Prep
How to pass an exam: what actually moves your score
Search for how to pass an exam and you will find lists of 30 tips. Most are harmless; few are tested. This guide sticks to what peer-reviewed research supports, and is honest where it does not say much.
The short version: your score is mostly decided in the weeks before the exam, by how you studied. Exam-day tactics matter at the margin, and the most valuable of them is boring: arrive rested.
We focus on multiple-choice exams such as Security+, AWS, PMP, CCNA and CISSP, but the principles carry over to most tests.
| Exam | Questions | Time | Average per question | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | 65 | 90 min | about 83 seconds | 15 of the 65 are unscored |
| AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) | 65 | 130 min | 2 minutes | 15 of the 65 are unscored |
| CompTIA Security+, Network+, A+ (each core) | Up to 90 | 90 min | 1 minute or more | Performance-based questions take longer |
| PMP | 180 | 240 min | 80 seconds | Two 10-minute breaks; you cannot return to a section after a break |
| CAPM | 150 | 180 min | 72 seconds | Optional 10-minute break after question 75; no return to the first section |
| CISSP (adaptive) | 100-150 | 180 min | 72-108 seconds | Adaptive format; length varies |
In the weeks before: practise like the exam
The best-supported way to prepare is to test yourself repeatedly. A meta-analysis by Adesope et al. (2017) found practice tests more beneficial for learning than restudying and all other comparison conditions. In real psychology classes, Schwieren et al. (2017) found an average effect of d = 0.56 in favour of testing across 72 effect sizes. In plain English, d measures the gap between groups in standard deviations, so the typical student who practised with tests did a bit over half a standard deviation better than one who did not.
Spread that practice out. A classroom meta-analysis by Mawson et al. (2025) found distributed practice beat massed practice with d = 0.54, with larger effects for longer retention intervals. A broad meta-analysis of ten study techniques by Donoghue & Hattie (2021) also found distributed practice and practice testing most effective, and underlining and summarising least effective.
Practical rules:
- Use practice questions from week one, not just at the end.
- Answer before checking, then read the explanation for every question, including those you got right by guessing.
- Take at least one full-length timed practice exam to test your pacing and stamina.
For a full plan, see how to study for exams and our study schedule template.
The night before: sleep beats one more hour of cramming
Sleep loss hurts memory both before and after learning. A set of meta-analyses by Newbury et al. (2021) found total sleep deprivation before learning impaired memory with g = 0.621, and deprivation after learning with g = 0.277 (the authors noted publication bias and low power in the studies). Partial loss counts too: Crowley et al. (2024) found restricting sleep to 3 to 6.5 hours, compared with 7 to 11, impairs memory formation (g = 0.29), with consequences for memory similar to not sleeping at all.
These studies measure learning and memory formation rather than exam scores directly, so we cannot give you a number of points an all-nighter costs. But the direction is consistent: material crammed into the last night is learned under the worst conditions, and the sleep you give up is part of how the previous weeks' material gets consolidated.
The night-before plan: a short, calm retrieval session in the afternoon or early evening (for example, your flashcards in the lowest boxes), prepare everything you need for the morning, then stop. Aim for your normal bedtime.
On exam day: managing nerves
Some nervousness is normal. Severe test anxiety is a different thing, and it is treatable. A meta-analysis of 44 randomised controlled trials in university students by Huntley et al. (2019) found interventions reduced test anxiety (g = -0.76) and improved academic performance (g = 0.37). The best support was for behaviour therapy, with CBT, study-skills training and combined approaches promising.
Quick one-off tricks have weaker evidence. In Ganley et al. (2021), four different 5-minute interventions for 300 college students, including reappraising anxiety as excitement and expressive writing, changed neither anxiety nor performance. A meta-analysis of single-session expressive writing by O'Meara et al. (2025) found a negligible, non-significant effect on anxiety.
So the honest advice is: if anxiety regularly wrecks your exams, a structured programme or a professional is worth more than a breathing trick on the morning. For everyone else, the best anxiety reducer is preparation you trust, including timed practice that makes the real format feel familiar. More in our guide on test anxiety.
How to pass a multiple-choice exam: question tactics
These tactics are standard exam technique rather than findings from controlled studies, except where a study is cited.
- Read the last sentence of the question first, then the whole stem. Know what you are being asked (best, first, most likely, least) before you read the details.
- Predict the answer before you look at the options. If your own answer appears, that is good evidence. If not, read every option carefully.
- Eliminate. Cross out options that are wrong, off-topic or true but not responsive to the question. Two good candidates out of four is a far better position than four.
- Watch the qualifiers. "First", "best" and "most cost-effective" turn several technically correct options into one right answer. Scenario exams like PMP, CISSP and AWS are built on them.
- Do not leave blanks on exams without a penalty for wrong answers. Check your exam's scoring rules first.
- Flag and move on. If a question is taking more than about twice your average time, pick your best guess, flag it if your exam allows review, and come back. Some formats, such as adaptive exams or sectioned exams with breaks, limit going back: check your exam's rules in advance.
Should you change your answer?
The popular advice is "stick with your first instinct". The research disagrees. Kruger, Wirtz & Miller (2005) note that virtually all research on the topic has suggested that most answer changes go from incorrect to correct, and that people who change answers usually improve their scores. They argue the first-instinct belief survives because changing a right answer to a wrong one is more painful and memorable than failing to change a wrong one.
A study of 79 medical students by Bauer, Kopp & Fischer (2007) again found answer changes were mostly from wrong to right. Students told about this changed answers more often; they scored higher than students who were not told, but the difference was not statistically significant.
Our rule: change an answer when you have a specific reason, such as re-reading the stem, noticing a qualifier, or a later question jogging your memory. Do not change answers just because of a vague bad feeling, and do not spend your remaining time second-guessing every question.
Pacing: know your seconds per question
Running out of time is one of the most avoidable ways to fail. Work out your average time per question before exam day; the table below does it for the exams we cover, using the official formats in our cert guides. Performance-based and case-study items take longer than average, so bank time on the quick questions.
A simple checkpoint system: write two or three target times on your scratch material (for example "question 30 by minute 30" on a 90-question, 90-minute exam) and check against them.
How to use this for a certification exam
- Six or more weeks out: take a free practice test cold, such as the PMP practice test or the Security+ practice test. Use the explanations to find your weak domains.
- Weeks of study: spaced sessions, each with practice questions. Retake the free test every two to three weeks, and practise the question tactics above on every question, not just on exam day.
- Final two weeks: at least one full-length timed practice exam at the same time of day as your real exam. Check your pace against the table.
- Night before: short retrieval, prepare ID and logistics, normal bedtime.
- Exam day: pace checkpoints, eliminate, flag and return where allowed, and change answers only with a reason.
To check that your practice scores mean what you think they mean, read our guide to metacognition, and for the principles behind all of this, the study science overview.