Wednesday , 29 October 2014 08:35
4 Tips for Preparing for the Radon Certification Exam
Over the years of teaching radon certification courses , students have asked me “ What do I need to know to pass the certification exams ?” My answer has always been that it is more important to prepare for “ life after exam ” than to become fixated on the independent certification exam . However , after 20 some odd years helping students succeed in the radon industry I also realize they cannot begin their radon careers until they clear the initial hurdle of passing the exam , so I thought I would share a few tips for those
who want to become certified in the radon industry There are four primary things a student can to do to improve their chances of passing either the radon measurement or radon mitigation certification exam . These go beyond content areas and more to the mindset you should have when preparing for the exam .
Think like an exam writer The questions are written as multiple choice questions so there should be one correct answer with three other wrong answers . Try and write a question yourself , perhaps about the Moon .
The moon is _____:
1 . very hot on 10 % of its surface 2 . a round body orbiting the sun 3 . a spherical mass that exerts a gravitational pull on the earth 4 . made of green cheese .
There should be one correct answer and three wrong answers written as detractors . Writing one or two detractors is fairly easy , but the fourth is tougher and typically is almost nonsensical . In our example “ d ” – the “ green cheese ” answer is obviously an easy one to toss out . So find the crazy one and eliminate it by crossing it off in the exam booklet , then move on to the others . Now you are down to one out of three which isn ’ t bad odds . Then look for the one that may be correct in part but not totally correct . Yes the moon is a round or spherical object but it does not orbit around the sun . It orbits around the earth , so answer “ b ” goes away . Now we have 50 / 50 odds -- even better . Now , look for an answer that actually would test your technical knowledge or perhaps have an impact on you . That would be answer “ c ” regarding gravitational pull . There you go !
That may be an easy example , but it is typical that you can eliminate at least two answers . Take your best guess and answer the question and come back to it after you run through all the questions . Make a note on the inside cover of the exam so you can come back to it and reconsider your answer before turning it in .
Questions need to have definitive and answers that can be referenced . Exam writers want to have answers to questions that are defensible . Therefore , questions are often written around protocols or involve numbers that are either stated or can be calculated with easy math .
These questions are often derived from the radon protocols directly by starting with an answer and then building a question around it . If you learn in the course that radon measurements are to be a minimum 20 inches off the floor then that is like a gold nugget for an exam writer . Remember those when you run across them .