Second attempt at Section 4 - likely to fail

[Kathryn Strachan]

I recently failed section 4... again.

In my first attempt I took the exam remotely and ran out of time, so I expected to fail.

I took it again at a testing centre, and felt a lot more confident, I didnt run of time, but there was no time left for review.

I have studied using SGLA, ASLA Section 4 webinar, Aymers book, Landscape Graphics, Site Engineering, Lare prep, and basically all online practise exams I can find.

Can anyone shed some light on how they passed after multiple attempts?

Section 4 is my last one and I am ready to get this over with :/

[Lindsey Rullman]

I am in the exact same boat as you! Took my second round last week at an actual testing center and felt like I did a lot better so hopefully my scores reflect that too. I think my issue is that maybe I'm doing unnecessary calculations for questions when the answer is hiding in plain sight. I get into auotpilot mode with my calculator but I have a feeling some of the heavy prompt graphic questions are actually very simple and should take no more than 2 min max. My next approach will be to find more practice exams and look at the prompt and graphic as a whole for a few seconds before I begin typing away in my calculator. I have studied all of the same materials as you but also included the Site Engineering for LAs workbook that I found pretty helpful. 

Question: did you attend the actual SGLA webinar or just purchased the study guides? I'm wondering if I should add on the webinar next time

[Kimberly Klavoon]

I just took section 4 myself and passed. Used many of the same materials you both have used, relying heavily on the LAREprep study guides and practice exams. I also attended the webinar that CLARB hosted specifically for this section which I felt was another great resource that helped you to think about the questions and break down the answers and why they might be right or wrong.  Even if they don't offer that webinar LIVE again, you may still be able to access it (pay for it) as an on demand video??  

I think my biggest takeaway is what you've already pointed out: don't go straight to your calculator! Analyze the problem first without looking at answers. Make sure you understand what is being asked, and don't add any extra information even if it is true/relevant in the real world! When you analyze the answer options, see if there are any you can quickly throw out because an obvious piece is wrong (slope doesn't meet min. or max. requirements, not enough cover for a pipe, slope draining in the wrong direction, etc.). I was almost always able to eliminate 2 answer choices this way.  In my experience, it was rare that the solution required complicated math problems and rather was testing that you understood the basic concepts i.e. if they are stating the sidewalk is not a ramp, is your slope less than 5%? 

Definitely take advantage of flagging the questions and coming back. If you get stuck, flag it and move on rather than getting bogged down and spending 7-10 minutes on a single question. I think based on 3 hrs for 80 questions the math works out to about 2.5 minutes per question but as you know you have multiple choice/multiple response questions that won't take that long so you can spend more time on the others. I finished my first pass with about 50 min left and I had flagged at least 6 questions to come back to. With that last 50 min I went back and reviewed those, trying hard to take my time and not get anxious about the clock. With my final 12-15 minutes I did one last quick pass, mostly to make sure I had picked the right amount of choices for any that said pick 2 or 3, etc. and that all the drag and drop questions had all the boxes filled in. Clicked submit with less than 3 min left on my clock...

I will caveat that I have 10+ years of working in both a small LA only firm that did a range of projects as well as almost 2 years in a larger multi-discipline architecture and engineering firm so I do have a good grasp of grading and drainage techniques but as we all know CLARB world is NOT the real world so as with all the sections, HSW comes first and it is important to go slow and understand what they are asking.