Guiding Candidate Exam Preparation

The information available here can help faculty members who are assisting candidates in preparing to take an exam.

An academic advisor might suggest to a candidate that he or she take the following steps in preparing to take an exam:

Begin by completing the Student Profile Worksheet, where candidates record their academic background, required certification exam(s), and testing history, and complete a questionnaire about preparation steps for testing.
Complete the mapping the exam framework to courses taken activity for the exam(s) the candidate will be taking. This activity involves the candidate reviewing the exam framework and his/her coursework to date, and recording on a worksheet whether his/her courses have covered the knowledge and skills described by each exam competency.
Complete the Study Plan Worksheet. This activity will help the candidate organize the information gathered in the Student Profile Worksheet into an actionable plan.
Meet with his or her academic advisor to review the completed worksheets and exam preparation steps taken to date, and to obtain assistance in evaluating his or her readiness to test.

When meeting with a candidate to review the completed material listed above, an academic advisor may wish to take the following steps:

Review the completed Student Profile Worksheet to learn the candidate's academic background, exam preparation activities, and testing history.
Review the completed worksheet for mapping the exam framework to the courses the candidate has taken to determine if he or she has completed sufficient coursework to take the exam. If there are competencies for which the candidate has not studied the knowledge and skills being assessed, the advisor may wish to recommend that the candidate take additional courses before testing.
Review the Study Plan Worksheet and the Student Profile Worksheet to guide the candidate in gathering and using preparation materials and, if needed, learning or reviewing exam content and test-taking strategies.

The meeting may also help the advisor clarify with the candidate the role the exams play in the certification process, the content and structure of the exams, expectations for performance on the exam, or available program and institutional resources.

Instructional Preparation Materials for Candidates

In addition to the steps described above, advisors should make sure candidates know how to make the most of these preparation materials:

Preparation manuals include general exam information, educator standards, domains and competencies, test-taking strategies, sample questions, and a list of other preparation resources.
Prep videos and computer-administered testing tutorials provide information to help candidates prepare effectively and become familiar with the computer-administered testing experience and testing center.
Interactive practice exams are designed to simulate the actual testing experience. They feature sample questions with rationales and comprehensive feedback on the candidate's performance.
Representative examinations are designed exclusively to assist staff in measuring candidates' knowledge and skills in relation to the exam frameworks. Authorized representatives from SBEC-approved EPPs can order Representative Examinations for many exam titles.

Developing a Plan for Candidates Retaking an Exam

If a candidate has already taken an exam without success and is preparing to retake it, the testing history recorded on the Student Profile Worksheet, together with the scoring information on the candidate's score report, should guide the discussion about the candidate's areas of strength and need. Candidates retaking an exam should be strongly encouraged to study for it appropriately, even if they must delay retesting until a later date, especially in light of the five-attempt test limit.

Candidate Score Reports

The score report contains useful information about a candidate's performance on the exam. For selected-response questions, test taker performance information is provided at the total exam, domain, and competency levels. For exams that include a constructed-response component, either a holistic score or the number of points earned is provided. On some exams, when a constructed response earns a low score, score reports also include analytical feedback indicating areas in which responses could be improved. On the Principal as Instructional Leader exam, score reports will include additional information regarding a candidate's performance on the constructed-response assignments.

Using all of the information provided on the score report, in conjunction with the more detailed explanations and descriptions of the various domains and competencies found in the preparation manual, administrators and candidates can identify areas of focus in preparing to successfully retake the exam. Review the Interpreting Candidate Exam Results page for information on interpreting candidate score report information to help advise candidates on future preparation.

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