SHRM Chapter and State Council Members Offer Test-Taking Tips, Including Practice Tests

​In July, we began a series of five feature articles focusing on the benefits of belonging to a local SHRM chapter and becoming involved with the state council in the state where you live. The benefits are innumerable in the varied ways they support your individual professional development. This series focuses on SHRM certification test preparation and test-taking tips from chapter and state council members. 

Articles in this series:

• The Importance of Connecting with Your Local SHRM Chapter and State Council to Prepare for Certification
• Lean on SHRM Chapters and State Councils for Certification Prep
• Test-Taking Tips from SHRM Chapters and State Councils
  

This month's article, the fourth in the series, discusses the importance of leveraging practice tests as a final step in your comprehensive study plan. In the final article, which will be published in November, the discussion will focus on gearing up for test day, especially the days immediately preceding your testing appointment, so you can center yourself, put aside negative thinking and be ready when test day arrives. 

Purchase the SHRM Learning System, apply for the exam and schedule your appointment now. 

Data shows that first purchasing the SHRM Learning System a few months before your test date, then applying for the exam and scheduling an exam day leads to success. If you plan to take the exam in the upcoming test window—Dec. 1, 2023, through Feb. 15, 2024—it's time to take these actions now. Start studying, then apply for and schedule your exam for the time of day when you are most energized. Keep in mind that most test takers take the exam in the final two weeks of the test window—so if that is your plan, make your appointment now before the testing slots for those days are used by others. 

Take practice tests. 

SHRM has gathered data on examinees since the testing program began. We have found, repeatedly, that studying the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge (SHRM BASK) in conjunction with the SHRM Learning System more often leads to passing the exam. Using the SHRM BASK and then studying the Learning System to master content should be your focal point in these final months leading up to your exam appointment. Practicing answering questions like those appearing on the exam in content, structure and format is important. This month we discuss the importance of taking practice tests as you wrap up your study plan.

There are many sources of practice tests. It is critical to know, however, that only practice tests produced and offered by SHRM—as part of the SHRM Learning System, in the official SHRM study guide, in the book Ace Your SHRM Certification Exam, and in the two workbooks that accompany the study guide and are available exclusively through the SHRMStore—are endorsed by SHRM. Why? The pretest and timed practice test in the SHRM Learning System and all the practice test items in the study guide and its accompanying workbooks are the only ones that use recently administered, but now retired, test items. No other provider of practice tests can claim this—only SHRM's study sources include questions that have appeared on a previous SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exam. 

Among our chapter and state council members—who have either taken a SHRM certification exam or who have taught certification preparation for the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exams with the SHRM Learning System as the learning materials—all stand by the importance of practicing answering questions by using the practice test resources available from SHRM. Here is solid, direct guidance from these HR professionals.

• Practice tests provided me the perfect chance to truly understand both the types of questions that would be asked as well as pinpointing the areas of concern. Not only did I take all of the practice tests, sometimes more than once, but I timed myself to better be prepared for the final test!
• Set yourself up for success by using all—and I really mean all—the resources provided to you, especially the practice tests.
• The SHRM practice tests and quizzes helped me the most. Being able to take those multiple times as often as I needed really helped me to reacquaint myself with multiple choice exam questions and feel at ease going into the actual exam.
• Make sure to answer any and all practice questions as you go through the material, and plan to take the practice exam at least two weeks before your test day for a realistic preview of what your results might look like on the operational exam. This also helps you focus on areas that still need additional study, as shown on the results report from the practice test in the SHRM Learning System.  
• Aim to score as high as you can on the quizzes and progress checks at the end of each study section in the SHRM Learning System. A good gauge for these quizzes is 80 percent or better. The exam itself is scored on scaled and equated scores and requires a scaled score of 200 to pass. Scoring is explained in the study guide—another great source of practice questions, too.
• Do the sample tests. Make up your own tests. Work with your study buddy to discuss practice test questions you find challenging.
• Do every practice quiz you can; you can't beat the practice quizzes and exams offered through SHRM.
• Practice makes improved, not perfect, but the more you understand the questions and the way they are worded, the better off you will do. 
• Use online learning modules to take quizzes to check your knowledge often. This prepares you to take the longer practice test and the real exam when the time comes. One caution though:  None of the practice questions will be on the exam—ever. So make sure you're understanding the content being tested in the quizzes, not just memorizing the answers to the quiz questions.  This will not help you on test day.
• Make sure to take the timed practice test in SHRM Learning System for a realistic preview of how you're progressing toward passing.
• After passing the timed practice test, go back to review all the chapter competencies, subcompetencies and proficiency indicators to make sure you have mastered the content—not  the answers to the practice questions.
• Take the practice test repeatedly. This helps practice taking multiple choice exams—but remember to master the content in the SHRM BASK, not the content of the practice tests. None of those questions will ever appear on the exam, and the test is on the SHRM BASK, not the practice tests.
• The practice question sets from SHRM (meaning the SHRM Learning System pretest and timed practice test, the Ace Your SHRM Certification Exam study guide, and the practice question sets that accompany the study guide) are the only practice question sets composed of retired SHRM test questions. No other source available contains questions from previous SHRM exams. Don't believe they are, even if they say they are retired test questions. They might be—but they're not retired SHRM exam questions.
• Make a plan to study by reading all the SHRM Learning System materials then testing your progress using the practice test items before your test. I added up all the page counts from all the books and divided that total by the number of weeks before my test to gauge timing of my study plan. I needed more time to practice quizzes too, so I pushed out my exam date by a month in order to have a relatively comfortable time getting the reading done. (Along with my daytime job and being a parent and husband!) It also meant spending several hours every weekend studying to stay up-to-date. The result of this was going into the exam knowing that I had read all the material and taken all the quizzes within the books. This helped me psychologically going into the exam. I had a positive mindset.
• There were two processes that helped me the most: 1) We started learning and teaching each other from the chapter we were working on each week, and then 2) We drilled tests together every week, quizzing each other to make sure we were mastering the content. It forced us to be subject matter experts for that week on a specific chapter and learn from each other. Loved the experience!
• By taking as many practice tests as possible, it will help you to learn the style of questions and how to think through the question before answering them. Find another individual or group of people who are also preparing for the exam and meet with them regularly to discuss your learnings and questions. Especially when preparing for the situational judgment items, it will be important to discuss the definitions of the nine behavioral competencies, the subcompetencies (the sources for questions), and the proficiency indicators to share stories on how those in your group used these guidelines (in the SHRM BASK) to make decisions or solve problems. 

Remember: SHRM certification is completely achievable. We hope this series of tips from SHRM chapters and state councils will aid you on your own certification journey. These tips come directly from chapter or state council members who teach or who have been part of a local study group. Use the tips that resonate best with you as you continue to prepare for exam day.