Anyone who has taken or is considering a Best Practise qualification in Project, Programme or Portfolio Management or Service Management will know that the volume of information to learn and be tested on is considerable and so the likelihood of scoring full marks in the examination is low. Even the Trainers I know have never scored full marks.
There are lots of reasons for scoring less than 100%, which range from not learning the material, to misreading a question or just rushing and completing the wrong answer on the answer grid even when you have answered correctly. All these reasons make it harder even with great knowledge. This is why, for most of us, it is not going to happen.
Yet, some people do score 100%. I have just had the third person I have taught (over a period of more than 15 years) achieve full marks at Foundation level. I am always amazed and need to review a score two or three times before I will believe it. So how does this incredible feat come about?
A few raw ingredients are needed. Firstly, someone who is genuinely interested in the topic. Now they need to have enough time to study the materials thoroughly. The materials need to be accurate and complete. Next a retentive memory will be mixed into the pot, along with exam technique. The practise will include sample questions but also some practical experience to complement the theory will help. Finally they need to have a logic which is not easily distracted. This logic will enable them to distinguish between two correct statements and choose the one that fully answers the question posed.
If the recipe is known, why is it that we don’t have more people achieving full marks? One answer is that the ingredients are not all available in every case. Despite being bright and capable with experience and logic, if there is a time constraint the person may not have time to study the materials as thoroughly as they would wish.
A good training organisation can assist the able individual as well as the person who struggles. Provision of good materials which have plenty of opportunities to apply the learning to a case study or in sample questions will give a tremendous boost to achieve high scores.
A great trainer who is able to translate the questions a delegate asks into examples to which they can relate, is also a great asset. Even online training should have a dedicated Tutor to support the student and answer all their questions to deepen their understanding. With a deep understanding the Tutor can answer any question posed about a point. Simply remembering has its limitations because if a different question is asked about the same point, a different answer needs to be remembered. Under the guidance of a Trainer, a delegate can acquire greater understanding.
CUPE will be delighted to discuss how to help you to a high score in a Best Practise exam for either Service Management or Project, Programme and Portfolio Management. Call the CUPE Team on +44 (0)1202 555711 or contact us by mail on team@cupeinternational.com .