Waiting for the test results is “nerve-racking”! I’ve seen that API examinees do a poor job of estimating their final score. I’ve seen inspe...
Waiting for the test results is “nerve-racking”! I’ve seen that API examinees do a poor job of estimating their final score. I’ve seen inspectors unnecessarily worries and lose sleep only to find out that they score 92%. How about a reliable method for estimating your exam scores? This will lessen the fretting as you wait 8 weeks for your API results. The following is a proven method for estimating your score. Give it a try.
Estimate your score and be relaxed upto result.
How to estimate? Follow below given steps
1. If you don’t know the answer to an exam question, you will place a specific mark in the left-hand margin of the test booklet. (Yes, you can mark the test booklets.)
The marking system is based on how many wrong answers you were able to eliminate for a specific question. Mark the exam questions as follows:
a. No mark required – You knew that answer (Hopefully you’ll have lots of these!)
b. “2” – Guessed between 2 answers. You were able to eliminate 2 wrong answers.
c. “3” – Guessed between 3 answers. You were able to eliminate 1 wrong answer.
d. “4” – Didn’t have a clue! You were not able to eliminate any answers.
2. At the conclusion of each test booklet, count the exact number of “2’s”, “3’s”, and “4’s”. Record these numbers in a Code book or some paper that you will take out of the exam.
3. Complete the following table.
a. In the Total Number column, input the total # number of questions you marked for each row. For example if you had six questions where you didn’t have a clue which answer was correct (1 out of 4 guess), input 6 for the Total Number in the 1 out of 4 row.
b. For each row, determine the Number Correct by multiplying your Total Number by the Probability.
c. Add the 4 numbers in the Number Correct column to determine the Total Number Correct.
d. Calculate your final score (in %). Final score = Total Number Correct / 1.5
Total Number Probability Number Correct
Knew Answer 1.0
2 (1 out of 2) 0.5
3 (1 out of 3) 0.33
4 (1 out of 4) 0.25
Total 150
Final Score (%) = _________ / 1.5 = ________
Estimating your test score – An Example
Here’s an illustration of how to use this estimating method. Suppose during the API exam you marked test questions as follows:
a. 2’s (1 out of 2) – 32 questions
b. 3’s (1 out of 3) – 12 questions
c. 4’s (1 out of 4) – 6 questions
d. Knows (knew the answer) – 100 questions. Determine this by subtracting Total Unknown from 150 (the total number of test questions).
Total Number Probability Number Correct
Knew Answer 100 1.0 100**
2 (1 out of 2) 32 0.5 16
3 (1 out of 3) 12 0.33 4
4 (1 out of 4) 6 0.25 1.5
Total 150 ----- 121.5
** You may want to reduce this number by 3-8 points. This will account for some “Red-Faced” mistakes.
Final Score (%) = 121.5 / 1.5 = 81%
An 81% - this is a good score! And there certainly is no need to worry about the test results for the next 8 weeks!
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