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The CAPM® exam is a proctored exam of 150 multiple choice questions. The exam covers all aspects of the PMBOK® Guide.

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Quick reference

CAPM® Examination

The CAPM® examination is a serious element of earning the CAPM® credential.  The 150 question, proctored exam must be completed within three hours.

When to use

When your application is approved, you will receive an eligibility letter.  This letter provides instructions for scheduling the exam.  You have one year to take the exam.  If you do not pass the exam on the first try you can retake the exam up to two more times, for a total of three.

Instructions

Refer to the CAPM® Handbook for details about how the exam is administered.

The exam is a 150 question multiple choice exam.  The questions test your knowledge of the information in the PMBOK® Guide.  You must thoroughly know the PMBOK® Guide to be able to answer most questions correctly.  You may be an expert at project management in your organization, but you need to be an expert in the recommended approach and practices of the PMBOK® Guide.  That means you need to know their processes, the inputs and outputs, their recommended sequence and their definition of terms.  I have worked with enough organizations to know that everyone does project management differently.  However, the exam will only test one way, the PMBOK® Guide way.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there is anything wrong with the PMBOK® Guide way.  I am just saying that it is probably different than what you are used to doing, so you need to study and learn the PMBOK® Guide way.

The percentage of correct questions needed to pass can vary based upon which questions you get correct or incorrect.  On every exam there are 15 questions that are being evaluated to determine if they should be added to the test bank.  Those questions will not count towards whether you achieve a passing score.  While the success rate for passing the exam does vary over time, a good rule of thumb has been that your chance of passing on the first try is only 50-50, unless you take a CAPM® Preparation course.  Your results will be immediately available to you with a printout of the areas where you scored well and the areas where you did not.

When applying for the exam you need to indicate the language in which you want to be tested. The following languages are currently available: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (simplified and traditional), English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

The questions are spread across the thirteen chapters of the PMBOK® Guide.  The breakdown of questions is:

 

Testing is normally conducted as an online proctored test or at a Pearson Vue testing centers which are located in cities around the world.  When you get your eligibility letter you can go online to their site and select a location and date for your exam.  If you do not live within 300 km (186.5 miles) of a Pearson Vue site and are unable to do a proctored exam, PMI will make a provision for you to take the test on paper. 

When arriving at the testing facility you will need to provide government issued identification that includes your picture and signature.  Arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the test.  This allows time to get settled so you are ready as soon as the test starts.  You have 3 hours to complete the test, and the computer will cut you off at the end of the hours.  There are no scheduled breaks during the test.  You may not bring the following items or people into the room where you will be taking the test: food, beverages, calculators, cell phones, pagers, tape recorders, sweaters, coats, book bags, luggage, eye glass cases, children, visitors, dictionaries, books, or any other personal item.  You are allowed to have a pencil and blank note paper. 

Hints & tips

  • When completing the application, create a document file or folder that has all the backup information.
  • A technique that I recommend is that you arrive at the testing center well before the start time.  Review one last time the areas that you think might be the most difficult for you.  Then enter the test room and before you start the test, write down on your blank paper the items that you just reviewed.  It might be formulas, definitions, or diagrams.  With those ready for reference during the test, initiate the exam at your test station.
  • If you are doing an online proctored exam, you cannot have any paper in the room with you that has writing on it at the start of the exam.  So, wait until the exam has started, then write down your memorized notes.
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  • 00:04 Hi I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 Well now it's time to talk about actually taking the CAPM exam.
  • 00:11 I'll start with a quick overview of the exam.
  • 00:14 The test is 150 multiple choice questions.
  • 00:17 The score will be based upon your answer to 135 of those questions.
  • 00:22 The other 15 questions are being tried out to determine if they should be added to
  • 00:26 the test bank.
  • 00:27 Unfortunately, you won't know which question is one that counts for
  • 00:31 scoring and which one does not.
  • 00:33 The exam is a knowledge based exam.
  • 00:35 And that knowledge all comes from the Project Management Body of Knowledge,
  • 00:38 the PMBOK Guide.
  • 00:40 This is a breakout of the percentage of questions by PMBOK Guide chapter.
  • 00:44 The first three chapters provide project management context.
  • 00:48 The next ten chapters are the ten knowledge areas and contain the details of
  • 00:52 the project management processes within that knowledge area.
  • 00:56 As you can see, the chapter with the most questions is chapter ten,
  • 01:00 which is project communication management knowledge area.
  • 01:03 There will be 15 questions from this area.
  • 01:06 And the chapter with the fewest questions is chapter 12,
  • 01:09 project procurement management.
  • 01:10 There will only be six questions in that knowledge area.
  • 01:14 Next, let's look at the exam administration.
  • 01:17 The exam is usually conducted as a computer-based exam,
  • 01:20 either at a test center or in a computer-based proctored mode.
  • 01:24 There are several special circumstances that would lead to the use of
  • 01:28 a paper-based exam.
  • 01:29 If you think you need a paper-based exam, read the CAPM handbook for the criteria.
  • 01:34 The in person testing is normally conducted at a Pearson Vue test center.
  • 01:38 If there is not a center within 240 kilometers, or
  • 01:41 149 miles, of where you live, well,
  • 01:44 that's one of the conditions in which you can request a paper based exam.
  • 01:49 The exam is administered in 15 different languages.
  • 01:52 Select the one you want to use when scheduling the exam.
  • 01:55 The languages are Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese both simplified and
  • 02:00 traditional, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian Japanese,
  • 02:05 Korean, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
  • 02:08 Special accommodations can be made for persons with disabilities.
  • 02:12 Once again, go to the CAPM handbook to get more details on which disabilities and
  • 02:17 what accommodations.
  • 02:18 If you need those, be sure to highlight it in the application.
  • 02:22 You don't want to wait until the day of the test to try to get the accommodations.
  • 02:27 If you're taking a computer based exam results are available as soon as you
  • 02:31 complete the exam.
  • 02:33 Once you submit your answers, it will be scored immediately.
  • 02:36 You'll get a printout that tells you your score.
  • 02:39 It will also identify the areas that you did well and
  • 02:42 the areas that you need to study more.
  • 02:44 It does not give specific answers to specific questions.
  • 02:48 Now for scheduling the exam.
  • 02:50 When you receive your eligibility letter following the application process,
  • 02:54 you will have one year to schedule the exam.
  • 02:57 Quite frankly, I recommend that you schedule your exam
  • 03:00 shortly after completing this course or whatever other CAPM prep course you take.
  • 03:05 This way, the information is still fresh in your mind.
  • 03:08 If you do not pass the exam,
  • 03:10 you may take the exam a total of three times within that year.
  • 03:13 But there is a minor re-examination fee.
  • 03:16 If you are planning on taking the exam using the online proctor format,
  • 03:21 be sure to go to the PMI website.
  • 03:23 There are restrictions with this method based upon your computer camera and
  • 03:26 microphone.
  • 03:28 Be sure your computer meets the requirements before selecting this option.
  • 03:33 Your eligibility letter will include the website to use for scheduling your exam.
  • 03:38 This website has changed periodically, so
  • 03:39 make sure that you use the one that is in your letter.
  • 03:42 There may be different websites, depending upon which exam format you intend to use.
  • 03:47 If you need to cancel or reschedule the exam, do it at least 48 hours in advance,
  • 03:52 or otherwise you forfeit the testing fee.
  • 03:55 In fact, if you cancel within 30 days, you must pay a small rescheduling fee.
  • 04:00 The CAPM handbook covers what to do if some emergency comes up.
  • 04:05 Let's cover a few exam instructions.
  • 04:08 When you arrive at the exam center on the day of test,
  • 04:11 you must prove you are who you say you are.
  • 04:13 This also holds true with a proctored exam.
  • 04:16 You will need to show a government issued ID, such as a passport or
  • 04:20 driver's license, that has English characters on it and
  • 04:23 that includes your photograph and your signature.
  • 04:27 The exam lasts three hours and there is no time allocated for a break.
  • 04:32 So make sure you're ready to sit for three hours.
  • 04:35 Three hours is not much time for a 150 question exam.
  • 04:39 It means that you will only have a little over a minute for each question.
  • 04:44 I recommend that you arrive 15 minutes ahead of scheduled start time.
  • 04:48 That allows you time to get checked in, use the toilet facilities and
  • 04:52 clear your head so that you're ready to go when the exam starts.
  • 04:57 Finally, there are some things that are prohibited from the test area.
  • 05:00 You can bring them with you while traveling, but you cannot take them into
  • 05:03 the exam room where you'll be sitting in front of the computer and taking the test.
  • 05:08 The Pearson Vue centers will provide a locker for
  • 05:10 you to store these items while testing.
  • 05:13 The test is a closed book test.
  • 05:15 All questions must be answered from memory or from manual calculations that you can
  • 05:20 do in the room on scratch paper that is provided by the test center.
  • 05:24 The items you cannot have in the test room include any food and beverages,
  • 05:29 no calculators or cell phones to help you with math, no communication devices,
  • 05:34 such as a cell phone and pagers.
  • 05:36 And no bulky clothes or bags that could hide books or cheat sheets,
  • 05:40 such as sweaters, coats,, book bags, or luggage, nor
  • 05:43 can you talk with others such as children and visitors.
  • 05:46 A few other items that are prohibited are eyeglass cases, dictionaries,
  • 05:51 tape recorders, medicines and eye drops.
  • 05:54 In fact, you even have to leave your wallet or purse in the locker.
  • 05:58 Let me suggest a testing hint to help you on the day of the exam.
  • 06:01 If you're using a test center, and you have an area that you've been studying,
  • 06:05 but are still a little vague or fuzzy.
  • 06:07 When you get to the center, spend your last five minutes before entering
  • 06:11 the test room studying that topic.
  • 06:13 Then go into the room and using your scratch paper,
  • 06:16 write down the term, equations or whatever you were studying.
  • 06:20 You can refer to your scratch paper during the exam to help you on those questions.
  • 06:25 However, in an online-proctored exam,
  • 06:27 you can't start the exam with paper that has writing on it.
  • 06:30 So don't try it in that setting.
  • 06:33 The exam is difficult, but it's not scary.
  • 06:36 Prepare for it, get there in plenty of time, then relax and answer the questions.
  • 06:41 I'm sure you'll do okay.

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PMI, PMP, CAPM and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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