[Ray Freeman]

I agree that the Dimensions of Parking is not worth the cost. The LA Portable Handbook appears to be a very condensed version of TSS, so if you have TSS, I wouldn’t bother.

[Ray Freeman]

In my opinion this is a pretty good book to assist in exam prep for section 3.

[Ray Freeman]

Shavawn,

If you took and did not pass section 4 in April, I suggest you try my classes in Berkeley. I’ll be covering Section 4 on the 3 day weekend of October 16-18, 8:30am to 6:30 pm all three days. See my comments elsewhere on this board about LARE review courses in general and my Section 4 review in specific (on the LARE_Anything Goes Forum). Send me a note with your e-mail and I’ll send you a brochure on my fall classes.

You’ll have to travel, but I’m pretty certain that you will find that it will be worth while. I’ve had students come from Toronto, Boston, Miami, and even Puerto Rico and they have all been very happy that they did.

Ray

[Ray Freeman]

There are a number of LARE review sessions offered around the country and several individuals on this web site (Including myself) have advertised their courses or expressed opinions herein.

These classes are mainly in the classroom, other than Cheryl Corson’s webinar series. Let’s take a brief objective look at some of the offerings…..

Corson: Webinars. Exam overview and sections 3 and 4. A total of 6.5 hours plus five one hour Q&A sessions. Cost is $245 for 11.5 hours. This works out to $21/hr. Half is pre-recorded. It is not clear whether any printed material is included.

UCLA Extension: On site classes. Sections 1 and 2 covered in 8 hours. $302. Section 3 covered in 8 hours. $302. These work out to $38/hr. Section 4 is 14 hours. $530. This works out to $37/hr. They claim great pass rates, but offer no evidence as to what their students actual pass rate is. No details are offered on the amount of printed material included in any of the 3 classes.

Matt Mathes:  On site classes. Section 3: 4 hours. $125 Section 4: 4 hours. $125. Hourly rate is $31/hr. Books offered…Hastings PPI Section E vignettes. Good book of grading vignettes, but oriented to the pre-2012 exam format, with no coverage of Construction Documentation.  One Rowland PPI Section C vignette book: Possibly one of the most atrociously researched and prepared documents ever offered for LARE study by anyone. The vignette solutions rated as “Passing” contain multiple critical fail mistakes. In addition, the book is oriented toward the pre-2012 exam. In fact BOTH of these vignette books are approximately 9 years out of date. Mathes claims his methods are “proven”, but offers no further explanation or evidence.

ASLA: On site classes at the ASLA convention. Sections 1, 2 and 3 covered in 4 hours. Section 4 covered in 4 hours. Information on written material is sketchy, but you can review the written material from previous sessions on the ASLA LARE prep page under “Handouts”. It’s from late 2012. There are 32 pages total.  Each 4 hour session is $125. Average cost, $21/hr.

Freeman & Jewell: On site classes. Sections 1 and 2. 16 hours. 285 page book, updated twice per year. $350. Average cost $22/hr.   Section 3. 24 hours. 294 page book, updated twice per year. $450. Average cost $19/hr.   Section 4. 25 hours. 440 page book, updated 3x per year. $450. Average cost $18/hr.

My advice is this: Do your due diligence prior to selecting one course over another, or even deciding to take a review. There are certainly other LARE courses available, often through state chapters…NY State, Univ. of Georgia, and UT Texas-Arlington come to mind. In addition, Morrison Media and Worthington Publishing sell LARE prep books. Quality of material and quality of instruction DOES vary. If you think you need a prep class, by all means ask pointed questions of the course providers. Ask probing questions of the publishers of study material. Questions such as: Exactly what do I get for my money? How often is the material updated? Is it truly relevant to the new exam format? What is your students pass rate?

There is also an abundance of printed material available through the Google Groups LARE group. However, understand that the volume of documents in this file is overwhelming and some of it is well over 15 years old. No one has taken the time or effort to vet the material. It can take a lot of time and effort to sift out the wheat from the chaff…and there is plenty of the latter.

Finally, on the new (2012) exam, sections 1, 2 and 3 each have a passing rate close to 70%, whereas 4 is around 55%. CLARB charges $515 each for Sections 3 and 4 (raw cost, NIC application fees and CLARB Council Records). That is a huge amount of money ($129/hr.). Failure is expensive. The grading and drainage questions are, IMO, NOT difficult…especially compared to the old pre-2012 vignettes. The killer on section 4 is the breadth of material covered that is not strictly grading and drainage graphic problems. You have resource conservation and management, construction docs, specifications, detailing, and understanding how to use and assemble a wide range of materials. Then there is sedimentation and erosion control, stormwater management, foundation systems, surveying, construction equipment, and maintenance, among others.

Best of luck in your preparation endeavors!

[Ray Freeman]

Well Bob, I totally agree with you about CLARB. The new format for Design and Grading is pretty sickening in my view.

Possibly the most serious issue is that their specs for the exam are highly flawed and they tend to disregard them. The exam would be less difficult if CLARB provided good resources for preparation…meaning that they explained what was going to be on what section so candidates could at least prepare for the breadth of the material they are testing. IMO, CLARB does a very poor job of this.

I have written many e-mails to Jim Penrod about straightforward changes to clarify specific wordings in the old Reference manual. They ALL went directly into the circular file. They never implemented a single one.

[Ray Freeman]

There are seats available in my Section 4 workshops in northern California on June 20-22 and in Raleigh, NC on July 11-13, 2014. There should be links to these events here in Land 8 and definitely on the ASLA website, or you can e-mail me directly for a descriptive brochure at Rayfreeman3@comcast.net

[Ray Freeman]

Here’s some general information that I have gathered by asking pointed questions and looking at all information available on the “new” exam format.

First of all, CLARB claimed, during the ‘redesign” process, that the new format would closely follow the way things are done in an office. Of course no one at CLARB has actually worked in a design office for well over a decade. At any rate, that should put plant massing in section 3 (Design) as this section was alleged to cover Schematic thru Design Development. Instead, they put plant massing questions in Section 4. (See CLARBs own “not free” sample exams). Plant massing is NOT done in the Construction Documentation phase in the real world. CDs were supposed to be covered in section 4.

My best suggestion if you are unhappy with the current process and costs (which are now upwards of $1800) is to complain bitterly to your State Chapter officers, especially your chapter trustee, and your CLARB regional director. It may come to nothing, but nothing will change unless severe political pressure is applied.

[Ray Freeman]

<< But, even with over 30 yrs. of site grading experience…graded over 500 projects during my LA career, I’m not so sure I could pass the “computerized” version of the LARE Grading exam. >>

Robert,

I bet with a little practice and some minimal guidance you could blow away the grading problems on the current exam.

Ray

[Ray Freeman]

I have it, and I don’t think it’s worth $130, unless you are a construction contracts lawyer.

Ray

[Ray Freeman]

My Grading, Drainage and Construction Documentation (section 4) Bootcamp in the San Francisco Bay area is a 3-day, 25 hour class that costs $450. Unlike just about everyone else, I am constantly upgrading my material to keep it as current as is possible. The text is now at 400 pages of material including over 180 questions and Advanced Items Types.

For example, the PPI books have not been updated since 2007-08, when they were written under the previous exam format. BTW, the two Section C PPI vignette books are terrible, and were when they were written. IMO they will help you to FAIL the design section, because they give solutions that violate all kinds of CLARB maxims. Jerry Hastings section E PPI book is good, but it’s 8-9 years out of date.

[Ray Freeman]

Northern California – LARE Prep Sections 1&2 – 2013
Date/Time:	October 26-27, 2013  8:30 am-6:00 pm
Description:	This workshop covers exam background, project management, contracts, construction administration, construction law, inventory and analysis, programming, ordinances and codes. 260 page syllabus. 200 practice questions.
Location:	LaQuinta Inn, 920 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA  94710
Instructor:	Ray Freeman ASLA, CPESC 413,   RLA CA 3722, MA 928, NC 356
Cost:	Through 10/12 $350; After 10/12: $375
Contact:	Freeman & Jewell Landscape Architecture Phone Number: 510-528-0375 Email Address:  Rayfreeman3@comcast.net   More information: Send e-mail to above address

[Ray Freeman]

Don’t try to be a designer on the Design Section of the LARE.

Think problem solving.

[Ray Freeman]

Melanie,

I just got off the phone with David Gregory of Colorado ASLA and we discussed this very point. We will be taking registrations for the E class through Wednesday of this week. Please contact David directly regarding late registration.

Ray

[Ray Freeman]

There will not be one this spring. All of my other opportunities came through. The closest reviews I will be doing are Sections C and E in Denver, and Section C in Philly.

Maybe I can work something out in the fall.

[Ray Freeman]

Unfortunately, the LARE is, as Brian points out, a test. And test question writers tend to write questions that are test-oriented, rather than real world practical oriented.

[Author]

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