Certification Exam Strategy
I recently found a great article in a back issue of Quality Progress by James J. Rooney titled Certification Exam Tips, Trips and Traps.
The author is way more anal than I am, but it is chocked full of good advice from one who has been there. Everyone thinking of taking an ASQ exam should read it.
My exam strategy is simple.
I get the Quality Council of Indiana (QCI) Primer for the exam and read it cover to cover. I keep a running list of topics I cannot understand from the brief treatment in the Primer.
I seek out additional information from the Web or other reference material until I am completely comfortable with the BOK.
I take lots of practice exams. Sometimes I think I understand a topic, but reading a question and realizing I haven’t a clue where to begin is all the proof I need to start looking for additional information. I use my incorrect answers (and wild guesses) to continue focusing my study.
On exam day, I wake up early and treat my self to my favorite lite breakfast. I get my favorite beverage and snack, and arrive at the exam site early to organize my work area. I take all my reference material, but only plan on using one or two of them, the others are there for comfort. I also take a full box of sharp pencils; at least 50. I like to be over prepared. And, if I can give a pencil to someone who forgot his, that’s more good karma coming my way. I do not study at all the morning of the exam. Rather, I try to enter a Zen-like peaceful state.
I read thru the exam three times. The first time, I read every question answering only the ones I am >80% confident I know the answer. I also mark the questions that I could answer if I were sure of the definition of one or two key words. The second read, I look up every definition for the marked questions. The third time thru I do the math/statistics questions, I did not answer in the first two reads. In the time left, I answer all of the remaining questions. If I have time I look them up, if not I just guess.
WARNING: frequently check your answer sheet to ensure your answer number matches the question number.
In: Quality Engineering & CQE Exam · Tagged with: CQE