The exam, which has 25 questions that do not actually count (they are questions being "tried out" for future exams), requires that successful applicants get approximately 117 of 175 questions correct, or a 2/3 success rate.
Because of the nearly six years between when I graduated and when I was taking the test, because my memory was suspect, and because I was 60 years old, I opted to take a test prep course (at no small cost, may I add). Some of it involved reading through some literature to refresh the memory of what supposedly had been learned in school, but most of it involved taking practice tests, including 200 question tests in a four hour period. The four hour block is the time allotted to take the actual test.
I read, took some shortened study exams, and took five 200-question tests. I didn't do so well on the first study exams but I eventually did better. I recall that I passed four of the five 200 question tests at the 2/3 success rate. I never did much better than the 2/3, but I did pass them. With success in taking the mock exams, I believed I would do a "passable" job on the real test.
Not even close! I barely cleared 50% of the questions!
It really set me back on my heels. It made me wonder what it was going to take to pass the exam. It made me question if I had the brain power/recall to pass it.
I smile as I read the previous paragraph and reflect on what I've written thus far. If a client came to me and told me this story, what would I say to him/her?
I would probably say that I should not give up but have faith that I can eventually pass the exam. I would probably challenge him/her to do something different this time, to try different ways of studying, but to study diligently. I would challenge him/her to keep a positive, can-do attitude, and be careful not to be too hard on himself/herself. I would tell him/her that regardless of whether he/she passed it this time had nothing to do with their abilities as a therapist.
What I've written above is what I have been telling myself and doing, especially recently. I did purchase a different test prep course (again at no small cost), with study manuals (two of which were recently stolen out of my car in a bag along with my laptop), cds, and online practice tests, but I will admit that the journey has been very challenging this time. I am attempting to spend six days a week studying two hours a day, and I am amazed how much I do not retain. I have taken 31 25-question practice tests, and have gotten 2/3 or better correct only five times.
I am noticing, however, that recently I seem to have a better grasp of the material. My issue is that on a half dozen of the four-answer multiple choice practice exam questions I am usually able to eliminate two of them, but I choose wrongly between the other two. After making a choice, the online exams offer the reasoning why a certain one of the four questions is correct, and I find that sometimes I just make a silly mistake. If I were to get four or five of those half dozen questions correct, I would usually exceed the 2/3 mark--because I am usually just three or four questions (or one or two) short of the mark.
As I would do with a client, I remind myself that I can scale a mountain by taking one step at a time and focusing on short term achievements along the trail. Occasionally, when I lift my head up from the trail, and look up at the looming mountain, I feel overwhelmed. So I just focus on getting up this incline, that hill, knowing that I am scaling the peak.
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