Final RETA Breeze_V2_MarchApril _2025

experience. CIRO requires at least two years of machine room experience. CRST requires service technicians to document four years of experience. The minimum passing total score for each test is 70%. Some candidates request additional reviews that include information about their earlier attempts. Examples for CARO and CIRO appear below for two candidates who scored in the upper 60s. This candidate invested just 18 minutes to take the CARO Practice Test. The next day the candidate’s scores on the full CARO exam were below 70 in six of ten content areas, including 44 in Fundamentals and 50 in Safety. The candidate also used just 104 of 180 minutes allowed for CARO. There is no bonus for finishing early. RETA does not expect candidates to memorize details in a Safety Data Sheet (SDS). They may look up safety details in the SDS. Just as on the job, they must decide when to use the SDS, tables, formulas or other information in the references. RETA Practice Tests are designed to help candidates learn when and how to use these references effectively before they take their full exam. That works best if they take the practice test without a book and under the same conditions as the full exam. This CIRO candidate’s scores show limited mastery of Electricity, Heat Flow, and use of operating screens to correct possible hazards or inefficiencies in a system. This candidate scored below 70 in 11 of 16 content area scores on two full CIRO exams, including falling from 73 to 63 in Monitoring System Performance. Knowing when and how to use the CIRO References is as important as understanding how to use other tools properly to replace or adjust a valve safely. The CIRO Supplemental Answer Key on the RETA website also might help this candidate understand how to use operating system screens in CIRO References more effectively. Candidates must determine what information from a system screen is relevant to the question, then use tables and formulas in CIRO References to identify and

resolve hazards or threats to system efficiency. All questions on RETA certification exams include one BEST answer and three incorrect answers based on the judgement of CertComm, whose members average over 18 years of industrial refrigeration experience. Incorrect answers in these exams seem plausible (or correct) to candidates who do not fully understand a question, do not read the question and all the answers carefully, or make common errors in using information about refrigeration system operations in system screens and references. RETA credentialing exams are designed to protect the health and safety of operators, technicians, and every other person in or near an industrial refrigeration facility. RETA has invested millions of dollars and thousands of hours from volunteers to create resources to help candidates train and qualify for credentials to improve safety and efficiency in industrial refrigeration facilities. RETA has designed books, study guides and practice tests to help candidates earn RETA credentials that help them succeed throughout their careers. That is an essential part of RETA’s commitment to help refrigeration operators and technicians meet RETA’s mission to improve safety and efficiency throughout the industry.

Proper preparation is essential before each test. Candidates pay for one practice test each time they register for CARO, CIRO or CRST. Instructions for use of the references for each test appear in the study guide for each exam and in the first few pages of the References for both practice and full exams. Candidates who learn how to use these references effectively in the practice test are able to focus on demonstrating their mastery of skills related to operating a system safely and efficiently. No candidate ever fails a RETA exam by missing only one question. It takes at least 31 wrong answers to fail CARO, 38 wrong answers to fail CIRO, and 46 wrong answers to fail CRST. Effective use of the Practice Test can help each candidate learn to use their References effectively BEFORE taking the full exam.

Dr. Ron Rodgers RETA Accreditation Manager and Psychometrician

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