If you ask a real estate agent about their frustrations with the real estate exam, many will likely say that they missed more math questions than they anticipated. They are likely to say that they really studied for the math and thought they had it nailed.
There are various explanations as to how the term "red herring" came to be associated with fooling someone. Several of them talk about using the strong smell of a fish, the herring, to throw off dogs in hunting training or other pursuits. The idea as it pertains to our discussion, is that the test will fool you with the answer choices on math questions. Patterns develop over time that indicate certain ways in which real estate exam math questions are missed. Usually, it is a lack of attention to details and an answer that looks correct in certain situations.
An example might be, as in many states, a "living area" square footage calculation. Usually, the living area is defined as the heated and/or cooled areas in the home. This would not include porches and exterior patios, etc. However, test takers are found to regularly miss this type of question if they throw in a "red herring" answer. A sketch of the home is presented, and there are four or five choices for the living area square footage. The sketch has dimensions of all the rooms, but they also have dimensions on a porch area. Those are there to catch people who aren't paying close attention.
A test taker moving fast might easily grab all the dimensions and, guess what, there is an answer that perfectly matches their math result. The only problem is that it is incorrect because it includes the area of the porch. This is just an example, but it illustrates how these real estate exam questions can fool you. USRealEstateExams.com makes certain that you experience these same types of "red herring" questions in their practice exams. Rest assured that you'll be prepared and less likely to be fooled when you take your real estate exam prep training with USRealEstateExams.com.
