Review Sessions
The College of Environment and Design, in conjunction with the Georgia Chapter ASLA, offer two LARE review courses each year for practicing professionals preparing to sit for the national Landscape Architecture Registration Exam. Each of the two review courses are structured differently as outlined below.
Spring Review Session
The spring review session covers all five LARE sections as well as the State of Georgia component. The spring review is geared towards practicing professionals who are preparing to take the exam for the first time or individuals who need additional assistance in preparing for particular LARE sections. The review is typically held in February at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens, Georgia and lasts for three full days.
Fall Review Session
The fall review session only covers the two graphic vignette sections of the LARE exam and the State of Georgia component. This review is intended for practicing professionals who are looking for supplemental instruction towards passing the graphic vignette sections of the LARE. Attendees will receive nearly 6 hours of instruction for each of the vignette sections instead of the 3 hours allocated to each vignette section during the spring review. The fall review is typically held in Caldwell Hall in October or November and lasts for two days.
CLARB Information
While our review is not associated with CLARB, we strongly encourage you to visit and explore the CLARB website for the most current exam information including dates and material content. Pay particular attention to the free downloads they offer, especially the LARE Reference Manual, Multiple Choice Orientation Guide, and Job Analysis Survey. Knowing the content of these documents is critical to performing well on the exam.
Session Descriptions
Section A: Project and Construction Administration
This section follows CLARB’s content outline and covers basic definitions and concepts relating to Project Administration, Construction Administration and Assessment, and Review. John Anderson provides each review participant with a review manual and systematically discusses its content. Several sample questions/answers are discussed and a timed practice exam is administered during this review section.
Section B: Inventory, Analysis, and Program Development
Considered to be the broadest of the five CLARB test sections, Professor Georgia Harrison spends time orienting review participants to the exam structure and the wide variety of topics that are part of this section. She presents many sample questions and discusses the answers. Each review participant is given a review manual that contains supplemental review content. A timed practice exam is part of this review section.
Section C: Site Design
This particular section typically has a 30-50 percent passing rate. We believe this low number is due to the fact that examinees fail to understand CLARB’s design criteria and how to implement CLARB’s standards on vignette problems. From this point of view, Professor Ron Sawhill spends considerable time covering the LARE Manual that is issued by CLARB. Several test problems and answers are discussed and review participants work sample test problems that attempt to simulate the actual exam. Section C has a ‘studio’ format where both group teaching and individual instruction occur.
Section D: Design and Construction Documentation
The content areas related to Section D are Design Principles, Resource Conservation Management, Graphic Communication, and Materials and Methods of Construction. Professor Alfie Vick lectures on these areas and conducts a timed test where review participants gauge their knowledge on a practice exam. All participants are given a review manual containing supplemental study information.
Section E: Grading, Drainage, and Stormwater Management
Professor David Nichols begins Section E by covering the basic principles of grading as a general review. The problems and examples get more difficult as the review progresses. Several problems are worked in front of review participants to best illustrate their solutions. Review participants will work sample test problems during the review in a ‘studio’ format where both group teaching and individual instruction occur.
Section F: The Georgia Section
Professor Ashley Calabria lectures on the material content that is related to the Georgia test Section. Content areas including Georgia Law, Water Quality, Ecology, Georgia Geology, Climate and Plants are covered in the review. A slide show of Georgia plants is shown and students are given a study guide as take home review material.
