Calculator Policies for National and State-Specific Examinations

UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING THE
CALCULATOR POLICIES FOR THE
NATIONAL AND STATE-SPECIFIC 2008 EXAMINATIONS

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) has updated its calculator policy for the 2008 examinations. NCEES has created a list of the only calculators that will be allowed to be used for its examinations. The only calculators that will be allowed for use on any NCEES exam are the following:

• Casio: All fx-115 models; any Casio calculator with fx-115 in its model name is allowed.
• Hewlett Packard: The HP 33s and HP 35s models are allowed. No other Hewlett Packard models are allowed.
• Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models are allowed; any Texas Instruments calculator with TI-30X or TI-36X in its model name is allowed.

Further information about the NCEES calculator policy may be obtained from the NCEES web site.

The Board will enforce the NCEES calculator policy during the administration of all national examinations. In April, the NCEES calculator policy will be enforced for the Engineer-in-Training (EIT), Land Surveyor-in-Training (LSIT), 6-hour National Land Surveyor (administered on Friday), 8-hour National Civil Engineer (administered on Friday), National Structural Engineer II (administered on Friday), and Chemical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, and Mechanical Engineer examinations. In October, the NCEES calculator policy will be enforced for the Engineer-in-Training (EIT), Land Surveyor-in-Training (LSIT), 6-hour National Land Surveyor (administered on Friday), 8-hour National Civil Engineer (administered on Friday), National Structural Engineer II (administered on Friday), and Agricultural Engineer, Chemical Engineer, Control System Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Fire Protection Engineer, Industrial Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Metallurgical Engineer, Nuclear Engineer, and Petroleum Engineer examinations.

Any candidate who is observed during the administration of an NCEES examination to be in possession of a calculator that is not listed above will be removed from the examination; their examination will be voided; and their fee forfeited. It does not matter what functions or features the calculator has or does not have; all that matters is whether or not the calculator is on the approved list. During the 2006 examinations, nearly 100 candidates were removed from the examinations for being in possession of an unauthorized calculator.

The Board will continue to enforce its current calculator policy, which is described below, for all state-specific examinations. In April, the Board's calculator policy will be enforced for the 4-hour California State-Specific Professional Land Surveyor and the Special Civil Engineer (Seismic Principles and Engineering Surveying) examinations (all administered on Saturday). In October, the Board's calculator policy will be enforced for the Special Civil Engineer (Seismic Principles and Engineering Surveying) (administered on Saturday), State-Specific Structural Engineer Seismic (administered on Saturday), Geotechnical, and Traffic Engineer examinations.

The Board's Current Calculator Policy

The use of any calculating/computing device having a QWERTY keypad arrangement similar to a typewriter or a keyboard during the exam is strictly prohibited. The following devices are also prohibited, whether or not they have a QWERTY keypad function: palmtop, laptop, handheld or desktop computers, data banks, data collectors, personal data assistants (PDA), and organizers. Calculators with other alphanumeric keypads are acceptable. Notwithstanding the above, the Board or its designees have the right to prohibit the use of any device which, in the opinion of the Board, may pose a threat to exam security.

One Example of a QWERTY Keypad

It should be noted that the Board's calculator policy for its state-specific examinations varies significantly from the NCEES calculator policy for the national examinations. For its state-specific examinations, the Board does allow the use of some calculators that NCEES prohibits for its national examinations. The calculators allowed to be used for the Board's state-specific examinations that are prohibited for the NCEES national examinations include (but are not limited to) the HP 39 series; the HP 41 series; the HP42S; the HP 48 series; the HP 49 series; the HP 50 series; the TI 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 89 series; the Casio CFX 9850; the Casio FX 7400; the Casio FX 9750; and the Casio FX 2.0. However, notwithstanding the above, the Board or its designees have the right to prohibit the use of any device which, in the opinion of the Board, may pose a threat to exam security.