Rater Trainer's RESNET National Rater Test Administration Resources

All rater trainers must now administer the RESNET National Rater Test as part of their rater training and certification. This web page is a resource guide for accredited rater training providers to administer the national rater test.

RESNET National Rater Test

The RESNET National Rater Test is an on-line 50 question true or false / multiple choice test. The test in open book and raters have two hours to complete the test. The test is on building science concepts and rating procedures. Raters receive the results from the test immediately after completing the test. A passing score is 80%. The test can be administered either on-line or disk-based. There is a $50.00 fee to RESNET for taking the test.

The RESNET National Rater Test's questions are divided into the key categories of building science and home energy ratings. The following are the categories of the test questions and the percentage of questions in each category that are contained in the test:

• Building Science/Heat Transfer (12%)
• Building Diagnostics (10%)
• Air Distribution Leakage (8%)
• Calculating Gross and Net Areas (6%)
• Definitions/Energy Terminology (6%)
• Energy Units (6%)
• Health & Safety Concerns (6%)
• Envelope Leakage (6%)
• Determining Envelope Insulation (4%)
• Determining Equipment Efficiencies (4%)
• Potential Comfort Problems (2%)
• Household Appliances (2%)
• Measuring Building Dimensions (2%)
• Understanding Building Drawings (2%)
• Completing Scaled Sketches (2%)
• Ethics and Disclosure (2%)
• Understanding Real Estate Financing (2%)
• ID & Document Features of the Rated Home (2%)
• Specifications (2%)
• Quality Assurance (2%)
• Cooling and Heating Design Tradeoffs (2%)
• Reference Home as Defined (2%)
• Projected and Confirmed Ratings (1%)
• Determining Window and Door Efficiency (1%)
• Building and Durability Issues (1%)
• Energy Code Compliance (1%)
• Program Qualifications (1%)
• Determining Building Orientation (1%)
• HERS® Score Computation (1%)
• Major U.S. Climate Zones (1%)

How the RESNET Rater Test Was Developed

The test was developed over a four-year period using the best minds in the rating industry. The test is based on the tests previously used by RESNET's accredited rater training providers. A training committee composed of representatives of the nation's leading rating providers and rater training providers including Southface Energy Institute, Conservation Services Group, Florida Solar Energy Center, Kansas Building Science Institute, Energy Rated Homes, Northeast HERS® Alliance, and California Home Energy Efficiency Rating Services spent three years culling the best questions and weighing their priority among the categories listed above to write the pool of test questions.

Once the test question pool was developed, RESNET conducted an alpha test. The alpha test was open to all rater trainers and involved a review and the ability to comment on all questions. Upon completion of the beta test, RESNET staff and the RESNET Training Committee reviewed the comments and reworded a number of questions for clarity, as well as, replacing some of the questions. Upon the completion of this process, a professional technical editor was retained to review and edit each question for consistency and clarity.

After the professional edit of the test, RESNET conducted a beta test, which every rater was invited to take. Upon completion of the beta test, RESNET staff compiled those questions that were most often missed and again, RESNET's Technical Committee reviewed and edited the questions for accuracy and clarity.

This entire effort was led by Kathy Spigarelli, RESNET's Education and Training Coordinator. Kathy is an adult education professional and has over three decades of professional testing experience. Over the next year, RESNET will be reviewing the results of the test. The RESNET Training and Education Committee has adopted a process to review all questions in the pool and replace every question with a new question, every six years.