Investigation of relationships between architectural education and professional architectural registration in Texas

This study introduces the process of licensure in architecture, which includes an education component, an internship component and an examination component. For comparison, the same process is reviewed in three other professions: law, medicine and engineering.;The education component of the architectural process includes three nationally approved formal educational paths, and the state of Texas allows two additional educational paths, making five different allowable methods to meet basic educational requirements for admission to the professional examination in that state. The Architectural Registration Examination is a rigorous nine part test, administerd over a four day period, and requires passage of all nine divisions prior to applying for an architecture license.;This study investigates relationships between the five different architectural education paths and pass rates on the ARE. The study analyzes the ARE scores of every architectural examinee in the State of Texas over a four year period from 1986 through 1989. Review and analysis of the actual pass rates of the Texas examinees in light of their educational backgrounds provides new insights into correlations which exist between architectural education and ARE performance.;This study reveals several relationships which exist between the various educational paths and pass rate performance on the overall ARE, as well as on specific portions of the exam which deal with design issues and technical issues specifically. It is not the announced intent of the ARE to test the base architectural education, yet the data in this case indicate that the specific base education of the examinees does affect pass rates on the ARE and on the design and technical portions of the ARE. Suggestions for these varying pass rates are also presented.