sure the papers are not containing content and whatever procedure maybe needed to destroy the scratch paper.
Take the time to look and evaluate and see how to come up with an acceptable outcome for the scratch paper issue which is clearly being spoken aloud.
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I am not expecting changes in all the other ways that it is for the CPBD certification but it possible to address the scratch paper issue. Proctors that do online proctoring already have procedures for how to handle even scratch papers online remote proctoring. They check the papers before hand in the check-in and the check the scratch papers during check out. Having a paper shredder in the exam room probably isn't a bad thing but it is brought up so they can evaluate the options.
I'm concerned if we are making the exam easier for someone to take the exam at the test center compared to online because it is still unclear whether anyone may use graphic tablets like the wacom bamboo tablet if testing online. If we have to use the mouse and "white board" then we will not have the problems that people are complaining about without the scratch paper. I am not sure I am getting any more time to answer questions than those at test centers.
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"The exam software is slow as it is, do you think a white board will make it any faster, do you know how long it takes to load the case studies and reference materials? and now to handle the notes we take too. I'm sorry but I think this is a step backward. They should first fix the software."
People are saying or assuming it is the same exam software. Is it? Just because the exam content is basically the same but is it the same underlying exam delivery software system architecture? People making assumptions that it is. There was already statements about it not being the same so you can't assume it is the same. Lets remember that the exam content are probably written in HTML5 / Javascripts / etc. The secure browser and the exam delivery server are not the same. Add to that, the proctor's computers at their test centers and their software is entirely the proctor's responsibility while it is entirely up to the examinee taking the exam remotely to make sure their computers are up to specs and their internet connection. Both test centers and remote test takers are going to be accessing the same exam server(s). Where exactly the instablity is in the existing exam may or may not be present in the new exam delivery so it shouldn't be assumed until we see it. They did not go public with all the details of the exam software architecture. There is probably significant changes, after all, they are changing proctors so the exam host server and database(s) associated with it would be proctor independent so NCARB would be less locked to a single proctor. The proctors are using a secured browser which is a type of web browser that is custom and locks down the system of many side functions like trying to google search or other types of activities that are not permitted so it is a controlled testing environment. The exam content is delivered via a secured web-based server. A version of the browser is available at the proctoring center and there is a slight different variation of it for remote proctoring. The main difference is minimal. When remote proctoring, there would be a sort of shared desktop connection to an assigned proctor who will be monitoring your activities while you are testing. At a test center, you won't be connected to a proctor remotely because your computer will be observed and monitored at the test center with a person present. However, the rest of the 'browser' app is essentially the same. The exam content host server would be the same regardless of delivery but that does not mean it is the same set up as it is currently being administered. A number of those issues may actually disappear because of these 'software' differences because of the differences made. We won't know until the exam takes place what issues we'll be dealing with as well as the speed of the exam.
If I was writing the exam software, the processing would be practically silk smooth. However, there are things we can't make move faster than internet connectivity allows such as how fast the "pdf" stuff are downloaded into the internet temp folder of the secured browser and how fast it will be processed (loaded up on screen). However, some stuff could be made to work more snappy.
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This is Prometric's Guide for Online Exams. Can we expect to follow these guidelines?
https://www.prometric.com/sites/default/files/2019-10/PrometricProUserGuide.pdf
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I have looked all around th NCARB site... but I cannot find an answer to this. If an exam is scheduled at Prometric for December 11... Scratch paper can be used. If an exam is scheduled and taken on December 12 there is no scratch paper? And the new "whiteboard" is not a stylus-driven writing experience??
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Hi Joseph,
Correct, if your exam is scheduled for December 11th, you will have physical scratch paper. This also applies to December 12th and 13th. Beginning on December 14th, all testers will use the digital whiteboard (both in-person and online testers). The ProProctor software that is used to launch online exams blocks other software from running on your computer (for security purposes), so unfortunately, a stylus can't be used.
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Nick
Thanks for your clarification.
This is a huge mistake. I can't tell you how useful the paper is and how many ways I have used it. We do this in our daily work lives all the time. Think of working out a section detail... A question gives you various floor elevations, mechanical system spaces, ramped floor areas.... And asks for a floor elevation on the fifth floor ... For example. Something like this HAS to be drawn... And accurately and quickly. Haven taken almost all the divisions now, there are so many questions that necessitate making drawings or diagrams, I can't comprehend how this could be done with a MOUSE-driven drawing tool.
Additionally, we all have our own way of organizing our thoughts and we relate very specifically to how we do this. We may make certain diagrams or thoughts or write out "rules", etc, in a manner with which we are personally comfortable. This has to be done in a rapid and precise manner for it to be effective within a timed exam format.This amateurish software effort is very similar to the 4.0 vignette "CAD"... where the main goal of the vignette was to see if you could cope with the crude and frustrating software to perform the most rudimentary architectural task.
It seems sometimes that NCARB is almost intentionally punishing us on an already difficult exam and making obstacles which have nothing to do with architectural practice or knowledge.
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