Validity of the whole process.?ÿ Where this test, the Fundamentals of Survey, establish a baseline of knowledge that is a rudimentary benchmark for a basis of not mastery, but of high competency, I offer this gem from one of the practice tests I came across for my quest.
Sad to think the egghead test builders think this is relevant to practice of survey(i know, we count trees, but deciduous/coniferous, unless you're mapping some special federal wetlands and or?ÿ blah blah blah where you hire a specialist tree hugger for that anyway...) but sends the message that A) the test prep personnel are using really old material, B) the nonrelevance of this lowers the value of the overall test, and C) Why can't Surveyors be the builders of these tests so We're getting the best perspective and valuable knowledge that is rooted in the field and practice rather than some PhD Psychologists and sociologists having fun seeing how people do on their social experiments that effect affect and even erode the value that Survey brings to the world.
Rant over.?ÿ Enjoy the doozy question.?ÿ I was a biologist in a former life, so not worried about it, just dont want to see it on my FS exam and definitely not my test prep stuff either......
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Oh, even here in Belgium Forestry was part of the Land survey education 35 yrs ago, not sure how that is today.
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If I have to learn about the PLSS you Westerners absolutely need to learn about compound leaves, leaflets, opposite vs alternate, etc..?ÿ I took a forensic dendrology class so that I could at least verify if a rotten tree was coniferous or not (it provided a great excuse to get a sweet microscope for mushroom ID too).?ÿ Almost every early 1900s deed in NC references specific trees as being the boundary corner.?ÿ An Eastern PLS should be able to quickly look at a tree and tell that it has opposite branches. Then you look closer and see it has a compound leaf, so you rule out the simple leafed maple.?ÿ Count the leaflets and you might figure out it's a particular variety of ash.?ÿ
Start with the assumption that the individuals who designed the exam represent many areas you've never surveyed and their combined knowledge is much greater than yours. Humility tends to temper frustration.
Very few potential surveyors can answer every question correctly.?ÿ That is why you can pass with a much lower percentage of correct answers.?ÿ Get used to it.
National tests must take into account actions and understanding of many things that are more regional in nature.?ÿ One may have heard a local term for a certain practice but must understand there are other terms for that same practice because one of those other terms may appear as part of a test question.?ÿ Not everywhere is PLSS territory.?ÿ Not everywhere is Colonial territory.?ÿ Then there is the bastard stepchild, Texas.?ÿ Yet, passing the test alerts the world you are competent.
Sad.
you know who isn't required to know the color of a yellow bellied sap suckers tail feathers?
Every single board certified physician whom when taking their boards is really required and expected to know the world's compendium of the medical field and especially their own field specifically.
Allowing us to be used for test 'testing' and just trying to misdirect or confuse us with things(yes, dendrology is tied to the forest service and they have surveyors etc..) is a degradation to the profession IMHO.?ÿ?ÿ
I don't expect to get 100 percent, but this test is to show minimum competency at a 70 percent pass grade, not the world's complete knowledge base of the field.
And yeah, I'm going into it with a chip on my shoulder because I want to get 71 percent just in case.
@murphy?ÿ
all that matters was coniferous versus deciduous.?ÿ
humility has no place in taking an adversarial written test.
humility and grace when dealing with people and other professionals is another story.
Trees with opposite leaves: MAD Bucking Horse
Maple, Ash, Dogwood, Buckeye, Horse Chestnut.?ÿ
From the NCEES website: "NCEES is composed of 69?ÿmember licensing boards from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "
..."NCEES standing committees meet throughout the year to address NCEES business and licensure issues. The president appoints members to the committees each year. "
It follows that the exam questions are put together by a committee made up of licensing board members. Most of whom are practicing professionals. Very few of them having PhD degrees.
Quitcherbitchin' and focus on learning the material.
There was probably BS on the tests I took, I don't remember.
It's not a test for "technician."
It's part of what you have to do to get licensed.
When I got my license I was going to be the world's greatest Land Surveyor then I got a dose of humility pretty early, okay maybe not. I messed something up, I received a phone call from another Land Surveyor, he very politely tuned me up.?ÿ I'm really grateful for that Land Surveyor taking the time to talk to me.?ÿ I don't remember his name, he isn't one of the well known ones active on the board or anything like that.
Also I heard about surveying in Texas, no way any project I encounter would ever rise to that level of difficulty.
I'm just a simple country land surveyor.
I should have a lot more tree knowledge than I do have.
I think we all should understand basic dendrology and botany. ?????ÿ
The Oyster bed boundary questions really threw me when I sat for VA PLS.?ÿ Just take it as a reminder of how much you don't know, pass the test, and remember what you don't know....
What is the size of a txt file with 256 characters? (Still don't know the answer)
The Oyster bed boundary questions really threw me when I sat for VA PLS.
I concentrated on obscure stuff like that when studying for Virginia instead of relearning the useless storm drain and hydrology I drank out of my brain after I passed Maryland (and Delaware, and Pennsylvania)
Dendrology is a part of surveying and there is nothing wrong with it being a test question. You only have to answer a portion of the questions correctly to pass. All test takers have partial knowledge, allowing those with knowledge of dendrology to get credit for it is perfectly acceptable. Each test taker's bundle of knowledge will be different, they just have to have a bundle big enough to pass the test, not to answer every question on the test.
File under survey trivia and move on. You never know when knowledge of some obscure seemingly irrelevant tidbit is what makes the difference between a 69 & 70% score. Like knowing a little about Latin or Greek. Who freaking speaks Latin? But a good many scientific terms and names can be deciphered understanding basic Latin and Greek.?ÿ
I'll be the one who agrees with you, it's a stupid question to have on a test that decides whether you're competent enough to have a survey license.?ÿ There's no need for obscure throw-away questions
