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Post by LadyJR on Jun 24, 2016 0:29:42 GMT -5
The battle has begun! One down and 2 to go. Wishing my fellow warriors good luck.
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Post by aa7 on Jun 24, 2016 10:20:16 GMT -5
to foghorn, and the others among the newbies who see this as a clever hack and allowable, let me remind you of a couple of things: it is NOT allowed in the instructions. You are applying to be a JUDGE. And, TPTB do read this board. So go for it if you think you can "get away with it. " If I get flamed for this, or called a geezer again, remember, I've been through this before and I don't need to help you guys. Funky's post has got me in a serious funk about this board. [ I have not read the book you mention. I have been following the board for years. I am not trying to cheat the system. I apparently missed this topic discussion from 13. My question stems from the last sentence in the instructions. 'When you re-enter the Writing Sample, any work you did previously will be gone, and you will have only the time remaining from when you exited the system previously.' OPM says you can.
The instructions in the email clearly state that Applicants "are given 35 minutes to prepare a response to the question." Starting the test for the prompt and then logging out and taking more an indefinite amount of time to conjure up a response, is taking more than 35 minutes to prepare a response. If OPM intended to allow applicants to have an open ended amount of time to prepare a response, they would not have set the 35 minute time limit.
When reading through the instructions, I too realized that starting and quickly stopping could be done to get the prompt and have as much time as I like to prepare a response. But that would clearly go against the intention of the test. It pained me to know that this is a competitive process and that others may give themselves that advantage. But I am just focusing on my competence to do the task within the confines of the intended parameters. Also, as a Federal employee, I know TPTB are always watching. Who is to say that they will not identify the applicants who log out quickly?
To those who say "well if you can physically do it, then OPM is okay with it," I would argue that the ability to return to the test after logging out would be to allow those who experience an issue causing them to log out prematurely during testing at least a chance to finish the test, such as if your power went out after 5 minutes, there would be no other remedy if you were logged out permanently.
I am surprised that others may feel differently. Especially in this forum.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2016 10:30:42 GMT -5
And who knows whether the grading process includes a loss of points for logging out. Only TPTB know. Good luck to all of you taking the test. Do the honorable thing and follow the rules.
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Post by floridaladylaw on Jun 24, 2016 10:31:50 GMT -5
I agree with you aa7. Of course, it probably runs through everyone's mind that "hey, I can give myself an advantage" even though I know in my heart's heart that is not the right thing to do. Why not, when everyone tells me that I have a very low chance of being hired, ever, for a job I really want, why not take every advantage I can? But I think most of us will discard the fleeting thought and hail back to the latter thought (it's not right), realize that we are all officers of the court with a duty to conduct ourselves with integrity and write it the allotted 35 minutes. That is my plan and I feel confident that almost all of us will do the same.
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Post by defender on Jun 24, 2016 10:46:02 GMT -5
I am playing by the rules. If I don't make it I don't make it. But I will play it the way it was intended. If you are given 35 minutes it means 35 minutes.
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Post by foghorn on Jun 24, 2016 11:31:11 GMT -5
Futurealj : congratulations on getting through. Maybe you'll get bonus points for "judicial management " and "self management" for getting it done before many.
Any suggestions as to things that make 2 & 3 easier? (not in terms of the substance of questions, obviously, but such as their suggestion to have a calculator, for example)
All the best for the summer and beyond.
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Post by fowlfinder on Jun 24, 2016 11:54:29 GMT -5
Any suggestions as to things that make 2 & 3 easier? (not in terms of the substance of questions, obviously, but such as their suggestion to have a calculator, for example) Finished the SJT and the writing assessment last night. EA still to come. All I can say is read and follow the instructions and you wont feel under prepared.
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Post by bayou on Jun 24, 2016 12:14:19 GMT -5
Futurealj : congratulations on getting through. Maybe you'll get bonus points for "judicial management " and "self management" for getting it done before many. Any suggestions as to things that make 2 & 3 easier? (not in terms of the substance of questions, obviously, but such as their suggestion to have a calculator, for example) All the best for the summer and beyond. I have to laugh at myself. I was reading the instructions and it was talking about having scrap paper and a calculator handy. I was like WTF, did I wander into the wrong assessment?
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Post by operationalj on Jun 24, 2016 13:38:00 GMT -5
Futurealj : congratulations on getting through. Maybe you'll get bonus points for "judicial management " and "self management" for getting it done before many. Any suggestions as to things that make 2 & 3 easier? (not in terms of the substance of questions, obviously, but such as their suggestion to have a calculator, for example) All the best for the summer and beyond. I have to laugh at myself. I was reading the instructions and it was talking about having scrap paper and a calculator handy. I was like WTF, did I wander into the wrong assessment? Ha! I thought the same thing then ran around the house to find a calculator because I needed my phone/calculator as a timer.
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Post by LadyJR on Jun 24, 2016 15:08:23 GMT -5
Aa7 you are absolutely correct! I have just read the instructions and clearly it states you are on your honor (emboldened I might add) to complete the response "without interruptions, distractions, or disconnections" so those of you who intentionally disconnect from the response are cheating. That is my take on it.
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Post by foghorn on Jun 24, 2016 16:11:23 GMT -5
'....so those of you who intentionally disconnect from the response are cheating. That is my take on it." even if we have to go to the little judges' room? That'll hurry me through the EA!
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Post by lawbird on Jun 24, 2016 16:27:05 GMT -5
Aa7 you are absolutely correct! I have just read the instructions and clearly it states you are on your honor (emboldened I might add) to complete the response "without interruptions, distractions, or disconnections" so those of you who intentionally disconnect from the response are cheating. That is my take on it. I am heartened by those of you who totally get it. Thank you. For those who don't and are still looking for hacks, tricks, tips, and unending advice to gain some sort of advantage, all I can say is, "karma."
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Post by fowlfinder on Jun 24, 2016 16:55:10 GMT -5
I agree on not logging out on the writing assessment. One of the competencies listed in the ALJ vacancy announcement was self-management, and time management goes to the core of that.
Additionally, I'm all done. the EA is now off on the winds of 1s and 0s.
Now I can go ignore this thing for a while and catch some fish.
Thanks for the good (used loosely) times and great guidance.
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Post by cavaliertexan on Jun 24, 2016 18:18:01 GMT -5
Well I am girding my loins for the morning. Figure I will carve out three hours kids free and get this darn thing finished. Good Luck to all!
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Post by legaleagle74 on Jun 24, 2016 18:46:20 GMT -5
Completed Part 1 early this week. Decided to knock out Part 2 just now before I go out of town for work most of next week. Will try to finish it while on the road one evening. Good luck to everyone and have a good weekend!
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Post by aljag on Jun 24, 2016 18:57:37 GMT -5
It is refreshing to see that so many of you agree that this type of activity is untoward and dishonest. Just because you can log-off, write an essay, and then log back on, does not mean it is right. I also followed the instructions and only prepared my essay during the time allotted. I suggest a poll be started to track how many people used the 35 minutes as intended versus how many people decided to game the system. I suspect the numbers of those who logged-off then back on will be low -- as they would not want to admit that they cheated.
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Post by lawbird on Jun 24, 2016 19:02:26 GMT -5
Kind of defeats the purpose of a poll.
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Post by aa7 on Jun 24, 2016 19:56:17 GMT -5
Wouldn't it be interesting if the Writing Sample was not really a writing evaluation, but a test of judicial integrity........ ;-)
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Post by aljag on Jun 24, 2016 20:09:14 GMT -5
I have to admit I’ve suspected as much -- and frankly hope that it is. Most government (on-line) tests that I have taken show a start time and a finish time. I imagine it would not be hard to track individuals who log-on but then mysteriously don’t finish the exam until hours later. But then again...I’m not worried. As others have stated, those who cheat will only find themselves completely unprepared for the next phase.
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Post by briscoej on Jun 24, 2016 20:35:20 GMT -5
I also had the WTF thought re the calculator. Way to try to throw us off our game when we are on edge not knowing what to expect.
One down for me two more to go. I will take part 2 tomorrow.
I too have wondered if stuff other than answering the questions is factored in. Like logging out at the beginning, how much time you take, or how many times you watched the video scenarios.
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