RETA Breeze Sep-Oct 2022

RETA TESTING CORNER NO. 32

PASSING THE EXAM

Dr. Ron Rodgers, RETA’s Psychometrician (testing expert) and ANSI Accreditation Manager

RETA made a major policy change in 2021 by including one attempt for a CARO, CIRO or CRST practice test in the app- lication fee for each exam. This change appears to have helped improve candidate performance in CARO and CIRO, its two largest programs. Many candidates also take practice tests multiple times. Additional practice test attempts can be purchased for $59 per attempt. RETA practice tests are about half as long as the full test. They include questions just like those that appear on the full exams, but all practice test questions have been taken out of the active pool of questions that can appear in the full exam. RETA’s Certification Committee (CertComm) has validated every practice test question in exactly the same way that is used for questions on each full exam. Practice tests also have a 90-min ute time limit compared to three hours for each full exam to help candidates take

these exams at the same pace. CARO pass rates improved from 56% in 2020 before the change to 69% in the first three quarters of 2022. Pass rates also improved in nine of 10 content areas by from three to 16 points. These results are shown in the accompanying chart. Another resource that can help candi dates prepare is the CARO Study Guide, which can be downloaded free from the Certification section of the RETA website. Study guides for all RETA exams show candidates how to navigate references that appear next to questions on each test and include copies of all the reference documents. CARO candidates in 2022 who took the CARO Practice Test achieved a pass rate of 76%. Those who did not take the CARO Practice Test had a pass rate of 71%. CIRO results showed much less improve ment because many CIRO candidates

have limited mastery much of what CIRO requires to identify and correct problems that can occur in refrigeration systems. Questions that require interpretation of temperatures and pressures at various locations in refrigeration systems are distributed throughout the examination. The CIRO Study Guide includes these operating screens and other resources candidates must use during the test. Pass rates remained below 50% in five content areas even after the policy change. • Electricity • Monitoring System Performance • Valves, Controls and DX Systems • Liquid Overfeed and Flooded Systems • Two-Stage and Secondary Coolant Systems CIRO pass rates improved from 40% in

26 RETA.com