LEED Green Associates Exam

[Debbie James]

I am in a small group studying for the LEED Green Associates Exam only. We are looking for people who have taken the Green Associates Exam as to clear up some confusion on a few different LEED v3.0 study books that said you need to know all the credits or no you do not need to know the credits. For instance SSc5.1, MRc4, EAc6 etc.as you know the list goes on. Do we need to know synergies, strategies and technologies of each of the credit etc.? What are the best study guides to look into for this exam?

much appreciate your replies,
Debbie

[Jason T. Radice]

I got in under the wire of the old exam, but the principles are the same. You WILL need to know the credits! The exam does rely on your comprehension of how different credits integrate and relate to each other. However, for much of it, it is required to memorize the credit/prerequisite, the goal of that credit, and the reference standard for that credit. I found it useful to study the technique of the exam as the actual material. Ironically, the LEED book itself wasn’t that great of a resource for me. I used the PassTheLEED (http://www.passtheleed.com) system to study, which took weeks of study and memorization. Everywhere I went, I took a notepad and a crib sheet of the things to memorize and just quizzed myself until I was able to write the whole thing from memory in kind of a shorthand. I even got to the exam early and did it again in the car, just to be sure I knew it. Once I got in the door, I wrote it all out on the note paper they give you during the 15 minute “tutorial” session. It helped a GREAT deal, just to have a reference so you can see the sybiotic relationships and how many credits and such, but especially for the reference standards, as all the ANSI’s tend to run together and several can apply to a credit. The ‘brain dump’ method, as it is called, also tends to relieve some test jitters, as the worst part is over. The review was expensive ($100), but I thought worth it, as the LEED book was mind-numbingly monotanous and excessive in its bulk. Part of the pack included printable flash cards, blank review grids, and audio guide, and an online exam simulator, which was excellent. I will tell you, the worst part of the exam was hitting the submit button and waiting the 30 seconds for the grade! And when the score pops up, it does not show clearly with big bold flashing text, you have to read the page of excel-like grid to see of you passed. I passed it convincingly first time out (beat all but one of my colleagues), and I hope you do as well!

[Debbie James]

Thanks Jason for your reply and helpful information. I have the Gang Chen book exam guide, the little blue book, its good, but not comprehensive enough. Still looking for people who have taken the GA just to see because I heard they changed it as part of the first exam of two when apply for the AP exam . Other questions I have, does the exam test you on case studies of which you need to indentify the strategies and synergies etc.? There’s a lot of infomation out there, but they made it complicated with too much infomation for v3.0 exam.

[Jason T. Radice]

I had the first Gang Chen book, other than being more portable than the LEED manual, it didn’t help all that much, thats why I ended up with the other program. The sample exams (such as the one in the back of the Chen book) are pretty accurate in showing the types of questions asked on the exam. You will have to identify synergies between credits using a case study. Keep in mind, this is a timed multiple choice exam, so it does not go into great detail. It will give you a quick scenario and a list of answer combinations. You will need to identify the BEST answer, even though more than one may seem correct. The test is as much about exam strategy as it is about the materials.
One of the reasons I bought the PassTheLEED system was its online exam simulator, it was a great help in getting a feel for the type of questions, the layout and process of the exam, and subject manner. When I took the course, it had four full exams, plus the flash cards. I found the sample exams more difficult than the actual LEED test. In fact, I was a bit worried taking the test, as I didn’t do all that great on the samples (they made it tougher so you would really know it). This is not an exam you can just read the book once and pass. You really need to know the structure and relationships of the credits and (memorization) and know that they try to trick you with the questions (read questions and answers very carefully).

[Debbie James]

thank you so much Jason. I will look into the PassTheLeed online material, it sounds good. Someone also mention the EverBlueEnergy online as well. Got my work cut out!!

[Everblue]

Debbie, I’m from Everblue and I can tell you that we use the feedback from our live courses to constantly update and refine our materials. The fact that we wholly create and religiously maintain our own content while teaching thousands of students a month around the country allows us to definitely answer your questions above about what is important and what is not. We have exam prep products that run the gamut from self-study practice exams and worksheets, through online anytime courses, to live courses. We’d be happy to help you if you have any questions and you can find our exam prep materials and courses at http://www.everblueenergy.com/leed-exam-prep/green-assoc-exam-prep

Good luck on your exam!

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