NCARB ARE Exam Changes

this is a very, very bad idea

Keep the Scratch paper, ditch the software problems.

Eliminating scratch paper is an unreasonable hardship forced upon testing candidates. People learn and test differently. A digital tool will not be as efficient as simply writing things down because most people can write, almost without thought, while they are reading a question. With this change, candidates will need to spend seconds opening/learning/fumbling through a digital note-taking program, which will only make this test unnecessarily difficult. Please also consider candidates who speak and write English as a second language as it may become even more difficult for people in that circumstance. In all the testing facilities I've gone to, I've never seen any security breaches. I'm not venturing to say that it's impossible, but instead of eliminating scratch paper, NCARB could spontaneously visit testing facilities to ensure proper security measures are taken and enforced. NCARB should be an organization that facilitates our future licensed architects, not one that makes things unnecessarily difficult.

jotting down on scratch paper is how I think. Unfair!

I need the scratch paper. how am i supposed to do math without it..

All I want is to get licensed, i talk to all other people in different carriers and Architects seem like having the most difficult way of testing and getting licensed. First of all the number of the exams and then how they overlap. So many are just dropping and giving up , but we all know that we need more licensed architects. I just hope to see some improvements. These exams and the lifestyle in architecture is stressful enough. Thanks,

I have yet to even begin my testing but am aware of how many complications would develop without use of a separate surface for my thoughts to be divulged onto.

During a time in which inequities are so apparent with NCARB, this is adding insult to injury. As a licensed architect, I find the various ways in which the exams tilt towards certain demographics to be outrageous.

This is absolutely absurd and insulting..you need to have more faith in candidates.

Please reconsider! Scrap paper is necessary!

Allow scratch paper when testing - it's necessary.

allow scratch paper

Just about everyone uses physical scratch paper, across professions, in one way or another. This change is simply ridiculous and without merit.

All other exams allow scratch paper, why remove ours?

Impossible to take an ARE without paper

Architects think with a physical pen/pencil and paper, this is unfair to us candidates testing and future candidates testing. Why are you making it difficult by taking away a tool we use daily and helps us illustrate our thoughts on physical scratch paper. Please reconsider!

Studies have shown that not all people learn, or visualize things in the same ways. Please do not create another ableist barrier to becoming a registered architect.

This is a terrible move in the wrong direction. I have used scratch paper as an essential part of taking my exams so far. It will be necessary for the rest of them, too. In my job at an architecture firm, I daily use scratch paper to get tasks done. If these exams are testing our ability to effectively work through each part of running an architecture firm, scratch paper is a necessity to pass them.

Architects use paper.

Allow scratch paper.