Failed PDD Exam (last exam on my list)
I took the PDD exam for the first time yesterday and received a provisional fail, which was definitely discouraging.
In preparation, I've worked through the entire Amber Book program twice (and found it incredibly helpful for PPD), completed the Architect Exam Prep course, taken the PPD and PDD Elif quizzes, studied the Ballast materials and practice exam, watched numerous YouTube videos (many recommended through Amber Book), and completed the NCARB practice exams. I genuinely felt well prepared going into the test.
What surprised me was how much more detail-oriented and situationally specific the actual exam felt compared to the study materials I used. That's been particularly frustrating given that many of these resources are commonly recommended as effective preparation tools. On top of that, I have 12 years of professional experience working in an architecture firm, so I expected to feel more comfortable with the content than I did.
At this point, I'm honestly at a loss as to how to better prepare for a retake. For those who have passed PDD, are there any study strategies, resources, or areas of focus that made the biggest difference for you? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
-
Sorry about the failure, but also congratulations on passing the other 5 exams.
PDD can be very technical and detailed, so I would recommend trying a different approach next time. Third-party materials can help to a certain point, and probably they helped you with the other five, but they are not always enough for many people to pass the exams on their own. That's why I always include references to the books in my study materials so people with different backgrounds and knowledge levels can study further if needed. For PDD, my all-time favorite advice is to read the Mehta book (Building Construction by Madan Mehta) and study the details in the Architectural Graphic Standards book, along with it. I would give it a try for the next round. Hopefully, it helps, and you pass it next time. Best of luck!
-
Alex, How did you feel about this test compared to the PPD test? How much time overlap did you have between the test? I have been using BlackSpecatcles for all. Their PDD content is rather lacking (just older in nature), but their questions they provide for practice have been helpful. I agree that the PA and PPD test felt more situational than anything in question form. Took you to understand a little bit about 3 different topics to bring it together. Often was the best of bad answers, and more importantly not putting extra-curriculars in my head and only focused on the question and information given.
On the PPD test I tried to read the final line of the question, get an establishment of what they were asking me, then read the first part of the question. Much of it felt like fluff. If I had an answer in my head, I would search for it down in the answers and moved on. I did alot of hand motions trying to get visuals of the word question in front of me. PPD I had an hour left after the case studies to go back to the 12 I flagged and maybe changed 2 answers with additional time. I was very nervous to hit End Exam, but I took the pass. Just wish I knew what level of passing I was at.
Multiple colleagues tell me the PPD and PDD test are very similar test, but without taking it yet, its hard to make that judgement call. Congrats though on the other 5 test!
-
Elif, thank you so much for the recommendation! I'll definitely look into that book, along with some of the other resources you've referenced throughout your quizzes.
Adam, I was originally scheduled to take PDD 13 days after passing PPD, but a scheduling issue at my testing center ended up delaying my PDD exam by about four weeks. Like many others, I had heard repeatedly that there is a significant amount of overlap between the two exams. However, after taking PDD, my personal experience was that the overlap was fairly limited. There were certainly similar concepts and overarching themes, but not enough that I felt taking the exams closer together would have made a meaningful difference in my outcome.
As for study materials, I tried Black Spectacles years ago when I first started this licensure journey, & to be honest, I didn't find it to be the most effective resource for my learning style. Since then, I've primarily relied on Amber Book, Elif's quizzes, and the other resources I mentioned above, and I've found those to be much more helpful and applicable across the other five divisions. They are definitely an investment, but in my experience, they've been well worth it.
-
I am in the same boat. I just failed PDD yesterday. I went through the amber book sections for construction and systems over a 5 day period having took time off to thoroughly learn all the information while still having it fresh. Those were my last two incomplete lessons.
I scheduled both the PPD and PDD exams for the following week with a weekend in between to prep for PDD but being only 4 years into my architecture career I think some of the topics in PDD were very new to me. Conversely, PPD overlapped more with my lessons from university and AmberBook covered all the topics PPD much better. I think the main exam topic I was missing on the PDD exam was specs and how new information gets categorized into the MasterFormat. I didn't see any lessons in AmberBook dedicated to specs. I am planning to study with more experienced professionals in the office to get pointers on spec sections. If anyone has good instructive resources to learn MasterFormat that would be greatly appreciated.
-
I found PDD to be easy compared to PPD. PPD is about learning the testing material. PDD is about reading a drawing set. However sometimes you get a "bad" exam that's weighted towards one type of question (My first CE exam had ZERO construction site photos). I would bet you were within 1-2 questions of passing. Have you already used the online tools to interpret your score?
-
PDD was heavily technical, and made you think about why a certain product / material / method is used over one or another. I thought I was getting hit by a truck in my test, also had major lag issues, but I just focused on the practical knowledge and experience to work through the material elements brought forth. Yes the case studies were based on the documents (I actually didn't read a single scenario, just went straight to the questions and drawings).
Also start to ask your firm to spend more time in specification and shop drawings as to why certain element are used. The NCARB practice test for PDD is very outdated in my opinion.
-
Hey alexfaught, I went through the same thing when I gave my PDD exam. passed all the practice tests i took, focused on amber book and youtube videos and knew everything and felt very confident. I failed the first time and used the same sources to study again and passed after 2 months. Going through the same study material again after knowing the kind of questions that PDD usually focuses on, was helpful to me. Cheer up, you'll surely pass next time. Keep at it!
-
Kruteev Thank you!! I have been considering cancelling my Amber Book subscription (it's so expensive.. yikes). Do you think it's worth it to hang on to until my retake? Would you recommend reviewing the videos again? (I've gone through them all twice). I did find the practice exam, quiz, and flashcards to be very helpful.. I just want to make sure I'm investing in a product that will help me cross this finish line. Thanks for your insight!
-Alex
-
alexfaught - In my second attempt, I kept amber book for flashcards and videos to watch in background. But I also bought PPI2Pass and hyperfine. I got the ballast books for topics I needed more confidence in. Basically, I went all out because I couldn't stand failing once again. (motivation to study was going down) Its completely up to you, if you have good notes for amber book, maybe you can let it go.
-
Alexfaught,
What is the scaled score on your score report? Half of all exams taken score within 4 questions of the cut score, and lots of people feel uncertain about an exam and pass, or feel certain and fail - don't feel bad about an exam that you didn't pass for any longer than you'd feel good about an exam you've passed. If you've already passed the other 5, you're likely very close, and if that's the case, plan to go into your retake as soon as you can with confidence in your judgement as a practicing professional - I see a good number of people who second-guess themselves out of a passing score by one to three questions.
Best,Ralph, the Amber Book Team
-
Hi Ralph,
I received a 522 on my exam (not sure how to evaluate this in terms of points shy of passing).. but I am sure my test anxiety played a part in some second guessing I was doing during the exam.
I've rescheduled the retake for as soon as I can (I have about 5 weeks to go). I've started to listen to the AmberBook videos (third time through) as well as the other study material I listed above, but would love to include some fresh study materials this time. Do you have any insight into other sources, books, or videos I can weave into my study routine?
Thanks for your insight! -
Alexfaught,
522 should be one question from passing, yes - 50% of all exam divisions taken score within 4 questions either side of the cut score, so you're in the passing range now. That means you should absolutely test again as soon as you can, and it also means that 75% of your time should be spent just maintaining your current knowledge - far too many people I see who have multiple retakes very close to passing make the mistake of underestimating the amount of time it takes just to maintain your knowledge for a retake - the way you pass is by getting all the questions you've gotten previously correct, and then being 5-10% less-wrong on the rest of the questions on the exam. That means most of your time should be spent with your notes and review exercises, spend maybe 25% expanding into new topics in greater depth.
I have a longer "what to do when I'm close to passing" email I send to folks all the time - email info@amberbook.com and I'll send it to you.
Best,
Ralph, the Amber Book Team -
Hey! I think these tests are such a random grab bag, and some people seem to end up with tests that randomly over-index on one really specific topic. If you went in feeling really prepared and were only one question from passing, you are already very prepared and know a lot!
I just passed PDD and posted my list of preferred resources (hopefully this link works). Maybe try folding in more reading from the original sources - video prep classes didn't feel like enough to me. I loved Building Construction Illustrated, Fundamentals of Building Construction, Architect's Studio Companion, Heating Cooling and Lighting, and Desk Crits. Architectural Graphic Standards is so overwhelming, but I liked referencing it for detail drawings. Hyperfine assignments were also great for making sure you can explain the content in your own terms. I honestly hated Ballast for this test - it felt like it spent half the book on unnecessary structural calcs and barely covered a lot of other stuff.
You are so, so close! Good luck!
-
Hi lcalari!
Wow.. thank you so much for the information & tips!! I read through your breakdown on that link you attached, and THIS is exactly what I have been hoping for (some solid advice & direction), I really appreciate you sharing all of that. And I'm really glad to hear your thoughts on the Ballast materials, I also felt they weren't quite on track with the exam, but wasn't confident in my assessment of that. With the Building Construction Illustrated book, did you read front to back or did you poke through it with a certain concept / detail in mind to research?
Thank you again!
-
Glad it's helpful! I would just flip to the relevant BCI section to whatever content I was learning about at that time, so definitely not front to back. I ended up reading most of the book because it's all so helpful, except for chapter 9 (Special Construction), and Chapter 10 (Finish Work) which I barely looked at. Chapter 1 (Building Site) is also less relevant for this test. Chapter 7 (Moisture & Thermal Protection) was particularly useful. You can skim past a lot (ex, you don't need to know everything about each roof shingle type) so it's less overwhelming than it seems.
If you're looking for more of a solid breakdown, Desk Crits is a pretty small but helpful book that I would recommend! It lists all the topics to review for each test.
PS: Ignore Ballast lol! I can't believe the amount of time I wasted and stress I had from the structural content in Ballast.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
19 comments