Hi again,

I don't know how many questions you have to answer correctly to
pass. Its confusing (to me) how the test is scored. There are 150
questions, but a perfect score is 800. You must score 500 to pass.
I scored 593. I thought that was pretty lousy (700s or 600s
would've been nice), but I've since learned that a couple of college
students who took the test with me (at least one of whom took the
ACE exam prep course) scored less than I did (although, fortunately,
they passed too). I'm 37 years old and haven't been in a classroom
since 1986. I had quite a bit of test anxiety too (a sleepless night
before exam day), but as long as you've studied hard and you read
each question carefully you should be okay. I know what you're
going through as the last few days before the exam, I was Instant
Messaging other ACE Personal Trainers for some last minute advice.

I don't believe there is a limit as to the number of times you can
take the exam. Considering you're taking it so seriously, you'll do
well. Anyway, here are more pointers you may find helpful:

Make sure you pay attention to the instructions from the Castle
representatives who are administering the exam. The first part of
the exam was unlike any I'd ever taken before (you use a highlight
pen to uncover responses and proceed accordingly) so I found it
confusing in the beginning.


With regard to preparation, the day before the exam, I crammed. In
a matter of hours I went through the entire ACE manual trying to
remember key points. There is so much material covered in the
textbook that something I read weeks earlier was probably forgotten
so it was helpful as a refresher. ACE offers an online practice
exam for about 30 dollars, I think. Taking it a week or two prior
to your exam may be helpful.


And finally - I took almost the entire alotted time to finish the
exam. A lot of test takers finished way before I did. I also went
back and changed a bunch of my answers. I've been wondering if I
might've scored higher/lower had I not done that. My wife said, "Who
cares? As long as you passed!" You may want to stick to your
initial responses or go back and change them. In either case, relax
and take your time. After preparing for months, there's no need to
hurry through the exam.

--- In Certified-Personal-Trainer@yahoogroups.com, "Jennifer"
<jencarr04@y...> wrote:
> Thanks. That is pretty much what I expected. They say on the ACE
site
> that the questions can be tricky, but they are not intended to
trick
> you, that you just have to read everything thoroughly. That is my
> problem with taking tests is slowing down and reading the
questions
> completely. I'm going to have to practice doing that. I have a
silly
> question though, how many questions are you supposed to get right
in
> order to pass the exam, and can you re-take it as many times as
you
> want? Not that I think that will be an issue, I'm just curious.
Tests
> make me so nervous. Thanks again, I'm really grateful that you
posted
> these questions for me. Now I know which areas I will need to
> concentrate more on. I don't go to the seminar until late July, so
I
> won't be taking the exam until probably September (if I feel
> confident enough). Thanks again. :)
>
> Jen