Retaking the Exam
Your exam result will be sent to you within 10 working days following your session. Regardless of the results in the different sections, it’s always the overall exam mark that determines whether you have passed or failed and, as a consequence, whether or not you will have to retake the exam.
If you have failed, the conditions for registering to retake the exam will be specified in your letter. Please note that a minimum period of 3 months before retaking the exam will be applied, as specified in section 9 of the Regulation respecting the vocational training of the workforce in the construction industry (R-20, r. 8). This letter will give not only your overall result, but also the result for each section of the exam (number of correct answers/total number of questions). You can therefore prepare to retake the exam with an orientation toward the skill(s) that you didn’t do so well on. You may also choose to improve your result in a section the subject of which you know well.
Composition of the retake exam
Candidates who retake an exam following a failure receive a different version of the exam(s) that they took before. All sections are submitted again, regardless of the previous result obtained. Out of concern for fairness for all candidates, the versions of the exam are of equivalent difficulty and evaluate the same skills and aspects of skills.
To help you prepare to retake your exam, consult the information sheets and the sample questions, which are good tools. The sample questions do not constitute a review but are aimed at familiarizing you with the types of questions in a qualification examination and with the computer tool for taking the exam.
Types of retake exam
Since 2020, the CCQ has changed its method for calculating the marks of the exams that it administers in order to offer those who fail the exam a new way to retake it: a retake exam with consolidated marks. The CCQ is thus responding to a request from the industry to review the approach to retaking qualification exams in order to support the success of the workforce.
So, here are the two types of retake exams possible:
IMPORTANT MESSAGE
It is to the benefit of all candidates to retake the exam with consolidated marks unless major changes have been made to the exam for their trade since they last took the exam. If this has happened, they will have to retake the exam with unconsolidated marks.
Retaking the exam with consolidated marks
This type of retake means that, for each section comprising an exam, the CCQ will retain only the better mark obtained between this retake and the one given on the notice of the results that the candidate had previously received.
Retaking the exam with unconsolidated marks
This type of retake means that, for each section comprising an exam, the CCQ will retain only the mark obtained during this sitting, regardless of the results of any previous exam. It is offered only when the retake follows a major change to the exam due, for example, to the advent of new technologies in a trade or a new code. In other words, the first retake following a major change cannot take account of the marks in any previous exam.
Special characteristics or exclusions
Please take note of the special characteristics of the following exams:
| Exam | Type of retake |
| Blaster | Only a retake with unconsolidated marks is possible, as the CCQ administers the exam for the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail. |
| Integration into the trade of crane operator | No retake is possible. |
| Qualification for boom truck shared activity |
Retake with unconsolidated marks only is possible. |
Example situations
Here are some examples of cases that show the different calculation methods by type of exam retaken.
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Example #1
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Example #2
Calculation of the mark for an exam retaken with consolidated marks
Alex tries to pass his carpenter-joiner exam for the first time (#1). Following this first attempt, which he fails, he takes the exam again (#2). He passes the exam after two attempts, thanks to the consolidation of his marks.
| #1 | #2 | ||
| Type of exam | Initial exam | Retaken exam with consolidated marks (real marks) |
Result with consolidated marks (marks retained by the CCQ)* |
| Section 1 (maximum 25 points) |
17 | 19 | 19 |
| Section 2 (maximum 12 points) |
5 | 4 | 5 |
| Section 3 (maximum 9 points) |
7 | 0 | 7 |
| Section 4 (maximum 15 points) |
5 | 10 | 10 |
| TOTAL (maximum 61 points) |
34 points | 33 points | 41 points |
| 56% | 54% | 67% | |
| Fail | Pass | ||
*Because it was a retake with consolidated marks, the CCQ retained the better of the two marks obtained per section (shown in boldface in the table) in exams 1 and 2. The marks in the right-hand column are those given in the results notice.
Calculation of the mark following a major change to the exam
Max tries to pass his carpenter-joiner exam for the first time (#1), and he fails the exam. Then, the CCQ makes a major change to the structure of the exam. In the example below, the maximum number of points per section has therefore changed. After the waiting period, Max tries to pass the exam a second time (#2). Because he retook the exam following a major change to the exam, the results cannot be consolidated with those from his first attempt.
| #1 | #2 | ||
| Type of exam | Initial exam | Type of exam | Retake exam with unconsolidated marks (real marks, retained by the CCQ) |
| Section 1 (maximum 25 points) |
17 | Section 1 (maximum 20 points) |
15 |
| Section 2 (maximum 12 points) |
6 | Section 2 (maximum 20 points) |
14 |
| Section 3 (maximum 9 points) |
6 | Section 3 (maximum 10 points) |
4 |
| Section 4 (maximum 15 points) |
5 | Section 4 (maximum 4 points) |
7 |
| TOTAL (maximum 61 point) |
34 points | TOTAL (maximum 61 point) |
40 points |
| 56% | 66% | ||
| Fail | Pass | ||
*Because it was a retake with unconsolidated marks, the CCQ does not take account of the results from previous exams. The marks retained by the CCQ following the retake are thus those actually obtained in exam #3. Those are the marks given in the results notice.