Are you preparing to take the KPEERI exam? Are you nervous about the big day? I remember searching the internet for as much information as I could find about the KPEERI. At the time, my training program recommended Reading Rockets and Quizlet. With that in mind, I paired those suggestions with the recommendations on the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI) website. However, I wished that there had been more information available. I was really nervous and didn’t know what I was walking into.

My Journey Beyond the KPEERI Exam

Fortunately, since passing the KPEERI, I have also passed the ALTA Exams for dyslexia practitioners and dyslexia therapists. In fact, I followed the same game plan for all three exams, and you can too. In this blog post, I share 5 additional tips that helped me the day before and the day of my KPEERI Exam.

Tip #1: Don’t Cram the Night Before the Exam

Cramming the day or evening before only causes unnecessary stress and anxiety. For example, the day before my test, I simply reviewed my flashcards and notes, and that was pretty much it. I didn’t try to study anything I hadn’t gotten around to yet. Specifically, for me, that meant not reading any new books or trying to memorize any additional information.

Personally, my brain shuts down when I try to add too much information all at once. If you have a month to go before your exam, or even a few weeks, that’s one story. On the other hand, if your exam is days away, I would argue that you either know enough to pass at this point or you don’t. Honestly my plan when I registered for the KPEERI was simply to see if I could pass it.

Overcoming Test Anxiety

If you’ve read my free study guide, 5 Tips for Passing National Specialists Exams, you know I discussed how my plan of just trying it out helped me manage my test anxiety. Because I’m a perfectionist by nature, the thought of failing the KPEERI Exam was stressful enough for me.

Tip #2: Take the Night Off

My second tip ties directly to the first, and that is to take the night off. For instance, you can watch a few episodes of your favorite show or go out to dinner with your family. This strategy works because it helps you take your mind off of the test. Additionally, staying up late to study can backfire, as it makes you tired and stressed right before your test.

Navigating Multiple-Choice Questions

I remember the evening before I took the KPEERI, I told my husband that the good news was the answers were on the test. In other words, it’s a multiple-choice test, so the answer for each question appears right on the screen. Consequently, I figured my training and my studying would help me eliminate the obvious distractors.

In my testing experience, the most difficult questions often come down to two possible choices. Therefore, I over-studied for a couple of months to overcompensate for questions I knew I would get wrong. Furthermore, you don’t have to get all of the questions correct. The good news is that you just have to get enough to pass. In addition, my program mentors explained that there would be ten experimental questions that CERI tries out.

Tip #3: Don’t Wear Clothes with Pockets to Your Exam

After reading the test center’s security protocol, I decided to wear a dress without pockets. Ultimately, this was a good idea because it allowed me to get through security quickly. Meanwhile, other test takers had to pull all of their pockets inside-out to prove they were not hiding anything. I had to hand over my reading glasses for inspection, but that was it. Thus, eliminating pockets gives you one less thing to worry about.

Tip #4: Get Dropped Off at the Testing Center

The day of my exam, my husband drove me to the testing center. Consequently, I figured I could review a few flashcards on the way. I don’t think the last-minute flashcard review helped, but what did help was being able to leave my purse and cellphone with my husband.

As a result, I walked into the testing center with my driver’s license and my reading glasses only. This allowed me to bypass the lockers at the center entirely. Mainly, I wanted to get in the room right away and get the KPEERI over with! If you’ve been studying for a while, you know exactly what I mean. If you are driving yourself to the testing center, remember to bring as little as possible.

Tip #5: Practice Positive Self-Talk on Testing Day

My fifth and final tip is to practice positive self-talk on the day of the test. Ideally, you should practice a month or even a week before the test! No one sits for the KPEERI Exam without a lot of hard work and sacrifice. You alone deserve kudos for getting through all of those challenging demonstration videos! You made a commitment to complete your dyslexia training all in the service of helping students. Therefore, I commend you, because your expertise is sorely needed.

Trusting Your Dyslexia Training

I over-studied for the KPEERI and obsessed over it for months. Indeed, fear of the unknown caused me to exaggerate how difficult it would be to pass the exam. Did I encounter difficult questions that caused me to guess? Absolutely. But thanks to my training and study plan, I also encountered lots of easy questions as well.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I firmly believe you can overachieve on knowledge questions to offset difficult application questions. When my passing score appeared on the screen, I was thrilled. After receiving a printout of my score and I ran out to tell my husband. I finished the KPEERI exam in just over an hour. Naturally, he was surprised to see me, as he expected I would take the full two hours.

Please let me know when you pass your KPEERI exam. I would love to celebrate with you!

Also Read:

5 Top Books for Passing The KPEERI Exam

About the Therapist

Bridget Anderson, M.A., CALT, C-SLDS provides expert dyslexia therapy for elementary students in the Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, CA communities.