Everyone I spoke to says the best prep is practice tests. There are a variety of offerings, from th USGBC to private vendors, mostly with about 7-800 questions ranging in cost from $40 to around $200. Other than from the vendors themselves, any thoughts about which offerings had questions most similar to what I would find on the real GA exam? While the logical choice might be the USGBC, it is the most expensive and I don't know that its questions are any better than anyone else's. Thanks
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Paula Melton
Editorial DirectorBuildingGreen, Inc.
LEEDuser Moderator
183 thumbs up
January 2, 2014 - 8:03 am
Michael, the questions on any practice test are not very similar to the real thing. The writers take the exams over and over but can't actually reveal the questions to the public. I think the best approach is to think of the practice questions as a learning tool rather than an accurate representation of the test. With the SATs and such, practice tests are often based on retired questions, but the pool of possible questions is much smaller with these, so that's not really possible.
Michael Rogovin
3 thumbs up
January 2, 2014 - 11:01 am
Thanks. Sounds like any of the products would be good for that. I don't mind investing in my career, but I do mind overspending for comparable product.
Heather DeGrella
Sustainable Design Director, Associate PrincipalOpsis Architecture
71 thumbs up
January 3, 2014 - 1:05 pm
GreenCE has practice questions for the Green Associate and the BD+C that are very similar to the real tests.They come with pop-up descriptions that explain in detail why the answer you chose was correct or not correct.
They are simulated like the real exam, which gets you familiar with the interface of the exam. But because of that you aren't able to print them out and have to have internet connection, which some might consider the downside.
Here are the tips I used to give for studying for the exam:
• LEEDuser – great forum for asking questions related to LEED and for their glossary: www.leeduser.com
• Go thru the practice questions and practice exam multiple times. When you get something wrong, don’t just memorize the correct answer but make sure you understand why right is right and wrong is wrong
• Study those refrigerants!
• Understand the difference between Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment
• Keep Albedo/Reflectance, Emissivity, and SRI straight
• Read through all of those referenced readings in the GA Candidate handbook
• Understand Integrated Design Approach (also called Integrated Project Delivery)
Full disclosure: I used to work for GreenCE and helped developed the questions along with a broader team. Because I don't work for the company anymore, I am not on top of current prices.
Good luck!