There has been a lot of discussion about the testing process for applicators this year. I recently met with the SPCB (Structural Pest Control Board), OPES (Office of Professional Examination Services), and PSI (the organization that conducts the computer-based testing for us) to clear up some of the misconceptions and clarify a few points.

Here are some of the points that were covered:

That there is a target passing rate. There is none. Fairness is the key to the exam and the test taking and writing process. According to OPES, the two primary influences of the passing rate is the barrier to entry to taking the exam and who is paying for the exam. If the exam is easy to sign up for, then the passing rate will be lower because a lot more people can take it, whether they are prepared or not. Secondly, if the person taking the exam is paying for it, then OPES sees the exam passing rate increase. This typically prevents the notion of sending someone to take the exam to “see what is on it” and does not prepare as much for it. I am not saying that the industry should make their employees pay for the exam; OPES and PSI is just making a note on the passing rate, comments made by the people taking the exam, and the level of effort that is put into preparing for the exam.
That questions that are “bad” or “commonly missed” are not addressed. OPES is continuously monitoring the passing rate of each question. If a question is commonly missed or there are comments written about a specific question, OPES takes that question back to the exam writing committee to take another look at it.
That PSI is difficult to work with. They have made extra efforts to work with us. PSI has put the Candidate handbooks on their web page to help people prepare. They have also extended their hours for us to 10:00 p.m. during the week at some locations and all day on Saturday to open up seats for tests. People are turned away because of wearing hoods, having excess pockets, or not bringing your ID. Again, this is due to the fairness of the test and ensuring that nobody can cheat. PSI will also turn away large groups of candidates from a single company that sign up for testing at the same time. This is to ensure that people are not just trying to collect questions to create a cheat sheet.
That OPES does not want to hear from the industry. OPES will be creating a survey at the end of the exam and they read each and every comment, so if you have one, please put it down including comments on specific questions. Also, if you want to participate in the exam writing process, that is a good place to express your interest.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out to PCOC.

Darren Van Steenwyk, M.S., BCE
Structural Pest Control Board, President
LEED Green Associate & Technical Director, Clark Pest Control
darrenv@clarkpest.com

_________________________________________________________________________________