CAP Talk

Cadet Programs => Cadet Programs Management & Activities => Topic started by: Sgt. Papa on October 21, 2011, 01:46:00 AM

Title: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Sgt. Papa on October 21, 2011, 01:46:00 AM
'kay, so i'm taking the Wright Brothers Exam this November and there is NO WAY i wanna fail it over and over. i wanna get it over with, and get onto studying for C/TSgt. I've heard C/SSgt is a toughie, and it's ruined some cadets CAP careers. so please if you have any tips, AT ALL, please share.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: titanII on October 21, 2011, 02:22:20 AM
I have my WB exam scheduled soon (next week if the tests come in). Basically what I have been doing to study is: read the chapters a bunch, study with the review questions a lot, and study the bolded terms. In short, I'm making sure I know that book cover to cover. :D
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: davidsinn on October 21, 2011, 02:26:53 AM
I have a hard time believing that this test ruined a cadet's career. The downside of it is that it's closed book, untimed. The advantage of it is that it's closed book, untimed. Don't forget that there is a drill portion to it as well.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Ron1319 on October 21, 2011, 02:37:34 AM
We have had several cadets that have had a hard time with this test.  What we have found is that many of the answers could be true.  It is rather tricky.  I consider myself somewhat of an expert on both test taking and CAP knowledge.  This one left me really scratching my head on many of the questions. 

Once you find the question in the text, it very clearly states the answer and the question is not ambiguous in any way.  However, you do have to really know the material and what they state in the book.  Whether you pass it or not the first try, my advice would be to go back and review the material after taking the test and learn the answers to the questions that you missed. 

This is probably your first hard test, and I would recommend preparing for it as suggested above.  Read the material thoroughly, take notes, and know the terms and definitions.  Understand them and what they mean.  Don't get as hung up in passing it the first try and worrying about it ruining your career, though. 
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Extremepredjudice on October 21, 2011, 02:56:52 AM
Read the bolded text, in all of the chapters.

Use logic, think about it... provided a "test" of it, mentally.

Look at the grammar, a lot of answers can be counted off by improper grammar.

Passed my wright bros first try.


The Drill portion is pretty easy, just stuff about how you should order a flight around. There is a bit about NCO CoC, that I had no clue on, and never heard about.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: crisptheyounger on October 21, 2011, 03:13:00 AM
Since it's a cumulative test, it'll cover everything from Chapters 1-3. I've found that outlines help a lot. They let you see what concepts/ideas flow through each of the chapters so you can better connect each chapter to another. There are outlines online, but I recommend making your own. Making the study materials is part of studying itself.

That being said, if you do happen to fail, immediately (or as soon as you can) go back to your textbook and highlight the portions you remember being on the test. This will help you recognize the concept areas you need to study more.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: M.N. on October 21, 2011, 03:37:58 PM
I recommend reviewing the first three chapters for an hour a night until you take the test. When you come across a question that you're not sure about, ask yourself which of the options would be the most logical. Also, be sure to brush up on your drill knowledge.

Best of luck.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: johnnyb47 on October 21, 2011, 07:18:39 PM
Here are a few resources I was able to find online;
http://wiki.cadetstuff.org/index.php?title=Wright_Brothers_Award_Exam (http://wiki.cadetstuff.org/index.php?title=Wright_Brothers_Award_Exam)
http://www.cadetstuff.org/archives/000111.html (http://www.cadetstuff.org/archives/000111.html)

Good luck.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Ron1319 on October 21, 2011, 07:23:07 PM
We should probably have asked whether you are in the new material or the old material.  I've spent some time working with this exam recently, and with both versions, logic will not prevail.  You have to know the book answers for many (many!) of the questions. 

Also, I was the GLR NCC Team commander in '07 and I've escorted the PCR team the last two years (3rd place this year!) and a couple of the drill questions were rather obscure and very hard.  I asked our team commander from the last two years and he didn't know, either. 

It is a hard exam.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Extremepredjudice on October 21, 2011, 08:23:50 PM
Quote from: Ron1319 on October 21, 2011, 07:23:07 PM
We should probably have asked whether you are in the new material or the old material.  I've spent some time working with this exam recently, and with both versions, logic will not prevail.  You have to know the book answers for many (many!) of the questions. 

Also, I was the GLR NCC Team commander in '07 and I've escorted the PCR team the last two years (3rd place this year!) and a couple of the drill questions were rather obscure and very hard.  I asked our team commander from the last two years and he didn't know, either. 

It is a hard exam.
I must use different logic then...
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Ron1319 on October 21, 2011, 08:27:02 PM
As we're talking about testing, I can't give you examples. 
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Noble Six on October 21, 2011, 08:29:58 PM
http://texascadet.org/Resources.html (http://texascadet.org/Resources.html) revues and resources for all achievements.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: titanII on October 21, 2011, 09:35:47 PM
Also, the objectives at the beginning of the sections are good study tools.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Майор Хаткевич on October 22, 2011, 03:09:31 AM
The WBA, at least the "old" test was not hard...

There is NO new material there...a cadet should know it. If they do not, then the program is working correctly and they have to spend more time learning the basics.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: BillB on October 22, 2011, 09:16:38 AM
The old WBA was an achievement. The new WBA is a milestone. The new test is much harder and has a higher percentage of cadets failing on the first attempt.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: davidsinn on October 22, 2011, 11:58:32 AM
Quote from: BillB on October 22, 2011, 09:16:38 AM
The old WBA was an achievement. The new WBA is a milestone.

No. The old WBA was a milestone as well. The version before that was an achievement.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Ron1319 on October 22, 2011, 05:16:45 PM
Correct, however, the new test database is designed to be taken open book and the previous question database was designed to be taken closed book.  The questions on the new Wright Brothers exam are often specific enough and tricky enough to make me think that they are open book questions given on a closed book exam.  It'd be nice if there was a filter box one could check to change the responses from "all" to "those who have read every question on both the current and previous Wright Brothers exam."
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Майор Хаткевич on October 22, 2011, 06:49:31 PM
Quote from: BillB on October 22, 2011, 09:16:38 AM
The old WBA was an achievement. The new WBA is a milestone. The new test is much harder and has a higher percentage of cadets failing on the first attempt.

What davidsinn said. *Even though I did take the achievement when I hit that point*.

I've had plenty of cadets pass the WBA on the first try, and plenty that did terribly. The reason? studying.


If you are barely passing each achievement, then you can be sure you'll struggle on the WBA. That is multiplied with OPEN book tests, and proves the system works.

Open book does not mean that you don't study and just use the book. Open book means it's an option to use, but the EXPECTATION is that the cadet learns the material. If the WBA seems hard, then the previous lessons have not been learned, and the cadet is not ready to progress from Airman to NCO.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Ron1319 on October 22, 2011, 07:15:33 PM
I'm going to say this a final time -- I understand the concepts.  I know the lessons.  For the new test, I did not know the answers to many of the questions because they were intentionally misleading as you would expect from an open book exam, however this exam is closed book.  I felt it was more a test of whether the cadets specifically remembered the exact line in the text rather than the concepts.  Here is my own example which I believe is NOT a question from the exam:

The warrior spirit is one of what type of condition?
a) tough-mindedness
b) motivation
c) heart
d) character

The answer is "c" but all of the answers are correct.  You can understand the concept, but unless you remember specifically the wording of the text, you can not deduce or reason out the answer.

This is much different than a question like:

What are the four core values of Civil Air Patrol?
a) Integrity First, Volunteer Service, Excellence in All We Do and Respect
b) Integrity First, Volunteer Service, Compassion and Respect
c) Integrity First, Fitness, Compassion and Respect
d) Integrity First, Fitness, Compassion and the Warrior Spirit

This question has a clear right answer, which the cadets are expected to know, and even though it still can not be reasoned out, all of the answers are not true.

Here is another example?

Who forms the squadron in line?
a) The commanding officer
b) The first sergeant
c) The flight sergeants
d) The flight commanders

There is a book answer on page 55 of the drill and ceremonies manual.  I believe that the answer is dependent upon the situation.  If the commander tells the flight commanders to form the squadron in line, then the flight commanders could fall in their flights.  In that case the answer would be a or d.  That question is not nearly as hard in my opinion as the drill and ceremonies question that is on the exam.  Please note that I believe anyone can look in the book and make up questions and these are all from my opening the books (in the PDF sense) and making up questions of my own.  I have access to the tests, but I do not believe that these are questions from the exam. 
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: DakRadz on October 24, 2011, 02:17:52 PM
Quote from: Ron1319 on October 22, 2011, 07:15:33 PM
Here is my own example which I believe is NOT a question from the exam:

The warrior spirit is one of what type of condition?
a) tough-mindedness
b) motivation
c) heart
d) character

The answer is "c" but all of the answers are correct.  You can understand the concept, but unless you remember specifically the wording of the text, you can not deduce or reason out the answer.

Ever heard of the NREMT Exam? Did you help write it? ;D
Wow. Much prefer my WBA exam if this is truly how they are wording questions.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: titanII on October 29, 2011, 08:37:05 PM
I was Google-ing WB Exam reviews, and I found this site, made by the South San Diego Cadet Squadron: http://sites.google.com/site/sq201cawg/practice-tests-leadership (http://sites.google.com/site/sq201cawg/practice-tests-leadership)
It has practice tests for every almost achievement up to the Mitchell Award, including the WBA. I've found the practice test to be a pretty useful gauge. I hope you'll find this site as useful as I have- I'll definitely be using it for future promotions.

BTW, Ron1319: did you make these practice tests? Because some of the examples you gave are on them...   :D
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: Ron1319 on October 29, 2011, 08:53:40 PM
No, I haven't made any published practice tests.. but I have done a bit of work with academics for NCC team prep.  Also a bit of tutoring for cadets who were having problems with tests.
Title: Re: any tips for Wright Bros./anyone know the main points to study?
Post by: titanII on October 29, 2011, 09:04:12 PM
Quote from: Ron1319 on October 29, 2011, 08:53:40 PM
No, I haven't made any published practice tests.. but I have done a bit of work with academics for NCC team prep.  Also a bit of tutoring for cadets who were having problems with tests.
Oh, because your examples were almost exactly like questions on the practice test, and I saw that you're from CAWG, so I thought you might have been involved.