RPT's ... tested or grandfathered??

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 7/5/99 9:21:53 AM Central Daylight Time, you write:

<< Hi,
 
 I was having a conversation with another technician recently who mentioned 
that there may be those in the PTG who have the distinguished title of RPT 
who have never taken the exams that newcomers are expected to take in order 
to use those three little letters next to their name.  If that's true, is it 
possible that there are people administering exams that they've never had to 
pass?
  >>

All of the CTE's that administer the Tuning Exam have taken some form of the 
modern, standardized version that is scored electronically.  They all had to 
take that Exam and achieve all scores above 90 in order to qualify to train 
as Examiners.

Even the Standardized Tuning Exam has changed its rules over the years since 
its inception in the early 1980's.  Therefore, it could be said that *most* 
of the Examiners have not taken the Exam in its latest form but that would be 
misleading.   All of the changes have been relatively minor.

Some standards have been made more difficult:  The aural portion of an 
electronic Exam used to have a minimum score of 70 and was changed to 80 many 
years ago.  The original 2 hours to tune 84 strings aurally was shortened to 
90 minutes many years ago too.  The original compensation for "fork error" 
was eliminated but provisions are made to make sure you have a reliable pitch 
source.

The most recent changes are in procedure only.  They are intended to benefit 
those who normally tune using and Electronic Tuner.  The Aural portion is 
done first rather than last so that the most challenging part may be dealt 
with first.  If the Examinee fails this portion, the remaining time may be 
used as a tutoring session if the Examinee desires.  This eliminates the once 
common situation where the person using an SAT does a nearly flawless job but 
still fails the Exam because his or her aural skills are not up to par.

The Written and Technical Exams have also evolved through the years but I can 
tell you as one who has taken all of the Exams both before and after 
standardization and also one who has administered the latest versions of all 
three that if anything, they all present the Examinee with *less* of a 
disadvantage than they did before.

The old Written Exam contained some questions that were truly ambiguous.  
When I complained about that, the answer that I was given was that I did not 
mark the right answer on the scoreform.  When I complained that there *was* 
no "right" answer, I was told that the "right" answer was the one where the 
hole was punched in the correction template.

This is still true today.  The Examiners cannot affect the outcome in any 
way.  They can only discuss the answers with you afterwards to help you see 
why your choice may have been wrong.  If you fail that Exam, you will 
immediately see where you need more study.  The PTG materials that are 
available will help you do this and it will be easier on the next attempt.

Although I passed the early Written Exam on my first attempt, I was not given 
any help with the questions I had missed.  I was told that I needed to study 
more and get more experience. Today, there is much more help and 
encouragement available.

The Technical Exam is also quite similar to the old ways they used to do it 
but there are strict rules about the equipment used and you always have a 
jury of at least 2 RPT's whose opinions must concur.  In the old days, you 
were much more likely to have had your results subjectively criticized.  
Today, each item is broken down and evaluated on a correct or incorrect basis.

While it is possible that there are some RPT's who may present the Written 
Exam who never took the present version, this could not possibly influence 
your outcome. 

There could also be some RPT's who administer the Technical Exam who had only 
taken that Exam under the older, less fair, more subjective circumstances but 
they have all had to learn the new Standardized procedures and cannot 
introduce their own subjectivity into the process.  Most volunteers for this 
process have taken and passed the latest version, especially those who do it 
at the Convention or a Regional Seminar.  Most of these Examiners have a lot 
of experience giving this Exam.  There is nothing which prevents you from 
inquiring about the background of your Examiner.

As mentioned before, the CTE in charge of your Tuning Exam must have taken 
the New Standardized Electronically scored version in order to be a CTE.  The 
other two RPT's present (who could possibly be "grandfathers" but rarely, if 
ever are) are under his or her direction and are there to perform such tasks 
as writing down figures and to watch for errors in these transcriptions.  
They also are asked to make judgments during the Aural Verification of 
Errors.  Again, the process is broken down to the point where an error is 
either proven or disproved based on a series of aural tuning checks.  This 
judgment must be by consensus and the CTE in charge is the ultimate 
authority.  Generally, if the results are inconclusive, the error is 
disregarded and not counted against the Examinee's score.

I hope this eases some of your concerns about fairness.  I am personally 
satisfied that all three Exams are fair and impartial.  Sometimes an Examinee 
may fail due to the anxiety itself of taking the Exams but in such a case, 
there are provisions for retaking the Exam as soon as the client feels ready 
to do so.  Believe me, the Examiners and the entire body of RPT's want each 
and every applicant to pass at least as much as the applicant does!

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin