What types of questions are on the FE exam?
Most FE exam questions are multiple choice with one correct answer, though NCEES also uses alternative item types: multiple correct, point and click, drag and drop, and fill in the blank. The exam has 110 questions, and every question, including the alternative types, is scored right or wrong, with no partial credit and no deduction for a wrong answer. A limited number of items are unscored pretest questions placed at random, and you cannot tell which ones they are.
Multiple choice with one answer
Single-answer multiple choice is the format you will see most often: you choose the one correct option and move to the next question. Your result is built from correct answers, so an incorrect choice or an unanswered question leaves that count unchanged, and when you can eliminate at least one option, you should choose among what remains. If two options still look possible, commit to one, since a correct guess increases your number of correct answers while an incorrect guess does not reduce it. Set your pace with how long the FE exam is and how many questions it has.
Alternative item types
These formats appear in the same exam as the single-answer questions. Each one is graded right or wrong as a whole.
Multiple correct
A multiple-correct item includes more than one right choice, and it counts as correct only when every right choice is marked and no wrong choice is included, since a partial set earns no credit. Read every option, decide on the full set, then mark it.
Point and click
You answer by selecting a point on the screen, and the question is correct only when that point matches what the stem asks.
Drag and drop
You answer by moving items into the arrangement the question requires, and the question is correct only when the arrangement is right, since one piece out of place makes the item wrong.
Fill in the blank
You type the response, and the item is scored right or wrong, so an entry that is only partly correct earns no credit. After multiplication or division, keep the significant digits of the least precise input, and for a final engineering result, keep 3 to 4 significant digits, which is the practice given on page 2 of FE Reference Handbook 10.6. Significant figures on the FE exam shows how to apply that when you type a number.
How the score is built
NCEES converts the number of correct answers to a scaled score, a conversion that adjusts for small differences in difficulty between exam forms, and then compares that scaled score with the ability level required to pass. Read how the FE exam is scored for more on that comparison.
Pretest items you cannot spot
Every exam includes a limited number of pretest items. Because they are placed at random and impossible to identify, answer each one as if it counts. Skipping a hard item in hopes it is pretest can mean missing a question that would have raised your number of correct answers.
Why two examinees see different questions
Year-round computer-based exams are assembled with a linear-on-the-fly (LOFT) algorithm, which gives every examinee the same number of questions per topic and the same relative difficulty, though each person gets a different set of questions. Matching items with someone who tested the same day will not show whether you reached the ability level required to pass.
How to practice each format
Practice single-answer items by answering even when you are unsure rather than leaving them blank. Practice multiple-correct items by settling the full set before you mark anything, then mark only the choices you mean to count. Practice point-and-click and drag-and-drop items by completing the response, then checking it once against the stem before you move on.
For fill-in items, set the significant digits with the handbook rules above before you type, and enter the value in the units the problem requests. Use calculation sets such as the clarifier overflow rate and detention time problems for typed numeric answers, and use statement sets such as the ethics problems on the NCEES Model Rules for choosing among written options. While you practice, read the note on page 2 of FE Reference Handbook 10.6, and follow how you use the FE Reference Handbook during the exam.
Frequently asked questions
Does the FE exam have fill-in-the-blank questions?
Yes, fill in the blank is an alternative item type, along with multiple correct, point and click, and drag and drop, though most questions are still multiple choice with one correct answer. The response is scored right or wrong, so use the practice on page 2 of FE Reference Handbook 10.6: keep the significant digits of the least precise input after multiplication or division, and 3 to 4 significant digits in a final engineering result.
Is there partial credit on select-all questions?
No. Multiple correct is the alternative item type people often mean by select-all, and the question is scored right or wrong, with no partial credit, so the set you mark has to be the correct set. Point and click, drag and drop, and fill in the blank are scored the same way.
Are wrong answers penalized on the FE?
No. The score is the number of correct answers, and a wrong answer is not deducted. NCEES converts that count to a scaled score that adjusts for small differences in difficulty between exam forms, then compares the scaled score with the ability level required to pass. On a single-answer item, a wrong guess and a blank both leave the correct-answer count unchanged.
Does everyone get the same FE questions?
No. Year-round computer-based exams are assembled with a linear-on-the-fly algorithm, so every examinee gets the same number of questions per topic and the same relative difficulty, but no two examinees get the same set of questions. Each exam has 110 questions.
Sources
- NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF). Retrieved October 3, 2026.
- NCEES: Computer-based testing. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
- NCEES: Exam scoring. Retrieved October 3, 2026.