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PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 12:44 pm
by OCArch
I didnt get any email from NCARB but I checked online only to find out that i got a big green PASS on my PPD test! I honestly can't believe it considering how much i didnt know.

At the very least I hope that I was able to set the bar that much lower for anyone coming in the future, but hoping others receive some good news today. Onto the last test!

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 12:47 pm
by testingtesting
Congratulations!!!
I also did not get any email notification, so I checked online and saw a HUGE FAT PASS too!
I also am in awe, as I only studied 3 weeks for the test and felt like I failed.

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 1:49 pm
by vrcat25
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER! Congrats guys! It's looking as though I was correct. It seems as if a high majority of people on here are passing PPD. It's nowhere near the failure rate that i've noticed in the PPP 4.0 forum. Now, if could ever pass PPP...

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 1:53 pm
by vrcat25
I'm curious...do you guys recall a ballpark figure of approximately how many questions were on the PPD test regarding Structures. I was considering finishing up in 4.0, but it's looking like 5.0 is the way to go.

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:45 pm
by sdhalfen
Hi!! Congratulations! I also tested but sadly FAILED :( Could you suggest study material?
Many thanks!!!

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:55 pm
by vrcat25
sdhalfen wrote:Hi!! Congratulations! I also tested but sadly FAILED :( Could you suggest study material?
Many thanks!!!


for starters, i'd suggest being a little more active in this forum...did you change your name or do you seriously have only 3 posts? I'm the other end of the extreme so obviously, you don't want to spend too much, but I'd suggest posting some of your questions in AREcoach. I don't have any experience with 5.0, but it helped me to pass CDS and SPD... Better luck next time and sorry to hear.

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 4:09 pm
by rcpalladino
sdhalfen wrote:Hi!! Congratulations! I also tested but sadly FAILED :( Could you suggest study material?
Many thanks!!!


I'm sorry to hear. for PPD, I studied only Architect Exam Prep (audio & study guide), and took the Ballast practice exam. With the practice exams, I would do 10 questions at a time, check the answers, and research the ones that I got wrong/didn't understand. To be honest, on test day, I did not feel comfortable leaving the exam center, so you may want to look into some other material as well. I passed, so something must have worked.
I'm curious, how did you feel you did after leaving the exam?

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:56 pm
by testingtesting
vrcat25 wrote:I'm curious...do you guys recall a ballpark figure of approximately how many questions were on the PPD test regarding Structures. I was considering finishing up in 4.0, but it's looking like 5.0 is the way to go.


If you look at the NCARB ARE 5.0 Handbook, the structures will fall under Objective 3.2. Objective 3 is an expected max total of 30 questions. If we divide 30 questions / 4 subsection objectives that equals 7.5 questions for structures.
If you look at the diagrammatic pie chart NCARB issued as a credit model to transition from 4.0 to 5.0, it's approximately 25% or 30 questions for structures.
That being said, seems like no NCARB source gave an accurate understanding of how much structures is to be expected. To me, it was somewhere between 10-15 structures questions, mostly very simple. Study your free body diagrams. Some of the diagrams are provided as reference on the test. I barely studied structures and somehow I passed.

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 5:21 am
by randar82
Does anyone know what's happening with score reporting for those affected by the 1/30 server crash? I'm fairly certain I didn't complete enough of the exam to pass, but if I did, I'd rather not have to sit for the exam again in 2 weeks. Right now my record still says awaiting score.

Also: Since I didn't complete about 50% of the exam, I wanted to see what study materials people thought worked best. I used AEP for the PDD division and found it to be a gross misrepresentation of the material covered.

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 6:50 am
by Barry
randar82 wrote:Does anyone know what's happening with score reporting for those affected by the 1/30 server crash? I'm fairly certain I didn't complete enough of the exam to pass, but if I did, I'd rather not have to sit for the exam again in 2 weeks. Right now my record still says awaiting score.


I didn't get my score either. I'm in one of the "additional days" jurisdictions.

Alabama, New York, Texas or Wisconsin – up to 1 additional day
North Carolina or Oregon – up to 5 additional days
Oklahoma – up to 7 additional days
Guam – up to 21 additional days

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:53 am
by tmston2
I was very surprised to see a RED 'FAIL",
Anyway back to the drawing board

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 1:38 pm
by dklorensen
randar82-Contact Jared Zurn @ NCARB. I've been working with him, he's been very helpful. I retook PPD 2/27 and got passing result yesterday, but because I rescheduled it before scores were released, I had asked Jared about my 1/30 attempt a few days before my retake. He actually told me that I didn't pass the first attempt, I had answered 91/120 questions, so I'm guessing you probably didn't pass if you had only answered about half. Up until my retake, 'My Examination' said it was still awaiting score, but as soon as I retook it on the 27th, it updated, then yesterday afternoon, I logged on to see a pass!

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 2:14 pm
by 22sierraalpha
PASS (and I think it's a miracle)

I was at least 55% certain that I would fail this test. And I attribute that feeling simply to the VAST amount of content covered in the test which is virtually impossible to fully absorb over a 1-2 month window of studying incrementally.

I studied Black Spex lectures and Ballast 5.0. I WOULD RECOMMEND STUDYING MORE SOURCES. For me, I felt like Ballast covered a lot of good material, as well as did Black Spex, but it seemed to me that I came into the test with a very narrow perspective on the content. I am hoping that with different source material I can maybe widen that perspective so that I can understand content more fully. Granted - this is a hope and probably an assumption.

Ultimately, however, I think the reason I passed, and the reason I was able to answer enough questions correctly, was due to work experience.

I will be approaching PDD next with Kaplan 4.0 material as well as some of the condensed notes available. (on top of Ballast and Black Spex).

I felt as though the content was fairly well balanced across all building system categories so I wouldn't recommend skimping on any one. Maybe prioritize the time allotted for each category giving the MOST attention to the content you are weakest in (for me I looked at Electrical and Plumbing more than Mechanical, Structural, and Site).

In my opinion - if you're waiting to take it - DON'T. Trust your instincts especially if you work in and around the Project Management or production process. If you don't manage a pass, but are headed into PDD, that study content will only help pad your knowledge for PPD.

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 4:34 pm
by tatamin
OMG! This is such a big news!
Congratulations to the winners!

-tatamin

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Fri May 05, 2017 12:38 pm
by Zanno
Ultimately, however, I think the reason I passed, and the reason I was able to answer enough questions correctly, was due to work experience.


This. I can't agree more -- these exams do cover a wide range of content, so the more work experience you have, the better off you'll be. I also agree that studying your weak areas makes a lot of sense, while still trying to hit the broad spectrum of topics that you might encounter. Even googling topics/vocabulary that you are unfamiliar with/concepts that you are struggling to grasp can be a great study method. And the more resources the better, especially because every exam guide or book will present content in a different way.

Re: PASS - PPD 2/28/17

PostPosted: Fri May 05, 2017 1:31 pm
by vrcat25
Zanno wrote:
Ultimately, however, I think the reason I passed, and the reason I was able to answer enough questions correctly, was due to work experience.


This. I can't agree more -- these exams do cover a wide range of content, so the more work experience you have, the better off you'll be. I also agree that studying your weak areas makes a lot of sense, while still trying to hit the broad spectrum of topics that you might encounter. Even googling topics/vocabulary that you are unfamiliar with/concepts that you are struggling to grasp can be a great study method. And the more resources the better, especially because every exam guide or book will present content in a different way.


I also have a decent amount of work experience (over 5 years). That being said, how much time do you think i should study to prepare for PPD?