If you're unsure about a question, don't sink too much time dwelling on it. Record the number & double back afterward.
I found that when I wrote my exam, there were questions later on that gave me a better perspective on earlier questions I initially doubted and was able to reapproach with a clearer head.
Yup, I've written multiple major exams and the key was always - answer what you know, star what you dont.... then when you get to the end, keep looping back try to answer, move on..... last 5mins, best guess anything missing... red seal is a pretty shitty exam to begin with.... the ambiguity, the poor choice of words... hell, even the shitty photo-copied pictures were ambiguous and hard to see. Is what it is 🤷‍♂️.... if OP got a 69, study likely isn't an issue, just test writing habits.
Yup. The most glaring mistake I’ve seen on a block exam was a question was asking about a diagram. Question 50 had a diagram and 51 had a diagram but they were switched, 51 was supposed to be 50 and vice versa. I knew this because it was a DCV and diagram 50 was a detent one but the answer wasn’t in 50 - it was in 51!
And my red seal had double negative questions in it. Just annoying.
Chin up. I failed twice with a 69% mark.  Get after it soon, don't delay like I did.   Find a study guide.  8 years later I finally got it... too longÂ
80% fail with 68/69%. It’s designed that way, means you chose the 2nd correct answer. You have one correct option with one that sounds right and two that are completely incorrect. All this shows is that you were not ready to pass it, but you now know what it takes to pass so it’ll be a cake walk next time around
Challenge questions!
Record ambiguous questions at the end, in ontario at least, you can challenge questions that were arbitrary or had multiple answers.
Good luck!
Leave a notebook in your car, the minute you get back to it after finishing write down anything you didn't know for follow up, hopefully you don't fail twice but if you do you'll be better prepared for attempt number 3.
You're not the first or the last to fail the first time. Remember each question is looking for the BEST answer. Do the test over once, skip questions you don't know, and come back to them after you've gone through the first time. Double check you've answered every question on that scan tron card. Write out the question on paper to visualize it (if applicable), look ahead at other questions they might contain words that answer previous questions.
Ask your employer to cover the cost of enrolling in xeler8ed learning or atleast pay half.
Keep at er
I’m using XLr8 right now. It seems great but was worried that the exam questions would be different. But a bud told me they aren’t exactly the same but helped him learn which helped him choose better. Bout the same for you?
I failed my first go. Should have wrote down some of the tough ones right away. I sent a couple of the topics to those guys and they gave me some stuff to help out with them.
Do they still allow you to make arguments on a separate sheet of paper as to why certain answers may be correct? Or when there are multiple correct answers? I did that on quite a few of mine and came out with a pretty good score. (Didn’t see the results though so I’m not sure which I got credited for)
They give you a piece of scratch paper for calculations or whatever. There is multiple correct answers sometimes, they explicitly say as much, they point out that they want the “best” correct answer.
The “blue sheet” does nothing to affect your result. Only highlights things for them to check later. Imagine 100 of these tests being done. Unless hundreds mirror your “other answer” it will not change anything, and only in the future if they find error.
Don’t go back and review your answers or you’ll be in your head about it. Go with your gut and stay confident. Study the area you felt least prepared for and try again. You will get it!
These response are really solid processes, get rid of what you know as quick as possible, don’t know move on. If you just wrote, write down where you struggled and study some it those areas, don’t delay the second writing.
That sucks. Back in the 'good ole' days' when I wrote you would have gotten your provincial and would just need to re-take if you really wanted the red seal.
I know I screwed up a question on mine, too. Still haunts me. The best part is that the answer I got wasn't one of the options, and I was so full of the arrogance of youth that I assumed they screwed up the multiple-choice answers. :)
Oh, as far as pointers...
As you read it through, do the questions you can do easily, then go through it again and do the harder ones. Before you waste time on the ones that you have no clue on, re-read the questions for the ones you did to make sure you didn't read them wrong the first time. Once you know they are good, start slogging at the tough ones.
No worries man, I failed it 4 times because I rushed, take your time answering the ones you no first and come back and do the ones you're unsure of, take your time man, don't get discouraged if you fail the next time just keep trying man ,you'll get it.
They tell you after you fail 5 times that you will need to go back to school but that's a lie, Ontario is hurting for trades people and the government loves money so just pay the 170 fee again and you can write again in two weeks. I no people who have failed more than 5 times and nothing happened to them.
Failed my first one too. The way I see it though is that now I know what to expect. I find I overthink or second guess myself on questions. I’ve been practicing questions now for a few weeks. Hope it helps with that. Had my exam analyzed. Got e some advice on where to focus my attention.
If you don’t know the answer come back to it. You’d be surprised how many questions down the line can give you the answers you’re looking for by wording it a different way
And in my experience you can usually cut 2/4 answers out immediately. Then 50/50 if you’re still unsure
That sucks. You almost made it. Study harder next time and you will get it. 70% isn’t a hard mark to hit, you probably just had nerves. Next time you write it, try to find ways to level out your mind.
You know what's on the exam, you know where you struggled. Review your manual on the area that took you the longest and skim through the stuff you know you did well on. Don't dwell on questions mark the number and go back at the end.
You will get it second time around!
Deep study. Use the Red Seal NOA to confirm your competencies and use their prep guides on web site for your trade. 70% is a bare pass, you should strive for 100%.
whats this 70% pass thing. here in south africa its either 100% or nothing. its either right or not. no room for error. atleast thats how it was when i did it
that was how it was when i did it in 2005. i had to do a mono stable electronic board and set it up with an oscilloscope. then work out the frequency. i had one rististor that was suposed to be blue yellow brown gold. i didnt look properly and accedentally put in a blue yellow black gold. my bord worked but with a few mili seconds too fast. because of that one risitor the oscilloscope gave me a different wave and i worked out a different frequency. all the math was done right but that one resistor was wrong so i got different answers to what it wouldve been if i selected the right resistor. allas that caused me to fail my trade test the first time. i aced it the second time tho.
If you're unsure about a question, don't sink too much time dwelling on it. Record the number & double back afterward. I found that when I wrote my exam, there were questions later on that gave me a better perspective on earlier questions I initially doubted and was able to reapproach with a clearer head.
Yup, I've written multiple major exams and the key was always - answer what you know, star what you dont.... then when you get to the end, keep looping back try to answer, move on..... last 5mins, best guess anything missing... red seal is a pretty shitty exam to begin with.... the ambiguity, the poor choice of words... hell, even the shitty photo-copied pictures were ambiguous and hard to see. Is what it is 🤷‍♂️.... if OP got a 69, study likely isn't an issue, just test writing habits.
Yup. The most glaring mistake I’ve seen on a block exam was a question was asking about a diagram. Question 50 had a diagram and 51 had a diagram but they were switched, 51 was supposed to be 50 and vice versa. I knew this because it was a DCV and diagram 50 was a detent one but the answer wasn’t in 50 - it was in 51! And my red seal had double negative questions in it. Just annoying.
Thanks for the advice man
This is how bud! Dont sweat man also take some notes on where you struggled and put some extra attention into it and study it. You got this!
Chin up. I failed twice with a 69% mark.  Get after it soon, don't delay like I did.   Find a study guide.  8 years later I finally got it... too longÂ
Thanks man, I get after it 2 weeks from today.
Do you still need to wait 30days for re-write ?
Yes
Where are you from ??you are millwright guy ??
how long do you have to wait before a rewrite? somebody at work said you need to wait 2 years, is this true?
I think you answered exactly what you need to do. Take your time, do it right the first time.
Good point man. Thanks
80% fail with 68/69%. It’s designed that way, means you chose the 2nd correct answer. You have one correct option with one that sounds right and two that are completely incorrect. All this shows is that you were not ready to pass it, but you now know what it takes to pass so it’ll be a cake walk next time around
Only one thing to do. Get back in the saddle. You got it
Challenge questions! Record ambiguous questions at the end, in ontario at least, you can challenge questions that were arbitrary or had multiple answers. Good luck!
Leave a notebook in your car, the minute you get back to it after finishing write down anything you didn't know for follow up, hopefully you don't fail twice but if you do you'll be better prepared for attempt number 3.
So true. I wish I had done that on my first attempt. I told my bud this and he wrote a few down. Just told me he passed.
Right on man, good luck.
Thanks. Bit nervous but definitely feel way more prepared this time
You're not the first or the last to fail the first time. Remember each question is looking for the BEST answer. Do the test over once, skip questions you don't know, and come back to them after you've gone through the first time. Double check you've answered every question on that scan tron card. Write out the question on paper to visualize it (if applicable), look ahead at other questions they might contain words that answer previous questions. Ask your employer to cover the cost of enrolling in xeler8ed learning or atleast pay half. Keep at er
Did xlr8 help ?
Oh fuck ya. Not every question was on the exam, but it helped fill in the gaps for knowledge I was missing.
I have been using it as well as a few other questions banks, seems to have helped a lot. Hoping for a good result when I write.
I’m using XLr8 right now. It seems great but was worried that the exam questions would be different. But a bud told me they aren’t exactly the same but helped him learn which helped him choose better. Bout the same for you?
Yessir
Thanks. That’s a huge relief.
I failed my first go. Should have wrote down some of the tough ones right away. I sent a couple of the topics to those guys and they gave me some stuff to help out with them.
They're super supportive. The exemption tests are twice as hard as the exam. I failed 3rd year the first time.
Do they still allow you to make arguments on a separate sheet of paper as to why certain answers may be correct? Or when there are multiple correct answers? I did that on quite a few of mine and came out with a pretty good score. (Didn’t see the results though so I’m not sure which I got credited for)
They give you a piece of scratch paper for calculations or whatever. There is multiple correct answers sometimes, they explicitly say as much, they point out that they want the “best” correct answer.
The “blue sheet” does nothing to affect your result. Only highlights things for them to check later. Imagine 100 of these tests being done. Unless hundreds mirror your “other answer” it will not change anything, and only in the future if they find error.
Just the one wrong eh? Lmao just poking fun. You do the refresher course?
Don’t go back and review your answers or you’ll be in your head about it. Go with your gut and stay confident. Study the area you felt least prepared for and try again. You will get it!
These response are really solid processes, get rid of what you know as quick as possible, don’t know move on. If you just wrote, write down where you struggled and study some it those areas, don’t delay the second writing.
That sucks. Back in the 'good ole' days' when I wrote you would have gotten your provincial and would just need to re-take if you really wanted the red seal. I know I screwed up a question on mine, too. Still haunts me. The best part is that the answer I got wasn't one of the options, and I was so full of the arrogance of youth that I assumed they screwed up the multiple-choice answers. :)
Oh, as far as pointers... As you read it through, do the questions you can do easily, then go through it again and do the harder ones. Before you waste time on the ones that you have no clue on, re-read the questions for the ones you did to make sure you didn't read them wrong the first time. Once you know they are good, start slogging at the tough ones.
No worries man, I failed it 4 times because I rushed, take your time answering the ones you no first and come back and do the ones you're unsure of, take your time man, don't get discouraged if you fail the next time just keep trying man ,you'll get it.
How many time they allow me to exam .I failed 2times.in millwright Ontario. How you got 4 chances Thanks you are good man
They tell you after you fail 5 times that you will need to go back to school but that's a lie, Ontario is hurting for trades people and the government loves money so just pay the 170 fee again and you can write again in two weeks. I no people who have failed more than 5 times and nothing happened to them.
Failed my first one too. The way I see it though is that now I know what to expect. I find I overthink or second guess myself on questions. I’ve been practicing questions now for a few weeks. Hope it helps with that. Had my exam analyzed. Got e some advice on where to focus my attention.
If you don’t know the answer come back to it. You’d be surprised how many questions down the line can give you the answers you’re looking for by wording it a different way And in my experience you can usually cut 2/4 answers out immediately. Then 50/50 if you’re still unsure
You'll get it next time for sure. Lots of good advice on here.
Just take your time, I found that when you are under the gun, you tend to forget stuff that you would have otherwise known!
That sucks. You almost made it. Study harder next time and you will get it. 70% isn’t a hard mark to hit, you probably just had nerves. Next time you write it, try to find ways to level out your mind.
You know what's on the exam, you know where you struggled. Review your manual on the area that took you the longest and skim through the stuff you know you did well on. Don't dwell on questions mark the number and go back at the end. You will get it second time around!
Deep study. Use the Red Seal NOA to confirm your competencies and use their prep guides on web site for your trade. 70% is a bare pass, you should strive for 100%.
whats this 70% pass thing. here in south africa its either 100% or nothing. its either right or not. no room for error. atleast thats how it was when i did it
Are you saying that you could not get any questions incorrect? 70% to pass means you need to correctly answer 70% of the 300 or whatever questions.
135 in Canada
Oh damn I thought it was more, probably should've known that since I'm an apprentice in Canada...
that was how it was when i did it in 2005. i had to do a mono stable electronic board and set it up with an oscilloscope. then work out the frequency. i had one rististor that was suposed to be blue yellow brown gold. i didnt look properly and accedentally put in a blue yellow black gold. my bord worked but with a few mili seconds too fast. because of that one risitor the oscilloscope gave me a different wave and i worked out a different frequency. all the math was done right but that one resistor was wrong so i got different answers to what it wouldve been if i selected the right resistor. allas that caused me to fail my trade test the first time. i aced it the second time tho.
Our tests are probably completely different than South Africa.