GFES (NRC Generic Fundamentals Exam)

[thenuttyneutron]

I am about to take the June 2008 GFES on Wednesday.  If it is legal to share the March 2008 GFES and you have it, can you please share it with me?  I would like to take it as a confidence booster.  

[Roll Tide]

Sorry, I don't have one available.
The NRC does post exams on their website, but the March 2008 BWR and PWR exams aren't on their.
For anyone interested in the older ones:
PWR: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/generic-fundamentals-examinations/past-exams.html
BWR: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/generic-fundamentals-examinations/past-exams.html


They don't really change the exam banks that fast, so 6 months old should be fine.
Good Luck!

[Fermi2]

They usually don't post an exam until after the next one is given.

Mike

[thenuttyneutron]

I took the test today and think I made a 96%.  I am happy with the test and am ready to move on to systems training.

[Fermi2]

Cool, so you're going up for License Training?

Tell Dave Imlay I said hello.

Mike

[Nuclear Renaissance]

I took the test today and think I made a 96%.  I am happy with the test and am ready to move on to systems training.

Start reading those Tech Specs bases with each system. I was astonished with how many test questions are answerable via the bases.

[flamatrix99]

In my humble opinion, hopefully you are in PWR license class. I was a PWR NLO and now a instant SRO in BWR class and hate it. BWRs seem so much harder then a PWR plus the crazy EOPs. I guess part of it is what you learned initially is what sticks with you.

[Fermi2]

Having SRO Licensed on a BWR and PWR I'll say a BWR is much tougher on the logic and ECCS End. Each Safety System has it's own logic and there is instrumentation everywhere. To learn the ECCS took a week of lectures where at a PWR it took 4 hours.

BWR EOPs are actually quite simple, you just have to learn to prioritize them. I liked the idea of having a flow chart and pretty much picking and choosing what I want.

In a PWR there are SO MANY EOPs to learn it can be a bear. The good thing is each EOP has diagnostics that tell you exactly where and which EOP you need to be in.

Moving a BWR is easy, you never have to worry about Shutdown Margin or cooling down too much. They also ride out transients better.

Moving a PWR can be rather slow and testy at best.

Which do I prefer? I love them both and am happy to have had the chance to license on both types of reactors.

Mike

[flamatrix99]

Having SRO Licensed on a BWR and PWR I'll say a BWR is much tougher on the logic and ECCS End. Each Safety System has it's own logic and there is instrumentation everywhere. To learn the ECCS took a week of lectures where at a PWR it took 4 hours.

BWR EOPs are actually quite simple, you just have to learn to prioritize them. I liked the idea of having a flow chart and pretty much picking and choosing what I want.

In a PWR there are SO MANY EOPs to learn it can be a bear. The good thing is each EOP has diagnostics that tell you exactly where and which EOP you need to be in.

Moving a BWR is easy, you never have to worry about Shutdown Margin or cooling down too much. They also ride out transients better.

Moving a PWR can be rather slow and testy at best.

Which do I prefer? I love them both and am happy to have had the chance to license on both types of reactors.

Mike

That is an interesting comparison... The whole turbine follows the reactor instead of the reactor following the turbine took me by surprise. Yes ECCS is a tricky. All the isolations drive me crazy. But being in the Simulator and the plant has helped alot.

[DJLabs]

I'm supposed to be taking a POSS test and a GFES/Light exam for a possible Operator Apprentice position at Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant. They gave me 9 study guides for the GFES, all of which are 60 to 90 pages long and a week to prepare. I'm feeling overwhelmed and wondering if I even have a chance at getting a position. What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks! I've already found some great information on this site about the POSS test.

[Shawnee Man]

I would not expect anyone not even a ex navy nuke to pass GFES out of the gate. I have taught GFES and the expectation for passing is 80% of course, but most programs will not allow candidates for RO and SRO (IL: Initial Licensing Class) to take NRC Exam unless you have gotten at least a site graded 88% before they will let you take the NRC Exam. After this you will then go to Systems class. I know at some plants it is not a requirement for NLO (Non Licensed Operators) to pass the GFES course and NRC Exam.
I have run across this website, but have not tried it out myself. http://gfes.quantumleap-online.com/#

I will have a testing and training course for GFES online by the end of the year if all goes well. The domain is http://www.onlinegfes.com. I hope the information I provided will help.

[Smooth Operator]

Odd to me that GFES is a pre-hire test. We did a full 8 week class and then took a comprehensive after a series of weekly quizzes. I could not imagine just taking the comp after a week of self prep.

I wonder what kind of score they expect pre-hires to get?

[Shawnee Man]

We did give everyone a full blown pretest for GFES at the start of our 6 week course. No one passed, not to be negative. We had 23 in the class that completed the course and all passed the NRC Exam.

[DJLabs]

Thanks for the input - I took one of the old GFES PWR tests I found from a link in one of the other threads here and got about 1/4 of the questions right... about 1/2 of the ones I got wrong, I understood why the correct answer had been picked so hopefully I'll do well enough on the POSS test and whatever the GFES/Light is to get an interview!

I appreciate the information I've found here - it has been very helpful!

[JustinHEMI05]

Interesting concept. As in light, do you mean just a few questions? I agree with the others, it is near impossible for someone to pass that test without the adequate prep. Granted, IMO, most of that prep is learning how to actually take the test and answer the questions, with a little knowledge smattered in. Interesting to me that they would use it as a hiring tool. Could be though, that they are just gauging where you are. Like someone else said, we did that too so that we could focus the class on where the weak spots were. They might just be getting it out of the way during the hiring process.

Justin

[S.Blacketer]

I've been asked to come take the same test, as I understand it it is not just a "lets see where you are" thing. It is pass/fail if you get <60% you are not eligible to be hired >60% you are eligible.
Seemed rather odd to me also, the POSS test ( they also require you to take it) is one thing thats simply an apptitude test, but expecting people to get even a 60% on a GFES style test premployment seems a bit rough.
I've taken a couple of the old GFES tets posted online skipping the reactor theory section since that is not covered in the study guide they give you and have been scoring around 60% on those. I'm hoping "light" means easy not just shorter.

[JustinHEMI05]

Well then, good luck! 

Justin

[S.Blacketer]

Yea this test shouldn't be called a GFES/light, would be kind of like calling a Yugo a ferrari/light, feel silly having spent so much time studying now. I'm sure with no background it could be difficult but its no where near the old GFES test I was looking at online

[JustinHEMI05]

Yea this test shouldn't be called a GFES/light, would be kind of like calling a Yugo a ferrari/light, feel silly having spent so much time studying now. I'm sure with no background it could be difficult but its no where near the old GFES test I was looking at online

Ah well that is good to hear!! Congrats!

Justin

[MrScience101]

Anyone have a copy of the NRC GFES Exam bank in LXR Test Format?  I have a feeling I am about to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks!

[midwatchcowboy]

I've heard a rumor about new GFES testing approach to raise the level difficulty of the exams.  The phrase I heard was "higher cog".  Anyone hear anything about this?  I'm not worried, but would be good to know what the changes might look like.

Note:  I have not seen anything about this on the NRC website and all the GFES info pages were last edited in 2007.
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/generic-fundamentals-examinations/general-information.html
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/operator-licensing.html

Past exams page was last updated in August 2009, i.e. no September or December exams uploaded.

[Fermi2]

Oh oh, the dreaded words High Cog, which is NRC speak for using written trick f*ckery to fool you into the incorrect answer.

[JustinHEMI05]

What? We were constantly told there were no trick questions. 

[Fermi2]

Higher cognitive questions are still better than the current Precognitive questions.  You know, the ones with no right answer and you have to just know what the developer put on his answer key.  Those suck.

Do you have an RO or SRO License?

[Fermi2]

Congrats! Where at?