Recommendations for Taking the Test - …

1 01/25/2019 at 10:37:12 AM Page 1 of 5 Recommendations for Taking Our Final Exams Last Updated: January 25, 2019 Introduction: This paper describes our examination rules, provides tips for using your study time wisely, and provides a strategy for minimizing the time needed to pass your exams. It is directed to three groups: (1) students suffering from test anxiety, (2) students having difficulty passing one or more of our exams, and (3) procrastinators; that is, students without their 45 hours of continuing education (CE) and with less than 10 days before their licenses expire. For students with test anxiety; breathe easy you will (eventually) pass all eight courses. Remember that: (1) you may re-take any final until you pass and, (2) we really do want you to pass. For students who are having difficulty passing our exams; we will show you how to use our Study List to improve your chances of passing any exam.

2 For procrastinators with active licenses; take heed. By following our recommended test Taking strategy, you will improve your chances of completing your CE before your license expires. For procrastinators with expired licenses; read this paper carefully. Your license will permanently expire if you fail to earn your 45 hours of CE before your two-year grace period ends. Special Warning to Procrastinators with Expired Broker Licenses: Prior to January 1, 2013, broker applicants could substitute any four-year college degree in lieu of the experience requirement (two years fulltime experience selling real estate under a responsible broker). After that date, every broker applicant (except applicants with a four-year college degree with a major in real estate) has been required to satisfy the experience requirement (see this notice from the DRE for details). This means that if your broker license were to permanently expire, then to regain it, you would not only have to pass the broker examination but you would also have to satisfy the experience requirement.

3 Why Procrastinators Face a Challenge Our 45-hour package consists of eight final examinations; one for each of our eight courses. The package consists of six courses of three hours; one course of 12 hours; and another of 15 hours. Should you fail the final exam for the same course twice in succession, you fail the course. When you fail a course, you must start that course over (not the package just that one course). When you start a course over, you may not take any final exam until the study period for that course has ended. The study period for our six three-hour courses is just three-hours BUT the study periods for our 12- and 15-hour courses is two days; a full 48 hours! A delay of three hours is unlikely to pose a problem even for a procrastinator, but a delay of two-full days may well make it impossible for you to complete your CE before your license expires.

4 If you are a procrastinator with an active license renewing late you will need to pay the DRE half again as much to renew your license as you would have had to pay had you renewed your license on time. If you are a procrastinator with an expired license who fails to renew your license before your two-year grace period ends, then you will lose your license. To regain a lost license, you will need to meet the current qualifications for licensure, you will have to pass real estate examination, Recommendations for Taking Our Final Exams 01/25/2019 at 10:37:12 AM Page 2 of 5 and you will have to pay for your examination and license fees (salespersons: $305; brokers: $395 as of January 2019). On the positive side, if you are successful in regaining your license, you won t need continuing education for four more years. About our Quizzes The quiz questions are not like the questions on the finals.

5 Unlike the questions on the final exams, some quiz questions are tricky, some have debatable answers, some offer many alternatives, some make extensive use of real estate jargon, and some questions are lengthy. If you do well on a quiz (say 50% or better), your chances of passing its final are excellent. Each quiz is designed to test your understanding of the course material. Immediately after you have taken a quiz, we make available to you a document we call Quiz Explanations. It gives you detailed answers to each quiz question supported by citations from the book. While each quiz is designed to help you prepare for its corresponding final, the final is designed for measuring your comprehension of its course material. DRE regulations prohibit us from giving you the answers to any final. Each quiz question is based on the same section in its book as is its corresponding question on the final (Original or Retake).

6 So, for example, if question #5 for the Risk Management quiz is based on the information contained in of the book, then question #5 for that course s final exam is also based on that same section this is true for all questions. Our Study List Although the DRE forbids us from giving you the answers to any final exam, we can tell you which questions you got wrong and where in the book you can find the information needed to answer each question correctly. If, after passing a final exam, you are curious as to which questions you missed, then click the Blue Check Mark () to display such as list. When you fail a final exam, click the link reading Study List beneath the Red Check Mark () to see a list of the question you got wrong. For example, suppose you failed the Fair Housing exam on your first attempt. The row for the Fair Housing course might look something like this on your Course Work Page: Recommendations for Taking Our Final Exams 01/25/2019 at 10:37:12 AM Page 3 of 5 You could then click the link reading Study List to receive a list that might look something like this The Study List shows the number of each question you missed and the section in the book where the information needed to answer that question can be found.

7 You should re-reading most if not all of the sections referenced on the Study List. Test Taking Strategy The following test- Taking strategy is recommended. Its objective is to allow you to pass our courses in the least amount of time and at a minimal cost in effort. For each course, do the following: Step 1/4: Study the Course Material. Read its book. Step 2/4: Take the Course s Quiz Take its quiz. Although we grade your quiz, there is no passing score. As already mentioned, each quiz is more difficult than its corresponding final. When Taking a quiz, after you press , a link with an orange background will appear at the top of the quiz s window . Click this link to display the course s Quiz Explanations. (If you should need these explanations after you have taken the quiz, just click the icon and then immediately click the button (in other words, don t bother Taking the quiz).)

8 The Quiz Explanations document provides detailed answers for each quiz question. We recommend you study the explanations for any quiz question you missed or guessed. If any explanation isn t clear to you, we recommend that you re-read the section in the book referenced in the explanation (see below screen shot). For example, if you are unsure of the answer to quiz question #33 (see below screen shot), re-read in the book (remember, question #33 on the final will be based on the information in this section). Recommendations for Taking Our Final Exams 01/25/2019 at 10:37:12 AM Page 4 of 5 Step 3/4: Attempt to Pass the Original Exam You may take your exams open book. If you chose to do so, beware the final exams are timed; therefor, time spent searching the book is lost for answering questions on the final exam. Also, if you are switching between the book and the exam, it is easy to accidently close or backspace the window containing the final in which case our testing program will automatically fail you on the exam.

9 Take your exam quickly. As you answer the questions, note down the number of any question you guessed call this your Unsure List. Then, after you have answered all the questions, turn your attention to each question on your Unsure List. Keep in mind that should you run out of time, our testing program will grade your exam using whatever answers you have provided or, if you chose to to complete your exam before your time expires, then click . Step 4/4: Attempt to Pass the Retake Exam If you failed the Original Exam, you may immediately make another attempt to pass the course by passing its Retake Exam. The Retake Exams tests the same topics, in the same order, but with different questions. Before considering whether to immediately attempt to pass the Retake Exam, you should ask yourself, How much more time should I spend studying before attempting to pass the Retake exam?

10 Consider answering this question based on two factors: (1) Your Score: The lower your score, the more time you should spend studying before attempting the Retake Exam. (2) Length of the Study Period: Assess the consequences should you fail the Retake Exam. If the Retake Exam is for a three-hour course, failure will set you back just three hours; but if the Retake Exam is for the Consumer Protection Reader Part 1, a 12-hour course, or the Consumer Protection Reader, Part 2, a 15-hour course, then failure will set you back two full days (48 hours). If a two-day delay would jeopardize your chances of completing your CE in time, then you should study long and hard before attempting to pass the course s Retake Exam. Consider two situations: Recommendations for Taking Our Final Exams 01/25/2019 at 10:37:12 AM Page 5 of 5 (1) Situation: You have just failed the Original Exam for the Fair Housing course with a score of 50% and your license expires in ten weeks.