A tool to assist architects in transitioning from the current licensing exam to the new version debuting in late 2016 has been unveiled by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). NCARB released a Transition Calculator tool for the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) that will help licensure candidates transition from ARE 4.0 to ARE 5.0. A version of the nationally used exam, ARE 5.0, will launch in late 2016 and run concurrently with ARE 4.0 until June 2018 to allow candidates to select the transition plan that works best.
The ARE is a multi-division test developed by NCARB and taken by all candidates seeking architectural registration in the United States. The release of ARE 5.0 will be the latest update to the exam.
When determining how to transition candidates to ARE 5.0, NCARB developed options that will help candidates when making a plan:
Dual Delivery. ARE 4.0 will continue to be available after ARE 5.0 launches in late 2016. Candidates will be able to transition anytime during the period of dual delivery up until ARE 4.0 is retired on June 30, 2018.
Self-Transition. ARE candidates who began the testing process in ARE 4.0 will have the option to “self-transition” to ARE 5.0 as soon as it launches—or at any time before ARE 4.0 is retired. This will allow candidates to continue testing in the version that is most convenient for them. Once a candidate begins to test in ARE 5.0, however, they may not transition back to ARE 4.0.
Tools and Resources. NCARB is introducing more interactive tools and resources as the launch of ARE 5.0 approaches. NCARB representatives are available to help candidates determine the best strategy for the transition. In addition, the ARE 5.0 Transition Calculator has been created to assist licensure candidates immediately.
ARE 5.0 Transition Calculator
NCARB has designed the ARE 5.0 Transition Calculator to help candidates develop a personalized testing strategy. Candidates can log in through their My NCARB account to import their current testing status to the calculator.
The calculator will help candidates develop a personalized testing plan. It also shows how the test divisions used in ARE 4.0 will evolve in the ARE 5.0 test structure, to help any candidate plan for successfully completing their test taking. For candidates who have already begun testing, the calculator will help track exam expiration dates for individual divisions so that they can complete the ARE within five years.
The calculator is used in conjunction with NCARB’s Credit Model to determine which plan works best for each individual.
Practicing architects, who volunteer to serve on NCARB’s Examination Committee, partner with a test development consultant to review the content covered in each of the divisions of ARE 4.0 and ARE 5.0 to find a reasonable level of alignment. As a result, candidates have the opportunity to receive credit for ARE 5.0 divisions based on ARE 4.0 divisions passed.
For more information on the ARE 5.0 Calculator visit here. For the ARE 5.0, visit here<.
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
Guardian Building, Detroit, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. The relocation and consolidation of hundreds of employees from seven departments of Wayne County, Mich., into the historic Guardian Building in downtown Detroit is a refreshing tale of smart government planning and clever financial management that will benefit taxpayers in the economically distressed region for years to come.
| Oct 12, 2010
Richmond CenterStage, Richmond, Va.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Bronze Award. The Richmond CenterStage opened in 1928 in the Virginia capital as a grand movie palace named Loew’s Theatre. It was reinvented in 1983 as a performing arts center known as Carpenter Theatre and hobbled along until 2004, when the crumbling venue was mercifully shuttered.
| Oct 12, 2010
University of Toledo, Memorial Field House
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Memorial Field House, once the lovely Collegiate Gothic (ca. 1933) centerpiece (along with neighboring University Hall) of the University of Toledo campus, took its share of abuse after a new athletic arena made it redundant, in 1976. The ultimate insult occurred when the ROTC used it as a paintball venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Owen Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Officials at Michigan State University’s East Lansing Campus were concerned that Owen Hall, a mid-20th-century residence facility, was no longer attracting much interest from its target audience, graduate and international students.
| Oct 12, 2010
Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Gartner Auditorium was originally designed by Marcel Breuer and completed, in 1971, as part of his Education Wing at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Despite that lofty provenance, the Gartner was never a perfect music venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Cleveland, Ohio
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. The Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was dedicated on the Fourth of July, 1894, to honor the memory of the more than 9,000 Cuyahoga County veterans of the Civil War.
| Oct 12, 2010
Building 13 Naval Station, Great Lakes, Ill.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1903, Building 13 is one of 39 structures within the Great Lakes Historic District at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.
| Oct 12, 2010
Full Steam Ahead for Sustainable Power Plant
An innovative restoration turns a historic but inoperable coal-burning steam plant into a modern, energy-efficient marvel at Duke University.
