By Donna Knapp You have signed up for a certification class. What that tells us is that you want to pass the exam. But first, you have to take the exam. Here are a few things that we know. The most successful people are those who take the exam within the first 10 days after the class. Once upon a time students took their exam at the end of class or at the end of a semester. They knew ahead of time when they were going to have to take the exam and prepared accordingly. Today, courses often come with vouchers that enable learners to take the exam at a date and time of their choosing. There are pros and cons to this. A pro is that if you are a night owl and want to take your exam at 2 a.m., you can. A BIG con is that you can put off taking the exam. What we see statistically is that the further away from the end of class we get, the lower the scores, and the less likely it is that people will ever take the exam at all. You are never in the zone more than you are in the days immediately f

By Donna Knapp You have signed up for a certification class. What that tells us is that you want to pass the exam. But first, you have to study for the exam. Here are a few strategies you can use to stay calm and focused and build the confidence needed to crush that exam. 1. Prepare for class In a perfect world, you start preparing to take the exam before you enter the classroom. For each of our certification classes we provide pre-class assignments that are designed to introduce many of the key vocabulary terms and concepts you need to know for the exam. Completing these assignments will enable you to become familiar with the content, making it easier to follow along and participate in class. You will also be more likely to remember and retain the information as it will be reinforced in class. We also encourage you to block out time on your calendar for 1 to 2 hours of homework, in addition to the class itself. This time before or after class each day is essential to reinforc