Has anyone taken this Energy Audit course that is offered? and if so did you know that the answers were weighted ? And if so how ? I have never ever had a test like this in my life. If it was weighted you were told up front and also how it was weighted. Not just at the discression of instructor after test is taken, on what questions are worth more in credit value. Has anyone ever heard of this before?:shock: I feel like I have wasted much too much time on this course.
Gregory,
The tests are weighted no the strength of the question. A very key question that you should learn and retain will rate higher than one that would asked just a general question. Its a way of telling if you learned what you read or just blew through just for credits. Darn good system I think, just my opinion.
Gregory,
For the most part if you learn from the course, you never waisted time. The education at INACHI is second to none and is what separates this membership from all the rest. Nick does his background work long and hard before a course comes online. The Best of the Best.
OOps Steven, I reread my statement and I can see where you say the things you said, Let me clear up my first comments, I am not and will not attack Nick’s ability as an instructor. I did learn much in the course , What I am trying to get across ( very poorly I must add) is that the grading system used is IN MY OPINION Could be faulty. After taking course (and I did not just blow thru, I did take my time and study) And taking exam you are then told questions are weighted , but you are not told how or why they are weighted, or where you need to go back and study. This is a very large course and some people do not have time to spend rereading all the text involved with this course. DO NOT TAKE NEXT STATEMENT OUT OF CONTEXT. But the way grading system is currently, it could be miss understood. Needing an 80% to pass course, there could be 1 question worth 21%, and this 1 question could be very important to someone in one part of country and not in another. Again I am NOT saying this is what is happening. But if a test is weighted it should be noted that certain sections are of much greater value than others. Or after test it would be helpful to maybe let your students know where they are doing poorly and need extra work, not just you failed try again! Again if my first message sounded like I was Attacking Nick I am very sorry, This is where I have a problem with computers ,e-mail, message boards etc. You do not know how someone really FEELS without seeing their face and the expressions they are using. Sorry I am not very good at writing what I feel. Greg
Hi, Gregory.
In the context of your last post, I would like to throw something into the discussion, if I may.
Whether it is an energy audit, home inspection, or ancillary service — conveying our facts in written form is no less important of a skill than is the process by which we perform our service — for our written report continues to represent us, our professional skills and the value of our services long after we have left that job and moved on to other inspections. Accordingly, the ability to clearly and accurately communicate our facts is (at a minimum) of equal importance.
Each message board post represents an opportunity to hone that skill.
I see where this is going no-one wants to adress the concern I have. And I am not the type to pick on and and or get into a useless arguements, or degrade another inspector! So thanks so much, you do not need reply I will not go that low.
A possible way to think if this is like open and closed book tests. There are several learning dynamics going on. I used to have to take a battery of tests annually, All were on material / technical data to do my job. One was an open book test and one was a closed book test and a third was practical application (graded check ride). The closed book test questions were those items I simply HAD to know cold, whether it was safety related or process and equipment usage, things I needed to know without stopping to go look it up in a book, therefore giving these questions more weight. The open book test questions were those items that were good or important to know to make one more proficient but might not necessarily be life threatening if I did not know them. That was one way they weighed the test questions to flesh out which test the questions would be assigned to the question bank. Additionally, the closed book tested required a much higher score to pass than the open book. (3.5 for 150 questions test and 3.3 for 100 questions test respectively with a 4.0 being perfect).
That’s basically how our exam system works, but even a little better…
InterNACHI’s exams are criticized for asking “easy” questions. But these easy questions are weighted in a very cutting-edge manner. If you answer an “easy” question correctly, you are not rewarded much (in terms of score) for doing so, as you are expected to answer it correctly. However, if you answer an “easy question” (one, every energy auditor should know) incorrectly, you are punished severely (in terms of score).
In this way, InterNACHI’s exam system doesn’t provide a false sense of competence to an inspector who lacks knowledge about a core issue. InterNACHI’s exams are not designed to determine how much you know.
By the same token, if you answer a “difficult” question incorrectly, you are not punished (in terms of score).
For more information, read my article: “Exams that Harm”.
1st: you never waste time in education.
Did you flunk?!
With 4 posts to your name, I don’t think you wasted too damn much of your worthless time…
JMWAO