Study guide
2.3 Performance Checklists and the Six Demonstrations
ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician Grade I Study Guide Exam
Track your progress as you read
Finished sections get a check mark.
1 Orientation: Certification Requirements, Written Exam, Performance Exam, and Study Sources
1.1 Credential Purpose and Official Definition 1.2 Eligibility and the Two-Part Certification Path 1.3 Written Exam Format and Dual Passing Rule 1.4 Performance Exam Format and Grading 1.5 Current Study Sources and CP-1 41st Edition 1.6 Validity, Recertification, and Myth Control
2 JTA, Performance Checklists, Common Fail Points, and Field Mindset
2.1 JTA as the Exam Blueprint 2.2 Written Knowledge Versus Performance Skill 2.3 Performance Checklists and the Six Demonstrations 2.4 Timing, Sequence, and Verbal Description Discipline 2.5 Common Fail Points and Result Recording 2.6 Field Mindset, Exam Habits, and Second Trials
3 ASTM C172: Sampling Fresh Concrete and Field Sample Control
3.1 Representative Sampling Purpose and Exam Role 3.2 Sampling Locations and Middle-Discharge Control 3.3 Composite Sample Timing, Remixing, and Protection 3.4 Sample Size, Large Aggregate, and Wet Sieving 3.5 Sequence With Slump, Temperature, Air, Density, and Specimens 3.6 Performance Exam Verbal Description and Field Habits
4 ASTM C1064 Temperature and ASTM C143 Slump
4.1 ASTM C1064 Purpose, Equipment, and Timing 4.2 Sensor Placement, Stabilization, and Reporting 4.3 Temperature Field Errors and Performance Habits 4.4 ASTM C143 Scope, Equipment, and Setup 4.5 Filling, Rodding, Lifting, and Measuring Slump 4.6 Invalid Slump Results, Reporting, and Integrated Habits
5 ASTM C138: Density, Unit Weight, Yield, and Gravimetric Air
5.1 Purpose, Equipment, and the Calibrated Measure 5.2 Sampling, Filling, and Consolidation Choice 5.3 Strike-Off, Cleaning, Mass, and Density 5.4 Yield, Relative Yield, and Batch Comparison 5.5 Gravimetric Air and Theoretical Density 5.6 Reporting, Validity, and Calculation Traps
6 ASTM C231: Pressure Air Method, Type B Meter, and Aggregate Correction
6.1 Scope, Principle, and When Pressure Air Fits 6.2 Type B Meter Equipment, Calibration, and Setup 6.3 Sampling, Bowl Filling, Consolidation, and Strike-Off 6.4 Type B Sequence: Water, Petcocks, Pressure, and Reading 6.5 Aggregate Correction Factor and Final Air Content 6.6 Reporting, Validity, and Invalid-Result Traps
7 ASTM C173: Volumetric Air Method, Rollameter, Alcohol Correction, and Validity
7.1 Scope, Equipment, and When the Volumetric Method Fits 7.2 Sample, Bowl Filling, Consolidation, and Strike-Off 7.3 Water, Alcohol, Initial Liquid Level, and Sealing 7.4 Inversion, Shaking, Rolling, and Air Release 7.5 Reading Agreement, Out-of-Range Steps, and Invalid Results 7.6 Alcohol Correction, Calculation, Reporting, and Performance Habits
8 ASTM C31: Making and Curing Cylinders and Beams, Initial Curing, and Transport
8.1 Purpose, Sample, Equipment, and Specimen Plan 8.2 Cylinder Molding, Consolidation, Finishing, and Identification 8.3 Beam Molding, Flexural Specimens, and Finishing 8.4 Initial Curing, Protection, Temperature, and Moisture 8.5 Standard Curing, Field Curing, Final Curing, and Interpretation 8.6 Transport, Lab Handoff, Reporting, and Common Failures
9 Integrated Field Workflow: Test Order, Documentation, and Quality Control
9.1 Field Sample to Report Workflow 9.2 Test Order and Parallel Timing 9.3 Documentation and Report Accuracy 9.4 Invalid Results and Retest Decisions 9.5 QA/QC Communication and Acceptance Context 9.6 Contamination, Delays, and Handoff Control
10 Written Exam Strategy: Numerical Values, Calculations, and Category Scoring
10.1 One-Hour Written Exam Pacing 10.2 Category Scoring and the No-Compensation Rule 10.3 High-Yield Numerical Values and Units 10.4 Density, Yield, and Gravimetric Air Calculations 10.5 Air Content Corrections and Validity Checks 10.6 Method-by-Method Practice Plan
11 Performance Exam Strategy: Equipment Setup, Examiner Communication, and Remediation
11.1 Performance Exam Map and Mindset 11.2 Equipment Setup, Station Control, and Safety 11.3 Examiner Communication and Speaking the Work 11.4 One-Step Errors, Timing, and Method Control 11.5 C172 Verbal Description Under Pressure 11.6 Remediation, Retest Planning, and Field Confidence
12 Final Review: Recertification, Career Paths, and Next ACI Credentials
12.1 Two-to-Six Week Final Review Plan 12.2 Final Week and Test-Day Checklist 12.3 CP-1, JTA, and Source Control 12.4 Recertification, Five-Year Cycle, and Re-Exam Requirement 12.5 Career Paths After Field Testing Grade I 12.6 Next ACI Credentials and Growth Map
2.3 Performance Checklists and the Six Demonstrations
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
The performance exam consists of actual demonstration of six required test methods plus a verbal description of C172/C172M sampling.
The examiner judges the candidate against a standardized checklist and must mark each required step as correctly performed.
Omitting or incorrectly performing a required checklist step can fail that procedure, and failing one procedure fails the performance exam.
Candidates should practice each method from setup through final result recording, not just the most visible measurement step.
Last updated: June 2026
The Checklist Is the Performance Standard
The performance examination is built around required steps. ACI describes the format as actual demonstration of six required test methods and practices plus a verbal description of C172/C172M sampling . ACI policy states that performance is evaluated based on the criteria of the performance examination checklist, and the examinee is judged on the ability to correctly perform, or describe where allowed, all of the required steps for each procedure.
The word all is doing heavy lifting. The examiner is not grading your overall impression or your confidence. The examiner has a checklist for each method and is marking whether each listed step was performed correctly and in the right order. A measurement that is technically accurate but skips a required consolidation or leveling step is still a checklist miss. This is why candidates who only rehearse the headline action, like reading the slump or the air dial, are exposed: the checklist scores the unglamorous steps too.
What the Six Demonstrations Cover
The six demonstrated methods are everything except the verbally described sampling practice. Each carries its own checklist, and knowing the signature required steps prevents the most common omissions.
Method Signature required steps the checklist watches
C143 Slump Three equal layers, 25 rod strokes per layer, raise cone in 2-3 s, measure to nearest 1/4 in.
C231 Air (pressure) Fill in equal layers, rod and tap each layer, strike off flush, seal, pump to initial pressure, read
- C173 Air (volumetric) Fill and consolidate, add water and alcohol, agitate, roll to free air, read % air
- C138 Density/Yield Fill in three layers, rod and tap, strike off level, weigh, compute density and yield
- C1064 Temperature Sensor immersed with 3 in. cover, leave in place per minimum time, read
- C31 Specimens Fill cylinder in required layers, rod 25 strokes, tap, strike off, mark and store properly
Consolidation method is set by slump: concrete with slump of 1 in. or more is rodded , while concrete below that slump is vibrated . The checklist expects the correct consolidation choice, not a default.
Rehearse Whole Procedures, Including Recording
Because the checklist scores every required step, the safest preparation is to practice each method as a complete unit: gather and identify equipment, consolidate properly, strike off and clean the rim, take the measurement, and record the result . ACI policy treats recording the result at the conclusion of each performed method as part of the procedure, so a perfect measurement that is never written down can still cost the step.
A Practice Loop That Mirrors the Checklist
Lay out and name every tool before starting, the way you would for the examiner.
Perform the consolidation and finishing steps deliberately, narrating each one.
Take and state the measurement to the correct precision.
Record the result immediately, in writing.
Reset and repeat until the full sequence is automatic.
Train the boring steps as hard as the dramatic ones. The examiner's checklist makes no distinction between reading a slump and tapping the mold the required number of times; both are required, and either can fail the trial if omitted.
How One Composite Sample Feeds the Demonstrations
A crucial efficiency the checklist assumes is that several tests come from one properly obtained composite sample. After remixing the sample with a shovel, you typically draw the material for slump, air, temperature, and cylinders from it in a planned order. Understanding this flow keeps you from re-sampling unnecessarily and helps you respect the shared 5-minute start window for slump, air, and temperature.
Typical Order Off One Sample
Temperature (C1064) can be taken from the sample with the sensor properly immersed.
Slump (C143) next, because it is quick and time-sensitive.
Air content (C231 or C173) depending on aggregate type.
Density and yield (C138) using the same measure family of equipment.
Cylinders (C31) molded as soon as practicable so curing begins promptly.
This ordering is a guide, not a rigid rule, but rehearsing a consistent flow reduces decision-making under observation. The examiner is not looking for a particular creative sequence; the examiner is confirming that each individual method's required steps are correctly performed and that time-sensitive tests begin inside their windows. A candidate who has internalized one clean flow off a single sample makes fewer timing errors than one who improvises the order while the clock runs.
Keep equipment for each method staged and clean. A wet, dirty measure or an unzeroed air meter introduces avoidable error and burns time, both of which the checklist quietly punishes through downstream step failures.
Finally, do not assume the six demonstrated methods are fixed in advance for every candidate. The principle to prepare for is that any of the six physically demonstrated methods may be on your station, plus the verbal C172 description, so you cannot skip a method hoping it will not appear. Treat all seven standards as in scope and rehearse each to the same standard. Walking in able to perform any of them cold is the only safe assumption, and it removes the gamble of guessing which methods the examiner will assign.