Taking Professional Certification Exams: The Correlation Between Exam Preparation Techniques and Strategies and Exam Results

Abstract

Professional certification is viewed by the public as credible evidence of skills and knowledge within a field of professional practice. Professional certifications enhance the skills required by the profession and provide recognition by peers as competent within the profession. In this paper, we investigate the factors that could improve the performance of certification exam taker. We explore the correlations between various techniques and strategies used to prepare for professional certification exams and the corresponding exam results. This study examined several control variables that have both positive and negative correlations with the exam outcome across several professional certification exams. An understanding of the research findings will allow for improved certification exam performance and provide direction for prospective candidates who would like to be certified to enhance their skills.