Testing in LA soon!

Testing in LA soon!

Postby cabcandidla » Thu Mar 09, 2017 1:30 am

I'm one week and one day away from taking the new and revised CSE. (yikes - any other brave souls with me on that?)
3-17 St. Patty's day test! Luck of the Irish, even though I'm not Irish! :)

I've been studying for many months (casually) using TWE (including an initial seminar last year in the Fall), passxflash, and more recently, Woo's exams.

My current test scores on OMCES are mid-90's, and I've taken them twice. I did not take the exams until I had listened to the whole enchilada 5 times in complete. (It was only then that I felt the information had sunk in enough for me to even consider testing - and I started that about three weeks ago.) I have since listened to a few troublesome sections again just to be sure of my knowledge. My current evaluation of TWE is that is it great for getting to know the overall scope of the concepts on the exam. BUT - I felt that I still needed to read the CAB test plan again and go over certain sources on my own. As far as a broad look at what you might need to know, it's helpful for getting some of the confusing aspects straight in your head.

One thing I have realized from reading this forum in the last week or so is that I needed to brush up a bit more on Calgreen, The Practice Act, and perhaps the Energy Code...

I have read the practice act in full earlier this week, slowly and thoroughly.
I am currently halfway through the process of reading Calgreen's 2016 Guide and taking notes on the primary concepts so that I can read it once or twice more before the exam. I'm already LEED accredited so this isn't a hard thing for me to tackle during my final push. It seems fairly straightforward.

I can say that with one week left, I am feeling good about my chances for passing this test. I know it's going to be hard, but I have tried to make sure that at every step of the way that my knowledge of the material is deep enough that I can apply the concepts in some way. For a long time I was feeling like I didn't really understand some of the inter-relationships of the agencies but after so many repetitions I finally got them to sink in.

I also find that using mnemonic devices to help me remember things that I get wrong more than once is a good thing too - making a mental picture of the idea and the resolution so that I don't make that mistake again.

So, with one week left I am going to:
Take the (all-category) OMCES exams (which I have not done yet - I've taken each sub category test twice)
Finish reading Calgreen and perusing the Energy Code.
Take Woo Exams one more time (just for fun). ha!
Read the A201 summary one last time and review the other AIA docs briefly. (yes I know about B102 and B201... I feel comfortable with those)

It sounds like a lot but I am completely focused on this for this week so I think I can handle all that. Here goes nuttin...
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Re: Testing in LA soon!

Postby dkismet » Thu Mar 09, 2017 11:13 am

you seem on the right track. I wouldn't get lost in the minutia in regard to cal green, however being familiar with it's contents as a must. I make a simple summary, I'd recommend it. you can find that here
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=44968
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Re: Testing in LA soon!

Postby hnQ_9999 » Thu Mar 09, 2017 10:51 pm

Good luck and please tell us later what the new format is like (within limit, of course).
About using other people interpretation of the codes/AIA doc, etc. posted here and there,
just be careful. I just found some error in the "AIA201 notes.doc" from the link of
the previous answer to your post. Here is an example:

12.2 Correction of Work found not in compliance with CDs shall be responsibility of the contractor for repair or necessary testing
i.After substantial completion contractor shall correct such work promptly within the first year of substantial completion.
After one year, owner may correct work and forward costs to contractor prior to statute of limitations expire.
Such repairs shall initiate new 1 year warranty from time of repair for that portion of work
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Re: Testing in LA soon!

Postby cabcandidla » Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:34 am

dkismet: thanks! I'll probably be ok with my own notes, as I wanted to read to make sure I fully understood what was new about the 2016 requirements vs the previous requirements. But I might use them - we'll see. :)

hnQ: thanks. Of course. I'll tell you all about it!! (I joke..) Since I have nothing to compare this to (I haven't taken this test previously...) I'm not sure how I'll be able to quantify things in broad strokes but we'll see. For some reason, the CalGreen and Bldg Code Changes this year stick out in my mind as potential gotcha type items, and I'm definitely going to be reviewing those again before testing.

Having gone through the CalGreen guide now, it seems quite rational to me. Nothing entirely surprising there - except for maybe the airport noise level requirements which I am finding to be an unexpected code addition (they relate to the Noise Element in the General Plan). Lots of forms in Chapter 8 and some revised Tier Checklists. I just wanted to familiarize myself with the scope of those forms. Some of them help reinforce the original code requirements when you skim them. Anyway.

I took one of two woo Exams today that I haven't looked at in a few weeks and scored a 70%. Not great, but not bad compared to the first time I took it. I'm glad I have time to review these a second time. I think there's some helpful questions in there to make sure your knowledge is pushed over the edge of "just knowing the basics". Going through the wrong answers takes some time but it's worth it in my opinion.
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