Preparation for Licensing Exams

Preparation for Licensing Exams

PSI will now administer the ABC national examination. The information below is related to the previous Need-to-Know Criteria.

This site is currently being updated to reflect the new changes to the, now, closed book exam.

*Education can be used for some of the occupational experience needed. Learn more about that here.

Just as water treatment operator job duties vary in their complexity, so will the questions you are asked on the exam. Some will be more simple and routine, whereas others will be more complex, or cognitively demanding. The following three levels are used to describe the complexity of the questions you will encounter on this exam:

Recall Tasks at this level typically require the simple recall or recognition of specific facts, concepts, processes, or procedures, with little to no problem-solving involved. You may be asked to identify, illustrate, recall, and/or recognize specific information.

Application Tasks at this level will involve some basic problem solving, calculations, or the interpretation and application of data. You may be asked to calculate, categorize, classify, compare, differentiate, explain, specify, translate, and/or apply knowledge.

Analysis Tasks at this level may involve higher level problem solving, evaluation, or the fitting together of a variety of elements into a meaningful whole; they will usually require many steps in the thought process. You may be asked to analyze, evaluate, formulate, generalize, judge, predict, and/or use inductive or deductive reasoning to arrive at a solution.

Examination Content For Water Operators

Exam Class

Topic Information Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4

Treatment Process

33
30 31 30

Laboratory Analysis 13 13 14 13

Equipment Operation & Maintenance 21 23 24 27

Source Water Characteristics 9 10 11 10

Security, Safety, Compliance, & Administrative Procedures 24 24 20 20

To learn more in depth information pertaining to each, click on the main topic.

Virginia Water Treatment Examination Formula Sheet (Shows how to work each problem step by step)

Examination Content Outline For Wastewater Operators

The outline below lists the topics that are on the examination and the number of items for each topic.

	Exam Class
Topic Information	Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Class 4
Evaluate Incoming Wastestream/Sidestream Characteristics	4	4	3	3
Monitor, Evaluate and Adjust Treatment Processes	26	25	23	19
Evaluate and Maintain Equipment	10	9	8	10
Operate Equipment	8	7	6	7
Collect Samples and Interpret Analyses	8	8	6	7
Perform Laboratory Analyses	8	8	6	7
Perform Security, Safety and Administrative Procedures	11	9	8	7
Total Number of Items	75	70	60	60

To learn more in depth information pertaining to each, click on the main topic.

Virginia Wastewater Treatment Examination Formula Sheet

Homepage

*Subject areas are found on our website or references.

Virginia DPOR Board Water/Wastewater Works Regulations

Recall	Tasks at this level typically require the simple recall or recognition of specific facts, concepts, processes, or procedures, with little to no problem-solving involved. You may be asked to identify, illustrate, recall, and/or recognize specific information.
Application	Tasks at this level will involve some basic problem solving, calculations, or the interpretation and application of data. You may be asked to calculate, categorize, classify, compare, differentiate, explain, specify, translate, and/or apply knowledge.
Analysis	Tasks at this level may involve higher level problem solving, evaluation, or the fitting together of a variety of elements into a meaningful whole; they will usually require many steps in the thought process. You may be asked to analyze, evaluate, formulate, generalize, judge, predict, and/or use inductive or deductive reasoning to arrive at a solution.