ARE Scoring

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    Valerie Galchenko (Edited )

    Item Scoring

    Each item—regardless of item type - is worth one point and is scored as either correct or incorrect. There is no partial credit for completing just part of an item correctly. You’ll earn a point if you answer correctly, but you won’t lose a point if you answer incorrectly, so NCARB recommends always taking your best guess at every item and not leaving any items blank.

    As we discussed in a previous post on how ARE is developed, every division includes some pretest items, which do not count toward your score. The number of pretest items per division ranges from 6-9, depending on the size of the division, and they’re randomly scattered throughout each exam. Since there is no way to know which item might be a pretest item, it’s best to answer all items as if they will count.

    Case Studies

    Case study items are worth one point each, the same as discrete items. Case study items take longer, because you’ll need to reference additional materials in order to answer them. But since you won’t get “extra” credit for them, you don’t want to use too much time on case studies at the expense of the discrete items.

    Reference: NCARB Blog 

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    Benjamin Norkin

    More info on exam scoring, passing scores and test strategy right here:

    https://hyperfinearchitecture.com/are-5-0-passing-scores/

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    Michael Riscica

    Not all questions are worth the same amount of points. Some questions aren't worth any points, if you choose the right or wrong answer on these questions, it will NOT impact your result on your exam. NCARB is just messing with you.  

    So don't get distracted and waste time, when you see crazy nonsense questions on your exams. This is normal. 

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    Rebekka O'Melia

    There are 6 items on PcM that don't count at all.  You'll have no idea which questions they are.  So if a question seems strange, unfamiliar or will take 10 minutes for you to figure out (long math equations, etc) just skip it.

    All the questions that are scored are worth 1 point.  The case studies are the same - 1 point.  You should be watching the clock throughout the exam.  Don't spend more than an hour on the case studies.  I suggest starting with the case studies too.   

    Hope this helps!

    Rebekka O'Melia, NCARB, Step UP, Step UP ARE 5.0 Courses

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