October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
(OP)
I'll be sitting for the Power PE exam in two weeks, and I just read the following claim (From http://engineerboards.com/index.php?/topic/27218-cut-scores/, if it's of interest to anyone):
Just heard back from a buddy on the NCEES Power Society, said the exam is harder this time because the pass rate was too high in April. He mentioned cut score was going to be 59/80.
Can anyone comment on this? Looking at the pass/fail rates for the April 2016 exam, posted at http://ncees.org/engineering/pe/, the rates for the Power PE exam are fairly middle-of-the-road. It seems unusual that NCEES would modify the exam content in response to this.
And isn't the cut score defined after the exams are taken, not before?
Just heard back from a buddy on the NCEES Power Society, said the exam is harder this time because the pass rate was too high in April. He mentioned cut score was going to be 59/80.
Can anyone comment on this? Looking at the pass/fail rates for the April 2016 exam, posted at http://ncees.org/engineering/pe/, the rates for the Power PE exam are fairly middle-of-the-road. It seems unusual that NCEES would modify the exam content in response to this.
And isn't the cut score defined after the exams are taken, not before?





RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering
In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist
RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
As to cut score, it's not really determined until after the exam is graded and they determine whether any questions need to be thrown out...but in reality it doesn't matter during the exam what the cut score it. You're not going to quit taking the exam once you've answered the "cut score" number of questions. Just relax, take a deep breath and focus...get a plan for what to do with the last two weeks and do your best. Good luck!
RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
It looks like I need to just focus on studying and practicing without thinking about how "difficult" the actual exam may or may not be.
RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
RE: October 2016 PE exam - Change in difficulty in response to pass/fail rates
Though overall nobody really knows NCEES standards. Study to answer at least 60/80 correct and you are guaranteed to pass.