I too got a letter for the PCP investigation with the following content: “Candidate kept writing in the exam after the time was called (Approx 5-10 seconds). I was standing in front of him. I told him to stop and he kept writing” I was finishing the last word of the sentence when the proctor came and I was too focused to submit the paper. The only thing that works in my favor is that the proctor at least specifically mentioned that i kept writing for only additional 5-10 seconds. Pls advise on what I should do? Is this a very serious offense and would affect my results or partcipation in the program? Thanks for your help…
Pens down means pens down… I’m not sure how strict they are given it was 5-10 seconds, but they are very clear that you are not to write at all after time is called. Seems like a black and white violation to me. Now it is up to how strict they decide to be.
Seems pretty black and white to me too. You should write the response above, but expect that your exam result will be voided.
I agree it was a mistake - but do you think for a 5 seconds of additional time they will void my results. I mean would they have no consideration for all the effort that goes into preparing for this exam. I would be completely demoralized if I get penalized to the extent that my exam results will be voided for an offense of this magnitude. PenaliIng by reducing one’s score is still acceptable but not evaluatiing the results altogether in my opinion would not be fair… Joey, have you seen a case similar to this before where the results were voided for such a violation?
Pants down, means Pants down… wait…
10 seconds is actually a pretty long time, if you stop and count it out. That’s a lot more than filling in a bubble. why even chance it?
wow, that strict? I have no idea on the process of this, but taking an unbiased view of this, I would say that it is in your favor for the following reasons: -They stated the time 5-10 seconds, But they did not say what specific question etc… I assume you were filling out your name/candidate number on the front of the exam because you forgot to do so in the beginning and you were not actually finishing a question???
warren1281 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I agree it was a mistake - but do you think for a > 5 seconds of additional time they will void my > results. I mean would they have no consideration > for all the effort that goes into preparing for > this exam. I would be completely demoralized if I > get penalized to the extent that my exam results > will be voided for an offense of this magnitude. > PenaliIng by reducing one’s score is still > acceptable but not evaluatiing the results > altogether in my opinion would not be fair… > > Joey, have you seen a case similar to this before > where the results were voided for such a > violation? Yes. Sorry.
I think your best bet is to say that it was an honest mistake with no intention to abuse the system, and that you were so absorbed in finishing the sentence that you did not realize that time was called until you had completed the thought and looked up to see a proctor in front of you. Still might not work, but its probably your best shot.
If you had your choice of a penalty, would you rather a) have your exam results invalidated or b) have your results counted, but have something large painfully inserted in a certain nether region for every second that you went over in time.
^If I was fully confident I was going to pass I’d bend right over and take B. That would fall under “rules (exit only) were meant to be broken.”
This is harsh: different test centre / different proctor, you get away with it. I agree that rules are rules, but it is a fact that literally hundreds of candidates will have gotten away with the same offence.
Five seconds? This is interesting! I Googled briefly and found what is obviously called “mental chronometry” which concerns response time in perceptual-motor tasks. A simple reaction time task would require perception and motor stages, but a discrimination reaction will also require a perceptual discrimination stage. A choice reaction time task will add a response selection stage. Choice tasks take the longest amount of time. If you were occupied with a cognitive step before making a decision, as you obviously were while writing, it would add to the reaction time it takes to drop your pencil on to your desk. It takes only 100 ms to withdraw your hand from a hot stove or 200 ms to stamp on the brakes, but 500 ms to read the number on a lottery ball. The reason is that it involves different parts of the nervous system. The reading out loud of the number of an upside down lottery ball, for instance, requires a much longer time since the circuits of the brain is not prepared in advance. Reaction times span a spectrum of response types. Withdrawal reflexes are the quickest, but complex sensations (such as the proctor calling to you to drop your pen) requires your to switch off the ongoing problem solving procedure, evaluate what the proctor just said, then assign the correct motor response (dropping the pen) which prolongs the response time by a factor of ten or more. If you were stressed, as you might have been when the time was nearly up, it would make it worse. You can determine your reaction time with the ruler drop test. Rating: <8 cm, excellent; 8-12 cm, good; 13-20 cm, fair; >20 cm, poor. Try this: http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/index.php The average (median) reaction time is 215 milliseconds according to the database, and when looking on the screen I got 174 ms. That’s good. However, when concentrating hard on reading something on my desk, and only seeing the screen in the periphery in the corner of my eye, I actually peaked at 1702 ms.
In my test center, a guy, actually one of my colleagues at work, continue wiriting till they come to collect the papers. I don’t think he got anything for that. I felt quite angry about it, but did not mention anything to him after the exam. I still feel kind of weird about it.
I have learned to be carefull with the CFAI. I was called as a witness fo one of the “Time Violator” too. So I can’t ganble, if they say time it up, time it up.Just leave with that for only one year and then you will be a leaving testimony for others. What do you think? I know you may feel that I am harsh on you. But that is the way I feel because some ppl think they can get away with things and then brag about it.
During my Level II exam last year I was caught off guard not watching the clock and I had two questions left blank. I was so tempted to just fill in the bubble and take a guess, but I knew that if I was caught that would be an automatic fail. When you go into these exams you need to follow the rules. I ended up passing Level II and to this day I am so happy that temptation did not get the better of me. I hope that you do not get an automatic fail, but you must accept the consequences if so and move on. Good Luck.
as i’ve said in a different thread this year one of the proctors was screaming at me to stop writing even though my exam book was closed and my pens were down. i haven’t seen a PCP investigation (knock on wood), but it does make me wonder if this much latitude should be given to people who lets just say aren’t the brightest lights in the tunnel. i’m assuming i’m in the clear since i haven’t seen anything right?
warren1281, Can you please write when did you get your letter and what was the date on it? Thx.
Do tests thrown out due to a PCP investigation count in the calculation of the pass rate?
LargeMouthBass Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > During my Level II exam last year I was caught off > guard not watching the clock and I had two > questions left blank. I was so tempted to just > fill in the bubble and take a guess, but I knew > that if I was caught that would be an automatic > fail. When you go into these exams you need to > follow the rules. I ended up passing Level II and > to this day I am so happy that temptation did not > get the better of me. I hope that you do not get > an automatic fail, but you must accept the > consequences if so and move on. Good Luck. I was in the same situation on the morning session this past June. I didn’t chance it either. Hopefully those two wrong answers won’t be the difference between passing and failing.