I think it is time to start looking at how to get you to be able to pass your exams. I think the best way to do that is to give you a list of things that can cause you to fail. I am going to be looking at each thing in a different entry so we can spend a few paragraphs talking about how it happens, why it happens and how to prevent/deal with it. As of now, I have thought of seven things that can happen to anyone while taking any certification test. If I think of more (or have more suggested) we will tackle them too.
So, the No. 1 reason why people fail — one I see all the time — poor time management.
Every test prep guide, every test prep guru and every experienced test taker will tell you to watch the clock. I myself have taken plenty of exams where I was worried at some point or another that I might not have the time to finish. It is critical that you at least take a shot at every question. My worst experience taking an exam was when I took the 165 exam for VB 5.0 (I know…ancient history). The first ten or so questions happened to be in subjects that I was a little weaker on. I spent so much time trying to figure them out that I almost didn’t finish the exam on time. Thank Bill Gates (God, whichever you prefer), that I was lucky enough to get stuff that I was very comfortable with so I was able to make up for it.
How do you avoid this? My answer is to go through the exam twice. The first time through, I read the question and come up with an answer without thinking too hard. If it is a subject I don’t know, or if it is an answer I am not confident in…I mark the question (there is a checkbox in the top margin of the question window for this). At the end, I review all of the marked questions. This serves two purposes….one, I get to every question. It would be really annoying to find out that all the easy questions were at the end. Two, sometimes a question later in the exam will jog something loose in the brain and it will help you figure out one of the earlier ones. Even better, sometimes it lets you answer something you had no idea about.
If this strategy doesn’t work for you, I have an alternate idea that was suggested to me. When you sit at the exam, it should tell you BEFORE YOU START, how many questions and how much time you have. Don’t just divide the time by the number of questions. I think you should leave yourself at least a ten minute buffer. You will always take a few extra seconds per question, or you may want some time to review. Figure out how much of a buffer you want, subtract that from the total time available and THEN divide by the number of questions. (EX. 2hrs for 50 questions. I want a 20 minute buffer. (120 minutes – 20m) /50q = 2 minutes per question) If it takes you less in one question, great, you have some more leeway.
Anyone else have any good time strategies?
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