PPD Fail/ How to regroup
Hello. I failed my first PPD exam. I have had passed PjM PcM PA and CE in my first try. This exam felt the most comfortable with time, from what I had experienced. I double checked my answers and nothing. Fail.
I studied from Building Constructed Illustrated & Amber Book.
How do i go forward from now? I was studying for PDD together with this exam and I am taking it on April 25. Is this a good idea? I am still motivated and want to finish with excellence and soon.
I still cant get over the exam feeling familiar, but still failing:(
Thank you
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Hi juanguidaw,
What does your score report look like? If you've passed those other 4 first try, you're likely close on PPD - if you're around 500 or over on your scaled score, your situation is revise-and-resubmit, not start from scratch. Remember that only about 2% of examinees pass all 6 divisions the first time, and 50% of all tests taken score within 4 questions of the cut score in either direction - most people who test are passing or not passing by a very narrow margin.
Definitely don't reschedule your PDD, one of the top 3 reasons I see people have more retakes than they should have is they hae their confidence shaken because they've never not passed an exam before, and delay their retake. You are a practicing professional, your knowledge and experience is valuable, trust it. Don't let your perfectionist-architect eat away at your confidence and encourage you to wait - perfectionism isn't your friend on these exams. There's a lot to learn especially for PPD and PDD, and the more you delay, the less of your early study you'll recall.
Keep us posted,
Best,
Ralph, the Amber Book Team -
I agree with Ralph. Yes, go forward and take the PDD exam. There is some overlap between the PPD and PDD subject matter, so your PPD prep may also support your PDD exam prep.
When I was taking my AREs, I made the same mistake of passively watching lectures and taking just a practice exam and failed miserably. The key to passing the AREs is active recall. Take your own notes, create flashcards, and take a lot of quizzes and practice exams. Watching lectures alone will not help you pass the exams. I documented the highly effective, evidence-based learning strategy I used to pass my AREs within six months of prep in the Arniko Academy blog. You probably can learn a lot from my mistakes.
If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. I would be happy to help. All the best!
Rajan
rajan@arniko.academy
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