CE fail after PcM and PjM
Hi all,
Based on a lot of recommendations I read on this forum, I decided to take PcM, PjM and CE as my first bundle of exams. I passed PcM, PjM on first try but failed CE this morning.
NCARB-approved study material like Ballast/PPI and also the handbook make it seem like this exam is all about bidding procedures, contracts, who pays what when there is a problem during construction kind of stuff. However, maybe just half of the exam was (or felt like) it was covered in that study material.
There was a ton of accessibility, egress code, hvac, thermal resistance, excavation, fire code, concrete-related questions in the exam. I actually also studied some of these sections in the Amber Book for this exam as suggested in the program, I studied details and felt pretty confident about most of my answers, but the exam was just too comprehensive for me to handle. I now strongly believe that this exam is meant to be taken last, not part of the pro-practice ones. You just need to know everything going in for this exam.
And also, lastly, I doubt I answered any questions of the case studies correctly. There is no study material out there that would prepare you for the case studies that was given in this exam. There was so much information on the CD sets, so many pages to go through on the other documents. They were high resolution and super slow to load. Search result highlighting is impossible to see in the drawings. There wasn't an on-screen "pan" function, my mouse acted up so wasn't able to scroll around efficiently. I really really needed to copy and paste part of the specifications on the white board and look for that info on the drawing, but surprise surprise you can't do that on the white board. You can't open two documents at the same time. All the tools I was given felt archaic and insufficient.
I don't know what my score card will show I failed in. I'm very discouraged now because I cannot possibly study the contracts, bidding etc. more. I feel like nothing can prepare me for those case studies. I guess I'll have to switch gears and tackle the technical exams next.
I would appreciate any advise you guys might have on this. This is my first fail so it's probably normal that I'm not handling it very well. :)
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Hi, I wanted to give an update. I got my score card. I scored level 2 in two content areas, and level 3 in the other two content areas. Based on Elif Bayram's genius exam score calculator spreadsheet on arequestions.com (link here) I failed by about 1-2%, 2-3 questions. Even though it is frustrating, I'm glad to know that I'm pretty close. Thanks again for all your help.
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You can see a post a put out here about CE last summer:
This thread started as a response to her question about punch lists, but outlines some of the things I used to pass CE.
Good luck!
//sse
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Sean,
Thanks for recommending my book. I am glad you think it is helpful.
Gang Chen, Author, AIA, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)
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You absolutely need to use the search tool and type in keywords in the reference materials in the case study. See pic attached. Scrolling will cause you to waste a lot of time and you won't be able to finish.
You will need to pan and zoom in the drawings too. Try to be patient...
If you don't have much construction experience, I recommend reviewing the Fundamentals book for CE, wall sections and details, CSI format, and ADA.
Hope this helps!
Rebekka O'Melia, Registered Architect, NCARB, B. Arch, M. Ed, Step UP, Step UP ARE 5.0 Courses
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Thank you all for your replies.
Thanks Sean for the comprehensive list. I actually read your post couple of weeks before I took the exam and I was able to focus more on some new subjects that I haven't focused on before. I'm grateful for that.
Thank you Rebekka. You're absolutely right about the search function. Even though I used it extensively, I still got lost in the case studies. I'm a residential designer so my experience with bigger projects is almost 20 years old now. That did not help when I was trying to navigate very detailed, large scale construction documents.
I strongly suggest anybody who will take this test to practice document navigation with NCARB's practice exam. They do not have a CE case study in the practice exam but I'm sure practice of zooming in and out and panning the document will pay off.
Maimouna, I still haven't received my official result. I took the exam in the PSI pilot program. It took a whole week for NCARB to post my PjM result couple of weeks ago, so I'm expecting the same for this one.
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I would NOT waste time on a calculator like that. Better to spend the time studying new topics or reviewing others.
NCARB doesn't even tell us EXACTLY what score is needed to pass. We only know the score range needed is a 65-71%. I will say that if you fail one of the larger sections of the exam, which for CE is sections 2 and 3 const observation or admin procedures, you will fail. NCARB isn't going to let you pass the exam if you failed the bigger sections (they are each about 30% of the exam). Perhaps that's what the calculator is trying to demonstrate.
Rebekka O'Melia, Registered Architect, NCARB, B. Arch, M. Ed, Step UP, Step UP ARE 5.0 Courses
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Not that it matters, but the way I look at this stuff is this: You need to know all of it anyhow. The more of it you know, the more it you digest, the better off you'll be in practice (and you'll pass the test as an aside).
I'm taking PDD for the first time in three weeks, and what I'm now doing is to take the NCARB requirements, from the handbook, and I'm combing through all my resources, and I am hitting those specific areas, using a note taking method I've developed that insures I cover all of it (or rather, it will be obvious that I've overlooked something. I can fan out from those topics some - but they're the guideline.
As for PA and PPD, both of which I've failed, I will be going back on those under the new system and hitting it again (as, like you, I came very close and it's annoying), with particular attention to the deficit areas (but, I will hit all of it again anyway).
Eventually it has to give - I not going away. =)
//sse
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I passed the CE thanks to your post. I too thought i just needed contracts to pass, thank god i saw this and other posts like it a week before testing. Thanks.
Because like you, I did get a lot of non contract questions as well. and I was lost in the Case studies as well. not gonna lie. i think they designed the search button to just help u navigate..... lots of the drawings were not searchable...
Honestly, the test was definitely designed for someone who has an overall understanding of the construction process, codes & ada,
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Congratulations Maimouna! I'm so happy my post and others helped you pass your exam! That's wonderful to hear. I'm glad you thought the same things after the exam. I'm not crazy :)
Thank you Sean, I agree 100%. You sound like you're in peace with this process. :) Some of the study material is not relevant for my specific practice, but I feel like it's definitely good to know. Good luck on PDD! That's an intimidating one!
Pelin
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