Failed EPPP Twice

[Psych20122]

Looking for some advice about preparation for this exam. I took and failed the EPPP twice. Although I did get 50 points higher the second time around, my performance in the different areas are a bit scattered which is confusing me my approach.

First of all, I'll start by staying that my area of expertise is School Psychology. I obtained a Masters degree in School Psychology and then went back for my PsyD (also in School Psychology). My doctoral program was only 2.5 years long because it was an advanced program (shorter). Also, I have two children under 4, which means that my time and attention is at times inconsistent because of life itself. I'm not trying to make excuses, but it is what it is.

Test attempt 1 - I purchased the AATBS books (2021) and TestMASTER access and began studying inconsistently. I read through and studied all of the volumes while highlighting and taking notes. I didn't take much time to do practice exams because I assumed that retention of the content was more important. I studied the volumes for several months, but with some pretty large gaps in between because of life circumstances (i.e. I moved). About a month before the exam I started studying the volumes more rigorously. All in all, I took the exam and failed with a 427 (Scaled score of 69). I JUST finished the test in time. I think I had about 2 minutes to spare. I was surprised that the the EPPP questions seemed very different from the limited practice AATBS exam questions I completed.

At this point, I had no clue what a 427 really meant. I assumed that my big fault was not taking enough practice exams, especially full timed exams. I also used the print out of performances in each area to determine where I should focus more (I performed pretty low in Growth and Lifespan Development and Treatment, Intervention, and Prevention and Supervision).

Test attempt 2 - I started reading though all of the AATBS volumes again, but with more attention to details that didn't sink in originally. I started memorizing specific facts, since I noticed that the actual EPPP had questions involving detail about prevalence rates, etc. I tried memorizing as many facts as I could by going through the volumes about 2-3x each. I basically tried to sharpen my knowledge base even more with the volumes (except statistics, which was an area I decided to study only the main topics because I didn't want to invent the wheel with it being only 7% of questions). I also started taking the AATBS full practice exams. After each one, I spent time writing down the questions I answered incorrectly and the reasons/relevant information. I pretty much completed an entire exam every other day and started with scores in the low 60s but ended with scores in the low to mid 70s. On the final "Test Simulation" exam, I got a 76 and felt pretty confident about taking the EPPP again. This time, I got a 477 (scaled score of 73). I was pretty demoralized because I spent many, many hours studying again. On several nights I stayed up until about 2 AM taking full length exams. I finished the exam with about 15 minutes to go this time (vs a couple). I WAS happy about the 50 point increase though. Again, I felt like the actual exam questions were very different from the AATBS practice exam questions.

Now, I'm not exactly sure what to do because while I definitely improved in the areas of weakness from the first attempt (e.g., Growth/Lifespan) and even Statistics, I performed poorer in a couple of the areas of relative strength from the first attempt. Notably, I scored pretty low in Social and Cultural Basis of Behavior (I got maybe 1/3 of the questions right this time compared to about a little more than 1/2 the first time). This decline was probably a big chunk of the raw points needed to pass.

Does anyone have suggestions about which of the other preparation programs that are most comparable to the actual EPPP exam questions? Or should I just continue using AATBS? I did take all of the AATBS exams, so retaking those would definitely have a practice effect.

All advice appreciated!

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[neurotic_cow]

Honestly, I took a variety of different practice exams from different companies and none of them were like the real EPPP, in my opinion. That being said, I don't think it could hurt to expose yourself to as many different practice questions as possible. That's not to say that you need to shell out a bunch of money to do that, a lot of companies will offer free things or free trials that you can take advantage of (PrepJet, Psychprep, etc). Do you feel like you are a good test taker? Aside from developing a solid foundation in the information provided in the AATBS volumes, I found that taking PsychPrep's course on test taking strategies was super helpful in breaking down how to answer questions that I didn't know the answer to (not sponsored), because as you know, you will be presented with things that you won't know. I felt like half of the questions on the EPPP exam I took weren't in the study materials.

 

[Mojito_15]

A second vote for the psychprep weekend workshop which specifically focuses on test taking strategies. I did the whole psychprep program and found the exam to mostly be pretty similar to the study materials. I think maybe it's important to focus on learning the concepts rather than trying to memorize specific answers to specific questions.

 

[WisNeuro]

I used Academic Review way back in the day and their tests were pretty similar to the actual test.

 

[bluecolourskies]

I just passed on my first time in June, and I thought AATBS had the closest feel to the exam. If you haven’t already, check out the “Hack the EPPP” group on Facebook. It’s a free weekly meeting (unless you want to pay for more sessions beyond the one per week) and the coach really teaches you how to eliminate answers and how to really read the questions. There were many questions I had no idea about on the actual exam, and I credit his course and other test taking strategy courses on helping me practice this.

No I’m not associated with his program or any program. In fact I am cheap af and used PrepJet to study (cheapest program) in addition to the many many free exams that were available during my trial periods for all the other test prep companies.

 

[livinwell]

Looking for some advice about preparation for this exam. I took and failed the EPPP twice. Although I did get 50 points higher the second time around, my performance in the different areas are a bit scattered which is confusing me my approach.

First of all, I'll start by staying that my area of expertise is School Psychology. I obtained a Masters degree in School Psychology and then went back for my PsyD (also in School Psychology). My doctoral program was only 2.5 years long because it was an advanced program (shorter). Also, I have two children under 4, which means that my time and attention is at times inconsistent because of life itself. I'm not trying to make excuses, but it is what it is.

Test attempt 1 - I purchased the AATBS books (2021) and TestMASTER access and began studying inconsistently. I read through and studied all of the volumes while highlighting and taking notes. I didn't take much time to do practice exams because I assumed that retention of the content was more important. I studied the volumes for several months, but with some pretty large gaps in between because of life circumstances (i.e. I moved). About a month before the exam I started studying the volumes more rigorously. All in all, I took the exam and failed with a 427 (Scaled score of 69). I JUST finished the test in time. I think I had about 2 minutes to spare. I was surprised that the the EPPP questions seemed very different from the limited practice AATBS exam questions I completed.

At this point, I had no clue what a 427 really meant. I assumed that my big fault was not taking enough practice exams, especially full timed exams. I also used the print out of performances in each area to determine where I should focus more (I performed pretty low in Growth and Lifespan Development and Treatment, Intervention, and Prevention and Supervision).

Test attempt 2 - I started reading though all of the AATBS volumes again, but with more attention to details that didn't sink in originally. I started memorizing specific facts, since I noticed that the actual EPPP had questions involving detail about prevalence rates, etc. I tried memorizing as many facts as I could by going through the volumes about 2-3x each. I basically tried to sharpen my knowledge base even more with the volumes (except statistics, which was an area I decided to study only the main topics because I didn't want to invent the wheel with it being only 7% of questions). I also started taking the AATBS full practice exams. After each one, I spent time writing down the questions I answered incorrectly and the reasons/relevant information. I pretty much completed an entire exam every other day and started with scores in the low 60s but ended with scores in the low to mid 70s. On the final "Test Simulation" exam, I got a 76 and felt pretty confident about taking the EPPP again. This time, I got a 477 (scaled score of 73). I was pretty demoralized because I spent many, many hours studying again. On several nights I stayed up until about 2 AM taking full length exams. I finished the exam with about 15 minutes to go this time (vs a couple). I WAS happy about the 50 point increase though. Again, I felt like the actual exam questions were very different from the AATBS practice exam questions.

Now, I'm not exactly sure what to do because while I definitely improved in the areas of weakness from the first attempt (e.g., Growth/Lifespan) and even Statistics, I performed poorer in a couple of the areas of relative strength from the first attempt. Notably, I scored pretty low in Social and Cultural Basis of Behavior (I got maybe 1/3 of the questions right this time compared to about a little more than 1/2 the first time). This decline was probably a big chunk of the raw points needed to pass.

Does anyone have suggestions about which of the other preparation programs that are most comparable to the actual EPPP exam questions? Or should I just continue using AATBS? I did take all of the AATBS exams, so retaking those would definitely have a practice effect.

All advice appreciated!

I failed twice as well.

Totally agree with following up with focusing on test taking strategies. I found that to be very helpful, especially in regarding to "moving" through the exam in a timely manner, ways of reading the questions and choosing the most relevant answers. Frankly, I did not find the AATBS test to be anywhere close to the actual EPPP. I used Prepjet after that and it was much closer to the exam questions. I recall using Psychprep (free trial) and it was also pretty close.

Be kind to yourself in this process.

 

[R. Matey]

I used Academic Review way back in the day and their tests were pretty similar to the actual test.

I also used AR but just last year and this was my experience as well. If you need more content tutoring though, I would suggest PsychPrep. People say the audio is great.