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The 2008 AICP® Exam:
The 2008 exam is administered in a computer format. The new administration provides an exam-taker with more options: the exam will be offered in two time periods in the year in the spring (May) and the fall (November) for a total of 24 days in the calendar year. AICP® stresses that this obviously means they can no longer use a single exam. The computer format also provides an opportunity to administer questions on more up-to-date topics such as recent court cases or contemporary planning trends.
When you take the exam, you will be provided with a brief computer tutorial that instructs you on using the computer system. You can begin at any time throughout the tutorial. Once you begin, you will have three hours and one-half hours to complete 170 questions. Twenty of the questions are experimental and do not count towards your score. A calculator and sheet of scratch paper will also be provided to the test-taker. The computer system provides you with the ability to skip a question and return to it later.
We advise you to start preparing as early as possible. With different versions of an exam that is constantly changing, don't expect the exam your friend took on a given day to be the same exam you will take the next day! While a few questions may show up from exam-to-exam (the "equators"), this is the exception rather than the rule. To guess what will be on the exam is futile. Develop a broad base of knowledge, so that you are prepared to answer questions on a host of topics, regardless of what version of the exam you eventually take. It is that comprehensive perspective that distinguishes you as a planner and an AICP® member.
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ABOUT THE EXAM:
ABOUT THE EXAM:
The urban planning certification exam is a three and one-half-hour exam with 170 multiple-choice questions; 20 of those questions are for experimental purposes and will not count towards your score. The exam is prepared by planning practitioners and scholars. The exam assesses your basic knowledge of planning concepts and your approach to resolving planning-related problems. The passing score of the certification exam is a scaled score of 55; this represents correct responses to approximately 75% of the questions. The exam is administered by Thomson Prometrics.
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Key Dates:
May 2008 AICP Exam
Registration Deadline: February 5, 2008
Exam Testing Window: May 5-19, 2008
The certification exam tests how you think as a planner. As the certification exam is a practitioner's exam, questions on the exam provide scenarios that cover a wide range of subject matter. Effective performance on the exam rests with a broad base of knowledge and a clear understanding of planning concepts. If you understand planning concepts well enough, you will know how or whether to apply the concept in a variety of situations.
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Twelve Common Myths About the Urban Planning Certification
Exam
In preparing for the certification exam it's just as important
to know what the exam "is not":
1. "It was easy."
Response: The certification exam presents a broad scope of
topics and scenario questions that are challenging to experienced
practitioners and planning professors alike. Most admit the
exam is difficult, but we must distinguish "difficult,"
from "impossible."
2. "I passed the exam, but I didn't prepare for it."
Response: Unless you are extremely well read on every aspect
of the urban planning field, the chances of passing the exam
without preparing are low. Everyone who passes the exam prepares,
regardless of experience or education. Myth #2, as in the
case of Myth #1 is designed to impress others.
3. "If you have a planning degree, you don't need
to prepare for the certification exam."
Response: In all likelihood, your planning program curriculum
didn't cover every aspect of urban planning. Even if you followed
a generalist approach in your studies, your professors may
not have considered every topic in their classes. The certification
exam also covers current issues in the planning field, which
may not have existed when you took classes years ago.
4. "If you have 10+ years of experience you don't
need to prepare for the certification exam."
Response: Practical experience is a crucial prerequisite,
but experience on its own is not sufficient. It is not possible
for most practitioners to obtain experience in the broad base
of topics covered by the exam. You would have to have many
different jobs over the space of many years to do so.
5. "The questions on the urban planning certification
exam are the same every year."
Response: There may be a few questions that may appear on
a regular basis, but for all purposes, the exam content and
questions can change from year-to-year. Only the committee
preparing the exam knows for certain. The exam committee has
a broad range of topics to choose from. Topics covered are
also periodically updated to reflect current trends.
6. "The certification exam is just like the Graduate
Record Exam or the SAT."
Response: The certification is graded by the Chauncey Group,
which also grades the GRE. However, that is where their involvement
ends. The certification exam is prepared by planning practitioners
and scholars. The exam assesses your knowledge of planning
concepts and how you approach planning problems. It does not
evaluate reading comprehension or verbal skills. Unlike standardized
entrance exams, quantitative problems on the certification
exam involve simple formulas and calculations
7. "You can prepare for the certification exam just
by studying from one textbook."
Response: Certain planning texts provide useful overviews
of planning topics; the overviews, however, may not be detailed
and other subject matter, such as certain quantitative topics,
may be missing. You cannot prepare for the certification exam
without supplemental reading material.
8. "You can prepare for the certification exam by
memorizing information."
Response: When you prepare for the certification exam, you
learn a broad base of concepts intended to serve you throughout
your career. In this fashion, exam preparation fulfills an
educational mission. Education is what we retain after the
exam. If you simply memorize concepts, you may not only forget
them after the exam, but you may fail to understand a concept
well enough to apply it. This is crucial if you wish to pass
the exam.
9. “You can prepare for the AICP® Exam just
by doing multiple-choice questions. Multiple-choice questions
can teach you planning concepts.”
While multiple-choice questions can put your mind in the
test-taking mode, they present information in a fragmented
fashion. Even if explanations are given with the responses,
the information is incomplete and disjointed; this is not
conductive to learning the information you need to pass the
exam. In addition, multiple-choice questions present one correct
response with three incorrect responses; the incorrect responses
can generate confusion as you try to recall the correct answer.
10. “I can pass the AICP Exam using someone else’s flashcards.”
For flash cards to be effective, you have to write them yourself. As you write out planning concepts on an index card, you learn in the process. To use someone else’s flashcards is passive learning. Flashcards also present information in a fragmented fashion. You must read a textbook first. Don’t use flash cards as a shortcut.
11. “I can take two certification exams at the same time.”
I have seen candidates try to prepare for the AICP Exam along with exams for real estate licensing or LEED® Certification. Due to the demands of each exam, they end up overwhelmed. There is nothing wrong with extending your knowledge in other areas, but your best of chance for success is to focus and devote your time to one exam at a time.
12. "Passing the exam is the end of the certification
process."
Response: Passing the exam is only the beginning. You are
expected to continue the learning process, contribute to the
planning profession and, most importantly, conduct yourself
in fashion that attests to your certification.
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Exam Preparation Strategies
1. Cover a broad range of topics.
2. Base your preparation on readings from authoritative planning
textbooks and journals.
3. Learn, don't just memorize. Attain a clear understanding
of planning concepts.
4. Use practice exam questions the correct way: to assess
your knowledge of planning subjects and put your mind in the
test-taking mode.
5. Focus on your weak areas.
6. Make self-study the foundation of your preparation. Participate
in workshops and study groups as a supplement.
7. Attend as many exam preparation seminars as your time
and money can afford.
8. If you form a study group, keep it small (maximum of three
persons). Choose a quiet area to hold the session, free of
distraction. Avoid digressive discussion.
9. As you review planning legislation or standards, think
in terms of a national perspective rather than state or local.
10. As you learn planning concepts focus on key words that
summarize the concept. When you study planning processes or
history, look for logical patterns.
11. Study diligently. Devote two hours on a workday and a
three-four hour block of time in the morning or afternoon
on weekends. Do not study intensively the last two days before
the exam.
12. Identify your test center as soon as possible. Drive
out to the exam test center the week before the exam to find
the location and assess traffic conditions. On the day of
the exam, plan on arriving at the test center at least 45
minutes prior to the reporting.
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Exam Taking Strategies
1. Pace yourself.
You have three hours to answer 150 questions. That leaves
you 1.2 minutes (72 seconds) per question.
· Skip questions you can't immediately answer. Write
the number of the question and the issue it covers on your
writing pad.
· Answer familiar questions quickly.
· Periodically check your watch.
2. Don't read too much into a question.
Practical situations call for basic solutions. If the answer
you select seems logical and straightforward, appealing to
your common sense, it is probably the correct response.
3. Develop a systematic approach to solving scenario questions
and questions involving tables and charts.
Questions involving scenarios and technical interpretation
are usually the most dreaded, but, if you have an orderly
and disciplined strategy for solving these questions, they
will not appear as daunting.
· Scenario questions can be resolved through a logical
reasoning method. Focus on the role players and main issues.
Try to arrive at your own solution before you look at the
responses.
· Before you answer questions related to a tables
or charts, take a few moments to interpret what the table
or chart conveying. For a table scan the headings along the
margins and titles; for charts, scan the titles and axes.
4. Check your work:
· Do mathematical calculations twice on your calculator.
· As time permits, check your responses.
5. If you must guess:
· Your first impression is usually the correct one.
Don't change your answers unless you're 100 % certain.
· Cross-out responses you know are incorrect.
· Provide a local standard if you can't think of a
national standard.
6. Use remaining time to your advantage.
· Spend every second you have remaining to check your
responses as noted above. If you can't check every question,
do a random sampling.
For additional information exam please check the following
link: Exam
Information
This link takes you to the web site of the national organization.
www.planning.org/certification/index.htm
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