And now the waiting begins

I have just completed the NREMT computer examination for my EMT certification.  The test cut me off at 73 questions...so as my instructor told me, "Well, either you did really really well...or really really poorly.

For those unfamiliar with the NREMT, it is an adaptive test.  It works something like this:


  • The first question you are given is of moderate difficulty--let's say difficulty level 3 out of 5.
  • If you get question 1 right, you are then given a question of difficulty level 4.
  • If you get question 1 wrong, however, the next question is difficulty level 2.
  • The test continues, going up or down in difficulty, until it is able to determine with 95% accuracy the average question difficulty you would get correct.
  • If your skill level is level 3 or above, you pass.  If not, back to the books.
Because of the way the test works, it has a range of 70 to 120 questions it could ask you.  If the test only goes to 70, it means that you did well enough (or poorly enough) that it determined your skill level pretty early.  So if you got every question correct, the test would cut off at 70--but if you got everyone wrong, it would cut off at 70 as well.  And because the questions get harder the more you get right, most people leave feeling like they failed the test (since they were hit with questions thay may have never seen before, or terms they were completely unfamiliar with).

Since I was cut off at 73 it means that at the very least my answers were consistent.  Consistently right, hopefully--if not, I guess there's a lot more studying to do!

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