Just took the POSS/MASS/BMST, a reflection

[68rs327]

Thanks for the reply, I wil keep you posted on the results.
Wonder why the lady giving the test told us if we don't know the answer it may be a good idea to GUESS and move on to the next question. This really confused me when she said guess? I didn't guess on any, if I didn't know the answer I left it blank.
Are all the Poss/Mass test graded the same? Do some places count the ones you left blank against you? Does the quanity matter on the grading?
Thanks,

[thenuttyneutron]

Don't guess.  You are penalized for wrong answers.  I have been told that it is worst than the SAT because the POSS will penalize 100%.  If you answer 10 right and the last 10 wrong, that would mean a score of zero.

[68rs327]

What if you did really good on the reading, assembly, mechanical and graphs, but didn't do so hot on the math. Would doing good on the others out weigh doing bad on the math? In a case like this, would you still pass? OR do you have to pass every part of the test?

[B.PRESGROVE]

Thats a good question.  I would think that if you do good on all but one the good would out weigh the bad, but I dont really know.  You did the right thing by not guessing at any.  Those that are left blank dont count against you.  Im sure you did fine, if you stuck to the game plan and did easy first then hard you should pass with no problems.

[68rs327]

Thanks for the help and a big thanks to this website. I feel like it really helped me get prepared for the Poss/Mass test.
The instructor told us they would grade the test on Tuesday. She said after they were graded they would mail us a letter letting us know if we passed or failed. This is a nerve racking process to say the least. There were only 18 people taking the test out of 184 people who applied for the job. In the reading I saw where only 15-20% of people who take the Poss/Mass test pass. That would mean only 3 or 4 of the 18 passed the test. I hope I am one of the ones who passed.
Thanks for all the help.

[UncaBuffalo]

I just took the Poss Mass test. The test itself took 3 hrs.
The Assembly was pretty easy.
The Mech. Concepts was pretty easy
The Reading was more difficult. Had 4 passages and several questions.
Back ground questions were tricky. Had several anwsers that could go either way. Were 120 questions on it.
The MATH was the killer. We had 7 minutes to complete around 20 questions. All questions were conversion type. I studied the conversions on the practice test, didn't help a lot. A lot of the conversions were cups, table spoons. Several questions were 2 and 3 parts to convert to get the answer. The answers were a,b,c,d, N (none). Some of the answers were N, which bothered me. You work out the problem and are looking for the correct answer and it is not there. Then you wonder if you did something wrong and look over it again, then realize it's not there. I will tell anyone taking the Poss Mass to study, study, study. Take the practice test and time your self.  Our insturctor didn't say anything about leaving problems blank, or how they counted the blank questions. I took everyones advice here and left the harder questions for last. I flew thru the easy questions and came back to the hard ones. I didn't answer all the questions, I hope they only count how many I answered correct. Our instructor said if you don't know the answer you may want to guess? This thru me for a loop.  The graphs was a LOT harder than the practice. It was about 50 questions that were lines that zig zagged all over the paper. You had to follow the lines from say 1. and follow it all the way to the corrosponding letter. Doesn't sound bad, but when you have lines going in every direction on the paper cris crossing everywhere, they tend to get hard to follow. This test was nothing like the practice test.  Math was the killer, skip the hard ones where you have to convert 2 or 3 times and do the easy ones first. Good luck to everyone getting ready to take the Poss Mass, I am glad it is over.

Good point!  Sometimes 'N' is the answer!  Do NOT waste time trying to find a different one.

[UncaBuffalo]

Don't guess.  You are penalized for wrong answers.  I have been told that it is worst than the SAT because the POSS will penalize 100%.  If you answer 10 right and the last 10 wrong, that would mean a score of zero.

Does anyone know the exact equation for grading?  On most tests, it still pays to guess if you have eliminated a choice or two...?

[UncaBuffalo]

What if you did really good on the reading, assembly, mechanical and graphs, but didn't do so hot on the math. Would doing good on the others out weigh doing bad on the math? In a case like this, would you still pass? OR do you have to pass every part of the test?

I've always heard you have to pass every section... 

[68rs327]

  I have heard the same thing about passing all the sections.
I wish they would grade the test as an over all grade. I wish someone knew
there grading system. How many do you have to do correctly in order to pass the section.
I have read where some people say they only finish 5 or 6 questions and still pass?
The math was the killer. The test I took was about 25 all conversion questions.
You had ONLY 7 minutes to finish, I completed about 12.
The Graphs was the other killer. It was NOTHING like the practice test.
50 questions of lines Zig Zagging, Going Up and Down and Cris-Crossing all over the place.
This test looked like a 3 years old was drawing on a page all day and you have to follow 1. line
all the way thru to the corrosponding Letter on the opposite side of the page. Very time consuming
and very easy to loose you place on the line.
I am very happy the Poss/Mass is over, I was notified 8 days before I had to take test. I wish I had of had more
time to prepare for the test. This site helped a bunch on knowing what to look for and how to attack the test.
The Practice test also Helped. I also suggest timing your self on the practice.
They are suppose to grade the test Tuesday and mail us a letter letting us know if we passed or failed.

[Fermi2]

WRONG you do NOT get penalized for guessing. If you don't complete the minimum required to get it graded you'll wish you had guessed. Guess away.

Mike

[68rs327]

I thought you got penalized for getting wrong answers, Wouldn't guessing be taking a Big chance on getting the answer wrong.
Wouldn't you be better off to answer all the questions you know and leave the ones you have no idea about blank rather than guess?
I would hate to chance getting one wrong by tossing a coin or going eeny meeny miny mo?
Seems like you are knowledgeable about the Poss/Mass. What is the minimum number of questions that you have to answer to get the Poss/Mass test graded? 10%, 20%, 30% of the questions? I have read about people only answering 7 questions and passing the Poss/Mass.  Thanks 

[Fermi2]

I thought you got penalized for getting wrong answers, Wouldn't guessing be taking a Big chance on getting the answer wrong.
Wouldn't you be better off to answer all the questions you know and leave the ones you have no idea about blank rather than guess?
I would hate to chance getting one wrong by tossing a coin or going eeny meeny miny mo?
Seems like you are knowledgeable about the Poss/Mass. What is the minimum number of questions that you have to answer to get the Poss/Mass test graded? 10%, 20%, 30% of the questions? I have read about people only answering 7 questions and passing the Poss/Mass.  Thanks 

What the hell did I just post?

[68rs327]

Lets see, you wrote "If you don't complete the minimum required to get it graded". That's what the hell you posted.
My Questions was "What is the minimum number answered required to get it graded"? 10%, 20%, 30%?
Thought it was a pretty simple question?

[Fermi2]

No, I said it's best to guess and you doubted it.

I guess I could tell you how many you need to finish but eh... Nah.

Mike

[68rs327]

If I had to guess, I would say you don't know how many you need to answer to get it graded.
I have noticed you always say "you have to answer a certain amount just to get it graded"?
What's the big secret? If you truly know, how many is it?

[alexbelmont]

I have taken and passed the MASS and TECH tests and I personally thought that the Tech was easier with that being said when I took the Tech the instructor told us not to guess, only answer  what we were sure of and that you do not want to guess. When I took the MASS test that instructor said the same thing yours did. The practice tests are so easy compared to the real deal. Also don't worry about if you left a couple blank because I didn't finish any of the sections  and I still was recommended(the results wont say pass/fail it will be recommended or not recommended). As far as the grading the way I think its done is you have to answer a certain amount for the machine to even read your answers. If you have enough answered then it subtracts your wrong answers from your right ones. When I was reading posts on here all nervous about the grading people said you had to get around 11 or 12 answered. So if you answered the minimum amount of lets say 11(out of 20 questions) and all 11 were right you pass. Again I'm not 100 percent positive on it but I read a boat load about this in different forums and its the best I can come up with. Good luck hopefully you pass

[madmax]

I agree. I have always been told DO NOT guess on the Poss/Mass, wrong answers count against you.
It is better to go thru and answer the ones you know and then go back to the more time consuming questions.
If you dont finish the test, that's okay, most people don't. One thing for sure is DO NOT guess at the questions.
Do the practice test and time yourself as you do them. Read all you can about the Poss/Mass test, a lot of good reading on
this site. Get familiar with it and what to expect before you sit down to take it. As everyone says the math is the hardest. The Poss/Mass I took was ALL conversions. If you can memorize them do it. The test I took had conversions dealing with hogsheads, cups, tablespoons, quarts, gallons, miles and others on it. The Graphs part was nothing like the test, it is as described correctly in this thread. Reading was straight forward. Mechanical was straight forward and fairly easy, learn about density and mass of an object.
Do your homework and you should be fine. The main thing as others have said is Do NOT guess at the questions. Some on here say it is okay to guess, don't do it. Better to answer the ones you know first and skip the ones you don't. If time allows, then after you finish the ones you know, go back and work on the ones you skipped. Good luck to anyone taking the Poss/Mass.

[HydroDave63]

This is a nerve racking process to say the least.

If taking the POSS test is nerve wracking after 18+ years of life experience and public education , bringing an air ejector online or performing a resin regen  may not be your cup of tea....

[B.PRESGROVE]

Hey cool, just recieved an email saying I get to take the test on Tuesday at 12pm.  Second time around for me.  Passed it the first time but didnt get interview, hopefully things will work out this time.

[Fermi2]

No, take it from someone who has actually ACCOMPLISHED something in this industry. GUESS.

BPresgrove where at?

[madmax]

Guess is a 50/50 chance?
This is better than leaving them blank and doing the ones you know first, then finishing what you can on the rest as time allows?
There are to many conflicting opinions on wheather to guess or not to guess? Confuses people on what to do. It would be nice if someone out there who gives and grades the Poss Mass would chime in and let us all know the truth, on if we should guess or not guess on the questions.

[HydroDave63]

Here's an idea......show up to the test with adequate knowledge!

If you are marginal on the POSS test, maybe you weren't destined to be an NLO/AO

[B.PRESGROVE]

Hey Broadzilla, taking test for Southern Company to go, God willin, to Vogtle.  Its for the nuclear technician position which as yall know is the entry level, but its better than what im makin now.   

[Neutron_Herder]

Ok, stupid newbie (to the civilian sector) question...  please don't hurt me!

Is the Nuclear Technician with Southern equivalent to the AO/NEO/NLO positions elsewhere?  I saw that positing the other day and didn't know what to think, as the job description wasn't quite like the others I had seen.

Thanks!

Jay

[B.PRESGROVE]

hey neutron,

Im not sure.  From what Ive read you can either go into maint, electrician, or ops from this nuclear tech position.  I think it all depends on what the needs of company are.  I dont think the tech position is an NLO/NEO/AO, but I could be wrong.