Testing Order - Level of Difficulty.
Hello Everyone,
I know this is a general question that will vary, from person to person but I am generally curious as to what the public thinks.
I am ready to kick off taking the exams and was curious as to what was recommended on the order of taking the exams?
I have read to take PCM first and then PJM second as they co-exist with one another in the study material, but i have also heard that CE is an easy one to get out of the way as well.
Thoughts?
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I've read that you should do the pro practice exams first & that the order doesn't matter. A lot of people start studying for all three exams at the same time in the beginning, because of the exam overlap, and then narrow their focus to the exam they decided to take. Check out the Young Architect vlog on YouTube. He answers this exact question. Good luck.
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I went in order from least difficult to most difficult for the most part. CE is the easiest exam, with a pass rate of 66%. And PPD is the lowest, at 45% pass rate.
Be strategic. I have a post about exam order on my website: https://www.stepuparchitecture.com/faqs#TOtCMP
And each exam overlaps with another too.
CE with PDD.
PPD with PA and PDD.
PjM with PcM.
The first 3 should be CE, PjM and then PcM.
Then PDD, PA and then PPD (last).
Hope this helps!
Rebekka O'Melia, Registered Architect, NCARB, B. Arch, M. Ed, Step UP, Step UP ARE 5.0 Courses
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I agree with Rebekka, CE is the easiest exam.
Gang Chen, Author, AIA, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)
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Hey Salvatore,
If your just getting started, focus on completing PcM, PjM and CE exams FIRST. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter the order or sequence in how you complete those first 3 exams.
I'm a big fan of breaking things down into smaller pieces.
There are many different strategies with the technical exams. I wouldn't bother thinking about the technical exams, (PA, PPD & PDD) until you've completed the pro-practice exams (PcM, PjM and CE). You'll have a learned alot by getting those first 3 exams out of the way!
Good Luck!
Michael Riscica
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I disagree with most people on this thread. For me, taking the test in the NCARB order made zero sense.
I followed the advice of someone on this board last year and took the "design" tests first starting with PA, PPD, & PDD then moving on to the "contract tests" CE, PjM, then PcM. I have now passed PA, PPD, PDD, & CE on the first try. PjM & PcM are next up. PA was the natural starting point because you needed no prior knowledge to start that studying process. It was like design 101. It also prepares you to seriously buckle in.
As you proceed through PPD and PDD the process just gets more technical, and yes, difficult but adding to your knowledge with each one. CE is then a continuation of the technical side of PDD (in a minor way) but it starts to fold in a lot of the contract knowledge, specifically the A201 and B101. It's also the least amount of study material so you get a bit of a break. You can then just coast to the finish on the "relatively" easy contract-oriented pro-practice exams (PjM and PcM) which mostly focus on the contracts you already know from CE and some added administrative tasks of operating a project/business. Then you're done! Better to front load the hard tests to get them out of the way then take the easy tests first and then flounder for months or even years.
I started taking my exams in July 2021 and hope to be done by April 2022.
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