The Mechanical PE Exams will convert to the year-round Computer-Based Testing (CBT) format starting in April of 2020. The October 2019 Exam is the last chance to take the Mechanical exams in the Pencil-and-Paper format. In this post, I want to address the “so-called” advantages of CPT PE Exam, which generally are touted as providing greater flexibility for examinees.
Flexibility is definitely one of the things that is appealing to some people about the change to the CBT format. With CBT exams, you can take the exam year-round, at multiple locations, on a date you schedule, and you can get your results in 8 to 10 days. You can also take the exam up to three times in a 12-month period, with some additional restrictions within that period (only one time within one of four 3-month windows: January – March, April – June, July – September, and October – December). So if you don’t pass, you could potentially take the exam again in as little as two weeks.
The Pencil-and-Paper exam, on the other hand, is only offered twice a year on specific dates in April and October at a limited number of locations, and it takes a month or more to get your results. So if you don’t pass, you have to wait at least six months to take the exam again. But when you think about it, the CBT exam only gets you one extra try per year (three vs. two).
The flexibility of the CBT exam certainly makes it easier for you to fit the exam into your schedule and to keep taking more swings at it in a shorter period of time. But are these really advantages? Passing the PE Exam requires more than just taking a whack at it until you pass. It requires a serious commitment to the task of mastering the knowledge and skills required to pass. Human nature being what it is, having the specific date of the Pencil-and-Paper exam means you must make a commitment knowing there is no turning back. Not so with the CBT exam. Human nature works against you there. It will be easy to put off taking the exam, letting all manner of life events keep you from taking it. Even if you pick a day, you can easily change it, and if something happens the morning of the exam, it is easy to reschedule. The value of that flexibility can evaporate into thin air if you never actually find the personal strength to make the commitment and stick to it. The PE Exam is not a doctor’s appointment to be wedged into your hectic schedule. It is a major life event that will have serious implications for your future, and it should be treated as such.
In my analysis, the advantages of the Pencil-and-Paper exam, which I’ve outlined in my previous posts, far outweigh anything you would gain in flexibility from the CBT exam. My advice is to make the commitment now to take the October 2019 Mechanical PE Exam before the change to CBT takes place. The knowledge that your opportunity to take the exam in the current format is limited to only one try might very well be the motivation that gets you a Pass!
- Dr. Tom
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