[RE-wrenches] NABCEP Test

[Nick Soleil]

Hello Ezra, Bob-o, and wrenches:
    I guess if I were to pass the exam, and if I could find my results, I would 
be content.  However, I do have a concern that if the test is calibrated to 
achieve a 50% pass rate, that the problems must be made vague and confusing to 
cause difficulty.  Here are my primary concerns.
- The test material did not match the study guide
- The most recent test seems to test us on a number of obscure OSHA facts, that 
do not really pertain to designing and installing solar, to keep the test 
difficult.
- With each test cycle, the candidates are told they need to study x number of 
hours to pass the test, but only 50% pass, so the next group has to study 2x 
times to pass the exam.  As more folks study harder and harder to pass the test, 
the test only gets harder or the pass level is raised to keep the same level of 
a 50% pass rate. Over time we have to study more and more obscure facts, that 
have less to do with solar installing and designing, and more to do with 
short-term memorization of unimportant material.
    Additionally, I believe that the test contained some mistakes.  One question 
required an analysis of two roof surfaces, and we had to find which surface 
would produce more power, and how much more power.  However, the azimuths were 
listed as 'Compass' degree readings, but the provided chart gave outputs for 
'True' degrees.  The question did not provide the magnetic declination for the 
site!  

   

 Nick Soleil
Project Manager
Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC
PO Box 657
Petaluma, CA 94953
Cell:   707-321-2937
Office: 707-789-9537
Fax:    707-769-9037




________________________________
From: Bob-O Schultze <bob-o at electronconnection.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Fri, April 1, 2011 9:34:51 AM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] NABCEP Test

Larry,
This also from Ezra -who, because of a bit of silliness on the part of the 
moderator of this list- cannot post here.

"Larry,

NABCEP provides test takers with a passing score and a partial breakdown of 
their score by exam blueprint area. It is always a bit confusing because we 
report only on those exam blueprint areas where there are sufficient number of 
questions for the information provided to be relevant. For example informing a 
candidate that they scored 50% in an area where there were only two questions 
provided little useful information but informing the same candidate that they 
scored 50% on an area where there are ten questions clearly informs them that 
this is an area where further study is required. 

We do not provide candidates with individual questions they missed as this would 
have a strong negative impact on the security of the exam. If we informed 
candidates on individual questions we would have to retire each exam question we 
did so with which would put a huge burden of developing new questions on our 
volunteer exam committee. It would also but a burden on the exam itself as we 
would be continually retiring statically field proven questions.

I know it is disappointing to candidates to not see the questions they missed, 
and if I was a candidate I'd likely be frustrated as well. I also know that it 
is simply not practical to do so and that our procedures are in accordance to 
established and recognized testing protocols. 

Sincerely,

Ezra Auerbach
Executive Director"

eauerbach at nabcep.org

To which I also add to replay to your last post:
You are incorrect that 70 is always the passing grade. It can be a little lower 
or even a little higher depending on the difficulty of that particular test and 
if we have identified any questions which have proved to be unclear or 
ambiguous. It takes time for our testing agency to compile that data. It takes 
time for our test committee to re-evaluate the questions and how they were 
answered. Lastly, each and every Certificant (not Entry Level) testing results 
comes before the Board with the raw information and the recommendations of our 
committee for a final decision and approval of a passing score. We go to great 
lengths to make sure all our testing is as fair and unbiased as possible.
As Ezra points out, it would be HUGELY expensive to have to replace our question 
pool for every test because we revealed the questions which you missed to you. 
Surely you can see that those questions would be widely circulated by the time 
candidates sat for the next test, making them useless.
Bob-O

On Apr 1, 2011, at 5:57 AM, wirewiz at gmail.com wrote:

Ezra,


Do you follow guidelines as to the "rights and responsibilities" of test takers. 
Do test takers have a right to see the questions they got wrong?


Larry Liesner
Wirewiz
Westport, CT
Phone: 203-644-2404
Fax: 203-557-0556
wirewiz at gmail.com
www.wire-wiz.com
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