How does one study for the proctorered exam?  Do you review all of the courses taken? Or, is there a summary in each course which reviews everything prior to taking the proctored exam?  Thanks in advance.

By the way, I am taking the Engineer Techology Program.

The way I have always done it is to study the information highlighted in the study guides.  The study guides detail the key concepts covered in each assignment.  As long as you know those key concepts and have studied them well, you should do fine. 

I also go through each textbook and mark the areas where these key concepts are explained in greater detail with post-it notes.  During the open-book proctored exams, it makes them much easier to find.  I usually write a key phrase on the post-its so that I know what each note is highlighting.  I leave it sticking out of the edge of the textbook so I can flip right to it during the exam.

Of course, the questions are not multiple choice.  They are all essay-answer questions, so you will still need to know the material before the exam.

 Good luck!

Back when I did them I would take summary notes that were easily referenced.  I more often than not used my notes instead of the books if I hit a roadblock.  But after writing summary notes you'd be surprised to discover how little you need them as you learn the material during the creation of the notes.

We are speaking of the "Proctored Semester Exam" correct?

Most of my proctored exams were open book, are yours?

All Penn Foster proctored exams are open-book.

My mistake.   I was speaking of the Proctored Semester Exam in which one needs to arrange to have your exam(s) supervised by a qualified and approved proctor.

How does one study up for that? I did not think the Penn Foster courses had an open book for this type of Exam.  Does it?

Hi Gnzls,

I don't know if you've already taken your exam, but I hope my answer will be helpful. I am a Penn Foster student going for my AS degree in business management and just did my second semester exam.

After you submit your last assignment, they will send exam package to your proctor. That is if you already have one approved.Then, in about a week, your proctor will receive the package, and you must schedule your exam within 3 weeks after that date. So all in all you have about 4 weeks to prepare.

 First semester I won some more time because I didn't send proctor approval form in advance. This semester, 4 weeks was all I had.

 Exams are open-book exams. I believe there is an exception for some program - graphic art or something like that, I don't know. Student handbook has that information.You can use textbooks, study guides, your notes and calculator, if subjects involve math.

You are allowed 1 hour for each 3 credit course. If you had any 1 credit  courses, those are allowed 1/2 hour. You can also have one 15 minute break on top of the allowed time. I came in, my proctor gave me the folder (make copies of answer sheets - PFC people don't enclose enough, and you don't want to waste your time running to the copier as your exam time is ticking). There is a study room in our library, where only one person at a time is allowed. The door closes, so there are almost no distractions. Proctor took my DL#, recorded start time... And then I was on my own. When your time is up, he will come and let you know. You cannot take longer than allowed.

Each exam in my case was made of 3 heavy weight questions (20 points each) and 10 4-point questions. Big questions require 1-2 paragraph answers, small - 2-3 sentences. Or they maybe calculation problems (I took math, accounting, etc). The score points are indicated on the sheet usually. You do have time to look up your answers in the textbook but only if you know where they are, and not for each and every question. Some questions may require looking in different places as when you need to compare various theories, for example. Or there maybe some "real-life" situation where you need to apply what you've learned. Yet for others, you simply won't have time to search the book.

If you have 5 courses, plan for 5 hours. It sound like a long time. But believe me, these are the fastest hours! I didn't even have time to eat my snacks or even think I was hungry.

When you are done, put everything in the folder and take it to your proctor. The proctor will record the finish time, have you sign the folder and that's it.

First time I got a lower score on one of the tests because some of my answers were missing. I swear I answer all. Maybe a page got lost or misplaced. So this time I numbered all pages (page 1 of 4) and began each page showing what question I am answering (part A, #2, continued). And made sure I grouped each test neatly, so no pages are misfiled. I hope this will help.

After your proctor sends the package back to PFC, allow about two weeks for grading. They post grades online under your courses tab. They won't email you though when the exams are graded. You need to check yourself. They will send you a document later with your final semester grades.

Many of the questions are like those "Self-check" questions in the study guide (not exactly same, but you get the idea) or "Review questions" at the end of your text book chapters. I went over those to get ready. 

Good luck to you with your exams!

 

Gnzls, I just look when you started this thread... Of course, you must have already taken your exams.

 Oh, well... I hope my post may help others who will be searching the forum...

I did answer these questions earlier in the thread, and I have written extensively on this topic in the My Penn Foster College Experience blog here at eLearners. 

 The final proctored exams are always a little more difficult that you think they might be, so you definitely want to study the material covered by your study guide.  All proctored finals are open-book.