One of the pieces of advice we share with our SPSM^® Certification students is to make sure that they schedule their SPSM^® Exam shortly after passing the six purchasing courses of the Senior Professional in Supply Management^® Program. The logic behind our advice is simple: the more time that a student allows to pass, the greater the likelihood that the student will forget what s/he has learned.

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We were crunching some numbers and found some interesting statistical support for our advice. Students who take their exams 31 – 60 days after completing the courses are 13% less likely to pass the exam on their first attempt than those who take their exams within 30 days. Students who take their exams 61 – 90 days after completing the courses are 25% less likely to pass on their first attempt. And students that take their exams between 91 and 120 days after completing the courses are less than half as likely to pass the exam on their first attempt.

So, we’ll formalize our advice here: Plan to take the SPSM^® Exam within 30 days of completing the courses! Give yourself the best shot of passing!