Today, we are going to be sharing some test-taking strategies for those of you preparing to take their CHSE or CHSOS exam.

First, we all have heard things like “when in doubt, choose option C,” and “always pick the longest answer choice.” The problem with these tips is our people who write the test questions and the people who review and approve the test questions know them too and will avoid leaving clues that allow you to “hack” your way through to the correct answer. So don’t spend time searching for hints that aren’t there.

Which brings me to the next strategy: time management.

The computer based testing system has a bookmarking feature that allows you to flag and return to test questions. I suggest you start with the questions that you find easy and are confident about. This will help you build momentum and gain confidence as you progress through the test. When you come across a challenging question, select the answer you feel best about, bookmark that test question, and continue until you get to the end.

You have approximately one minute (60 seconds) per test question, so moving quickly through the easy questions allows you to spend more time on the more difficult questions, and by using the bookmark feature, even if you run out of time, you will still have an answer recorded. You should never leave a test question unanswered even if you are unsure of the correct answer. The system will prompt you if you have any unanswered questions when attempting to submit your exam.

Finally, my last bit of advice: Do not overthink or read things into the test question that are not there.

We have all had that once-in-a-lifetime experience which made us stray from standard operating procedure in practice or have had to get creative when we did not have the required resources or supports, but our test questions are not written based on extenuating circumstances. When selecting the correct answer, think about established best practices and what you would do if you had all the response choices available to you, not just the options that may be available to you in your specific workspace.

To get a feel for the types of test questions on the CHSE and/or CHSOS exams, there are practice tests available for purchase. These practice tests allow you to return to the exam to see which questions you answered correctly and incorrectly and provides rationales from the test question writers to give you insight on why the correct answer is the correct answer.

We hope you find these strategies useful and wish you the best of luck on your exams.

Until next time, be excellent to each other.

Rachel Araujo
SSH Director of Certification