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CBO Module Codes and Standards

Maco1979

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Joined
May 8, 2023
Messages
2
Location
Live Oak, Florida
I have taken the Legal Module and the Management Module and I'm getting ready for the Codes and Standards Module, from everyone I've spoke to they have said its a nightmare of a test. Does anyone have any advice or tips?
 
If you have experience taking any of the inspector certifications you'll find the format and content very familiar. The nightmare part is that you're testing out of multiple books instead of just one. Make sure your testing area has room to have multiple books open all at once. More than once I closed a book only to find the next question was out of the same book. I found the LM and MM to be pretty easy, as with most of the inspector exams. This was very hard. The first time I took it I missed by two questions. I immediately (literally) took the test again. I figured I had the space and all of the books there, and it was fresh in my mind. Of the 80 questions only four were repeated the second time I took it. But since I only missed by two that may have been the difference.

As with all of the exams time management is critical, but even more so for this one. Most other exams have 50-60 questions in 2 hours, or 3.5 hours for 80 questions. This one has 2 hours for 80 questions. That's only a minute and a half per question average. I'd suggest that if you can't find the answer (or don't know without looking) in under a minute take your best guess and flag it for review. If you do that you'll have every question answered and some time left to look things up. Better that than leaving questions unanswered.

Another thing that helped is I separated the table of contents, definitions, and index from the binders and just had them in the flap at the front. It was a lot easier to grab it quick from there than it is to flip all the pages back and forth. Utilizing those items is critical for time management. Definitely tab everything, and highlight specific things like measurements. I think there's a few different threads on this topic here on this forum that are worth reading too.

Study, but don't over study. Eat, but don't over eat. Sleep, but don't oversleep. Like so much in life good preparation is all about balance.

Good luck!
 
Joe gave some terrific points, covering most of it. Review the Outline from the Exam Catalog. Be forewarned that you will have questions on MEP. Speed is critical - you have to know how to find the information fast. There simply is not enough time to search for each answer.
 
I found that the practice test from Building Code Masters was actually really accurate compared to the real test.
 
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