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NCEES limits type of calculators used in exams
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Posted on Nov 30 2004
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying agreed during its 2004 annual meeting to revise the examination policy concerning materials permitted in the examination room so that only models of calculators specified by NCESS are allowed.
The following models are the only calculators that will be permitted in the examination room for the April and October 2005 exam administrations:
* Hewlett Packard – HP 33s
* Hewlett Packard – HP 9s
* Casio – 115 MS and 116 MS Plus
* Texas Instruments – TI 30X IIS and TI 30X IIB
* Texas Instruments – TI36X
The change in the NCEES policy is intended to prohibit calculators that communicate or that may compromise the security of the examination, according to a statement from the council.
Beginning with the April 2004 exam administration, NCEES began strictly enforcing this policy by banning calculators with text-editing and communication abilities. Of great concern is the ability to type in text, store in memory, and then communicate via wireless or cable connections to another calculator, personal computer, printer, or other electronic device.
NCEES is now extending the ban on all calculators not on the above list to reduce confusion among candidates and proctors. Each year, an NCEES subcommittee on calculators will review and revise the approved calculator list.
The council statement did not mention if there have been incidents of cheating among examinees using non-approved calculators.
NCEES develops licensing examinations for the engineering and surveying professions. The examinations are used by engineering and surveying licensing boards across the United States and U.S. territories as part of their candidates assessment process.
NCEES also provides examination scoring and administration services to licensing boards, as well as a variety of other products and services to engineering and surveying professionals.
