Exam Results Mis-recorded

[Klser]

Hello,

I recently took my Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam under the NCEES company. When I logged into my account the morning the exam results were to be posted, my result was listed as "Passed". I took a screenshot of this page to show my family members and my employer that I had passed this exam after months of rigorously studying for it, as I was very excited to have passed. Note, I had already taken the exam once before and failed it. Anyway, I got to work that morning and logged in again to take care of the next steps and get registered, but the result was now listed as "failed". I was very surprised and I contacted them with my concern and my screenshot of the result being passed, but they seemed to blow me off and just kept saying, "your results are failed". And no matter how many times I explained that I had passed and the result was listed as passed when I first logged in, they kept responding with the same four words and did not seem to be trying to help. I don't want to have to go back on my word to my employer and say that I actually didn't pass. I'm pretty upset and I feel like I have evidence that I passed with that screenshot, is there anything that I can do legally to make them change it back to my passing score? I feel lost, thank you.

 

[Just Blue]

Hello,

I recently took my Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam under the NCEES company. When I logged into my account the morning the exam results were to be posted, my result was listed as "Passed". I took a screenshot of this page to show my family members and my employer that I had passed this exam after months of rigorously studying for it, as I was very excited to have passed. Note, I had already taken the exam once before and failed it. Anyway, I got to work that morning and logged in again to take care of the next steps and get registered, but the result was now listed as "failed". I was very surprised and I contacted them with my concern and my screenshot of the result being passed, but they seemed to blow me off and just kept saying, "your results are failed". And no matter how many times I explained that I had passed and the result was listed as passed when I first logged in, they kept responding with the same four words and did not seem to be trying to help. I don't want to have to go back on my word to my employer and say that I actually didn't pass. I'm pretty upset and I feel like I have evidence that I passed with that screenshot, is there anything that I can do legally to make them change it back to my passing score? I feel lost, thank you.

What U.S. State?

 

[cbg]

You are taking it for granted that the initial result is correct and that the later one is a mistake. What evidence do you have that this is the case and not the other way around?

 

[Klser]

What U.S. State?

Arizona

 

[Klser]

You are taking it for granted that the initial result is correct and that the later one is a mistake. What evidence do you have that this is the case and not the other way around?

I don't have any real evidence of course, since this exam is pretty important and they do not let you see what your result was or how many questions you got correct. The test is also computerized which makes me wonder why I would have gotten a passing grade to begin with if it is all automated. I believe I passed based on how I felt during the exam and how much study time I put into it. It could also be them taking it for granted and just assuming I failed instead of looking into the possibility that there was a glitch or some type of error that then turned my grade into a failing one. I would like for them to address why my screenshot showed passing, but they kept avoiding that question and did not address it.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Yours is not a legal question.

This is not to say that there is no possibility that there is a glitch, but rather that there has been no breach of contract.

P.S. If there is a glitch, you won't be the only one.

 

[Klser]

Yours is not a legal question.

This is not to say that there is no possibility that there is a glitch, but rather that there has been no breach of contract.

P.S. If there is a glitch, you won't be the only one.

Thanks, I just didn't know what to do, I thought there might be some type of legal action I could take in order for them to take it seriously and somehow prove that they were 100% certain that I failed. I thought what with my screenshot maybe I could force them to take a look at the results and explain to me why I hadn't passed when I was so sure I would. I just felt powerless since they're a big company and of course they wouldn't waste their time with someone like me, but I didn't want to just give up and accept their answer blindly. Maybe I can try to see if this has happened to other people and what they've done about it.

 

[cbg]

Let's say for the sake of the explanation that passing is 70.

When your numbers were originally coded, someone made a keying error and put your score in as 75. But an hour later the keying error was caught and your actual score of 57 was entered.

Are you suggesting that because of that keying error, they should be forced to pass you anyway?

 

[quincy]

Did you ask the NCEES if your old "fail" results might be getting confused with your new "pass" results?

 

[Klser]

Let's say for the sake of the explanation that passing is 70.

When your numbers were originally coded, someone made a keying error and put your score in as 75. But an hour later the keying error was caught and your actual score of 57 was entered.

Are you suggesting that because of that keying error, they should be forced to pass you anyway?

Not at all, I am suggesting that they may have made a mistake and that the opposite of what you said happened... that I actually did pass and they will not change my score to passing. The thing is, they will not tell me why my screen showed a passing result in the first place, which makes me think that there really is a possibility of them making a mistake but not wanting to admit it or even double-check for that possibility. I'm just frustrated that even though I emailed back and forth with them like 5 times, they would not give me the slightest explanation as to why it showed passed in the first place and all they would said is "your result is failed." I even asked them if this had happened before, or if they would please double check this for that possibility and nothing. I thought that maybe if I tried to scare them with some type of legality they would be forced to give me an explanation.

 

[Klser]

Did you ask the NCEES if your old "fail" results might be getting confused with your new "pass" results?

Yes, but unfortunately they would not respond to any specific questions I asked them, like "I've failed it once before, is there a possibility that this result got mixed up with my previous result and this is actually supposed to be a passing result?", and "has this situation happened before with other candidates?", and "can you explain then why when I first logged in and looked at my result it was passing?".. all they would respond with would be "your result is failed" which is obviously very frustrating, hence why I though about maybe finding some type of legality that would force them to be truthful and answer my questions explicitly.

 

[cbg]

Why would they change your status if it wasn't to correct a mistake? What motive would they have to show you as having failed when you actually passed? The higher their pass rate the better for them.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Not at all, I am suggesting that they may have made a mistake and that the opposite of what you said happened... that I actually did pass and they will not change my score to passing. The thing is, they will not tell me why my screen showed a passing result in the first place, which makes me think that there really is a possibility of them making a mistake but not wanting to admit it or even double-check for that possibility. I'm just frustrated that even though I emailed back and forth with them like 5 times, they would not give me the slightest explanation as to why it showed passed in the first place and all they would said is "your result is failed." I even asked them if this had happened before, or if they would please double check this for that possibility and nothing. I thought that maybe if I tried to scare them with some type of legality they would be forced to give me an explanation.

So far you have been emailing what is essentially customer service, and your question is simply above their pay grade.

I suggest 2 things:
1) Check out if other test takers this year have had similar complaints. (Forums, etc.)
2) Go up the food chain. The "contact us" information only gets you to customer service - who has no real idea what you're talking about, and really cannot help you. I am not going to do the research for you - you have to figure out this information for yourself. Engineers are supposed to be problem solvers. Find someone who at least has some control over the system.

I am sure the test has changed a lot since I took it decades ago. (I passed, first time. And I was not a stellar student.)
The non-disclosure document you signed before taking the exam probably contains clauses that protects the test service from any legal options you are thinking of.

 

[cbg]

I still want to know what motive the OP thinks the NCEES would have for marking him as a failure instead of a pass. Non-profit test companies live or die by their pass rate; they might have a motive to mark a failure as a pass but not the other way around.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I still want to know what motive the OP thinks the NCEES would have for marking him as a failure instead of a pass. Non-profit test companies live or die by their pass rate; they might have a motive to mark a failure as a pass but not the other way around.

OP is more concerned about having to tell the boss about the fail.

OP should consider the consequences of not being open about this with the boss.

These tests are graded by computer, not by hand, so it is unclear how a result would change like that. There could be glitches, but it is unlikely that OP would be the only test taker affected.

A few years back there was a problem with one of the NY state math regents exam https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/16-year-claims-error-ny-state-regents-exam/story?id=48724108 There was no easy resolution.