RETA CIRO Test Scores Drop

by Jeremy Williams on Nov.18, 2020, under News

RETA has recently made some changes to their certification tests and in doing so the industry is seeing a significant drop in scores.

RETA’s Dr. Ron Rodgers states in the September/October 2020 publication of the RETA Breeze.

“Scores dropped significantly for the new CIRO exams”
“Average scores by content fell by more than 10 points”
“The pass rate fell from 78% to 65%”
“Test results are showing that not all candidates are preparing effectively for the new test”
“The certification committee revalidated all existing CIRO questions and wrote over 400 new questions to support these examinations”

2020 CIRO Scores	January – June	July – September	Change
Safety Standards and Practices	74.9%	68.9%	– 6.0%
Electricity	68.4%	56.5%	– 11.6%
Heat Flow	77.8%	67.3%	– 10.5%
Monitoring System Performance	74.7%	59.1%	– 15.6%
Valves, Controls, & DX Systems	76.9%	55.0%	– 21.9%
Liquid Overfeed & Flooded Systems	69.6%	59.1%	– 10.5%
Two-Stage & Secondary Coolants	67.8%	58.2%	– 9.6%
Evaporator Defrost	69.2%	69.0%	– 0.6%
Total Scores	70.8	65.7%	-5.1%
Pass Rates	78%	65%	– 13%

Below is the tested content area and the number of questions per subject. And the only thing to change in the published study guide is the addition of two more figures.

This is unfortunate that updating a successful exam/material has led to such a drop in scores. As an educator I have to ask myself is it the tester/student or is it the material/exam? There have been no subject category changes the tester is tested in. So the tester is tested on the same subject matter.

We are here for the success of each and every student for any certification they or their company desires. We will never give up on any student until they give up on themselves. As a RETA RAI, I encourage all whom take certification exams to prepare themselves. No test is perfect, of course. But, as Rodgers notes the tests have changed in recent months. The test results are significantly down. To blame candidates’ worsening performance on the test is to excuse failure–something educators have way too much experience at.