What happened to the other 50 questions?

[k4kyv]

This afternoon I happened to look over a pamphlet on how to become a radio amateur.  It described the present day U.S. examination requirements.

Some maintain that to-day's exams are just as difficult and comprehensive as ever, if not more so, and that it takes a more thorough knowledge of the subject matter than ever before in order to pass.  Others say the licensing requirements have been "simplified" (or to use another term, "dumbed down").

Before the advent of incentive licensing and the reinstatement of the Advanced class licence, there was a tenure requirement (a minimum of two years, IIRC) as a General, before one was eligible to sit for the Extra class exam, which accorded no additional operating privileges over the General.  In addition to the 20 WPM code test, the written test consisted of 100 questions, some of which included drawing schematic and block diagrams.

When incentive licensing went into effect, the Extra class exam was broken up into two elements.  50 of the 100 questions were selected to make up the Advanced test, and the remaining 50, along with the 20 wpm code test, comprised the Extra exam.  So one still had to pass the same 100 exam questions plus the 20 wpm code test to go from General to Extra.  The re-instatement of the Advanced class merely made this a two-step process.  Somewhere along the way, the tenure requirement for Extra class was dropped.

A couple of years ago, the licensing system was "restructured".  The  code elements (which had already been dropped to 5 wpm) were discontinued, and so was the Advanced class licence test. 

But according  to the brochure I just read, the General class test requirement consists of Elements 2 and 3, for a total of 70 exam questions.  35 of these include the Technician exam questions. I seem to recall that the old Novice exam consisted of 20 questions and the General test had 50 questions, so the total requirement to reach from zero to General class was 70 questions, the same as now.

To upgrade from General to Extra, one now only has to pass Element 4, which consists of 50 questions and no code test.  The questions are now all multiple-choice and none of the elements require drawing any diagrams.

What happened to those 50 other questions that one used to have to pass in order to achieve this same upgrade?  The upgrade from General to Extra class hasn't been eased up, simplified or dumbed down, or has it?

[W3RSW]

-you got me.
I do know however that publication of memorizable results used to be really underground literature.
Now the answers are proudly issued.  No theory or detail required.  Certainly no drawings. We've probably beaten this problem to death over several years.  Ain't gonna change, esp. in today's gimme climate.

[WB2YGF]

Study to the test.

Wasn't there a federal mandate or someting?

No CB'er left behind. 

Disclaimer: This was meant as a joke, not as a non-ham-radio-related political statement.

[Opcom]

I have to disagree with those that say today's exams are as hard as older exams.

The entire process seemed like a cakewalk compared to the FCC General Phone license I got in 1986. I felt like I earned that one the hard way, scowling FCC examiner and all. But at that time I had only been in electronics for employment for 8 years. Maybe I just remember it as being harder, and the ham "Extra" questions of a few years ago seemed simple because of 30 years of experience. I was disappointed that there were no diagrams to draw anyway.

This brings up a couple of partially opposed points:

Could it be that we remember the tests being harder in older times because we did not have as much experience from which to answer the questions?

Could it be that newcomers to the art consider the General and Extra written tests hard because they have little electronics experience and have had to rely on trying to memorize the answers?

[ka3zlr]

 ...insensitivity..Insensitivity..INSENSITIVITY....lol........

[W3RSW]

Where do I sign up?  Cute elves.
Is that your family by chance?
If so, bet your pretty proud.

[Opcom]

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending..) that's not my festive bunch there. I think it's really off a site where they are doing santa stuff for charities.

[W1RKW]

I did the Extra back in December of 06 (or was it 07, can't remember, doesn't matter). I did it on a challenge to bring in the new year from K1JJ, Remember Tom? Thanks by the way. 

I was an advanced holder from the late 80's.  I remember the Advanced being  difficult and detailed, as difficult as the General if not more.  I had more trouble with the General only because of the 13wpm.  The written test wasn't too bad for General and back then it required some studying unlike todays Extra.

Going for the Extra was a breeze in comparison to both General and Advance. In comparison one could do it in their sleep. As a confession though, I flubbed Extra by 1 on the first try but after practicing the sample exam questions on QRZ I passed it the 2nd time around.  With very little "study" I passed with a 90+ score on the 2nd try and I say very little study because it was essentially memorizing the questions, answers and the test pattern(s).  Ask me some theory and I'll have to look it up. I'm a gimme Extra. OK, I confessed.

[WB2YGF]

I passed the General in NYC (1975), and the Advanced in Philly a year later.  I think the Advanced was easier as I nearly passed it the first time without studying when I took it with the General.

I took the Extra about 10 years ago.  I went through the whole study guide and their Q&A and then I used an electronic test generator to feed me test after test until I could consistently ace it.  I definitely spent more time than I did with the Advanced.  Some of the stuff is pure memorization (rules for operating in space). I am not a good memorizer.  The YL did the same for the General.   We both passed, but neither of us got around to taking the code element, so someday, we have to do it all over again.

[Opcom]

Despite what I think the extra exam should have been like (see upper image from previous post) my pals and I have never been ones to withold respect due a privledge they earned by following the rules -and alot of them are primary mode=CW experts!

I've never met a good-operating gentlemanly ham with a tuned up and well-honed machine that I did not like.

W1RKW you passed the test. Nothing else is any of my business. I never passed a code test in my life.

[K3ZS]

I got the Extra in the early 70's when the FCC came to town in conjunction with a local hamfest.    The test drew a lot of interest in Central PA, because the only other option was a trip to Buffalo or Philadelphia.    I had an old ARRL license guide from the early sixties that I reviewed before the test.     To my amazement, the written test was old based on a lot of the older stuff that I had read, and not on some of the "newer" technology at the time that the newer license manuals were covering.    The code test was easier, being a multiple choice test based on a typical CW QSO.    You could pass it and miss a some questions.    A lot simpler than the 1 minute perfect copy of random letter groups of the General 13wpm I had passed in 1958.    The examiner said I had 100% on the theory test and missed some on the 20wpm multiple guess code test.   

[W3NP]

I got the Extra in the early 70's when the FCC came to town in conjunction with a local hamfest.    ....    The code test was easier, being a multiple choice test based on a typical CW QSO.    You could pass it and miss a some questions.      

That is interesting info concerning the code test. I got my extra in 75 or 76 after taking the exam down at the famous 1919 M street FCC office in Washington DC. There were no multiple guess questions at that time and I had to copy a "perfect minute" at 20WPM.

Maybe your early 70's test was a prototype exam since the copied text exam was still being used at a later date.

[K3ZS]

Thinking a little more, it may have been around 1977.    I do remember the theory test must have been some old ones they had found in a back room.   My first try at the extra was soon after the reestablishment of "incentive" licensing, but I failed the code test.   This was at the FCC office in Philadelphia.    At the time my parents were still living in that area.    After that, it was too much of a hassle to travel to Philadelphia just to take another code test.     If the FCC had not made the trip for the special test in State College, PA, I probably would not have upgraded until the local ham club started giving the tests.