HRCP Blog

As a school child, I liked spelling tests, which is strange considering the fact that I’m not a particularly good speller. I think what I liked about spelling tests was the absence of surprises. We had a list of words, and we were tested on our ability to spell those words. I was pretty good at memorizing, so I fared well in spelling despite my lack of natural ability in the area. Some questions on the PHR and SPHR exams are not so different from grade school spelling tests. We memorize facts and identify correct definitions or concepts on the exam.

The tough questions are the ones that ask for more than facts. And there are a lot of them. The items on the HRCI certification exams may be classified into three cognitive types:

1. Knowledge/Comprehension. These items are designed to assess your ability to recall facts or interpret a concept. (The “spelling test” questions.)
2. Application/Problem Solving. These items assess your ability to solve real-life problems by applying familiar principles or generalizations.
3. Synthesis/Evaluation. These items assess your ability to accurately and logically use critical judgments to combine distantly-related elements into a whole.

HRCI attempts to include items from the three cognitive types on the exams using the percentages shown in the following table:

Just as acing your spelling tests has limited usefulness until you’re able to put those words to use in sentences, the facts and knowledge you learn in preparation for the PHR or SPHR exam only get you part of the way there. You need to push yourself beyond the facts and into application and synthesis.

I was a bit anxious last spring about taking the SPHR exam in its new computer-based format. Although I didn’t enjoy the paper and pencil experience (as described in my previous entry), at least I was familiar with it. The first thing that won me over was my discovery that there was a computer testing center in the neighboring town; I would be spared the drive into the city. Also, I could schedule the exam for any day withing the two-month testing window and for a time that suited me, like after the sun had actually risen.

When I arrived at the testing facility, the test administrator smiled and welcomed me warmly. She checked my ID and verified which test I was taking, then she provided a locker for my personal belongings. No interrogation. No strip-search. As I was directed to a cubical in the testing room, I was happy to note that the room was fresh and clean and comfortable, with actual windows to the outside world. The chair was padded. And adjustable. Nice. I was given a white board and a marker for making notes or doing calculations. Although I could hear the occasional click of a mouse or tap of a keyboard, I couldn’t see any of the other test-takers. I relaxed into the chair and began the exam.

Upon completing the exam, I only had to wait a few (eternally-long) minutes before the computer displayed my exam results. The anxiety of those minutes is indescribable, but pails in comparison to the agony of waiting six weeks for the results, as with the paper and pencil exams of the past. The testing center administrator gave me printed exam results, hard evidence of my success there that day. I proudly displayed the results to my husband, who proclaimed that we should all go out to dinner to celebrate. And we did.

I have mentioned before that I’ve taken the HR certification exams five times. (And again, my ego whispers in my ear that I should clarify that I re-took the exams to re-certify, not because I didn’t pass them.) When I took the SPHR exam last spring, it was my first time taking the exam in its current, computer-based format. The previous three times that I took the SPHR exam (2003, 2000, & 1997), and when I took the PHR exam (in time immemorial), it was administered by an exam proctor on a specified date in a group setting.

It was miserable.

We were required to report at the specified location at dark-thirty in the morning. The building resembled a prison; all the interior walls were windowless, solid concrete (I picture metal rebar protruding from the walls, but that might just be a trick of my memory). Thirty or so SPHR and PHR candidates lined up to have our ID verified, our admission ticket scrutinized, and our blood drawn. The prison guard, er, proctor, checked that we had nothing more dangerous than our sharpened No. 2 pencils. We were assigned to seats and given our exam booklets and answer sheets, aka bubble sheets. The proctor read the tediously detailed instructions explaining how to fill in the selected bubble on the bubble sheet completely, without making any extraneous marks on the page. We were also given elaborate directions on restroom-break procedures: one at a time, turn in exam booklet and bubble sheet to proctor, sign out, return promptly, show ID to proctor (who isn’t expected to remember me even though I (and only I) left the room two and a half minutes ago), sign in, retrieve exam materials from proctor, return to seat. And then the clock began ticking (audibly). The desk surface was too small to spread out my booklet and bubble sheet comfortably. The chair was so hard I began squirming after about 20 minutes (only 220 minutes to go). But the worst thing of all was the tension in the room. The proctor scanning the room with her x-ray vision, vigilantly watching for cheaters. The PHR candidates scratching their heads and trying to remember how to calculate overtime when the employee is payed on a piece-rate. The SPHR candidates trying to remember if they’ve ever even heard of the Systems Model. I would have gladly volunteered for solitary confinement.

The computer-based testing procedure is ever so much better. I’ll talk more about that next time.

Raise your hand if you are scheduled to take the PHR or SPHR exam today.

Yes, that’s right, the spring testing period begins today. I took the SPHR exam last spring; however, I took it not on the first day of the testing period, but on the last (June 30). It wasn’t due entirely to procrastination. I wanted to wait until returning from the SHRM Conference in Washington, D.C. (we had a booth in the expo). I needed the travel time for study.

While I recognize that some of you (rate-busters) will be taking the exam today or within the next few days, I assume that many of my blog’s visitors will be taking the exam later in the exam period (or possibly in the winter exam period). I will therefore continue dispensing advice and test-taking tips.

Here’s my tip for today: RELAX! Stress and anxiety hamper your ability to recall information and to think clearly. When you take practice tests, practice employing various relaxation techniques so you’ll know what works for you.

HRCI allows students (within one year before or after their graduation) to take the PHR exam. Those who pass then have up to five years to obtain two years of exempt-level work experience and complete their certification. Is it realistic for a student or recent graduate to pass the PHR exam without having any work experience? For my part, the answer is a resounding YES. During the time that I taught an undergraduate HR course at the local university, every one of my students who sat for the PHR exam passed. Not one of them had an ounce of practical HR experience. I think it is a perfect time to take the exam. The concepts are fresh in your mind. You are accustomed to taking tests (and sitting still for long periods of time, which for me, is a significant challenge). I say, go for it! Give it the old college try.

I don’t know about you, but when I undertake an endeavor, I like to know what I’m shooting for. That’s one of the frustrations with the PHR and SPHR exams. We all want to pass, of course, but what exactly does it take to pass? With HRCI’s scaled-scoring, passing is not simply a matter of achieving a certain percentage. Here’s HRCI’s response to the question, “How many answers must be correct in order to get a passing grade?”

The number of correct answers will vary based on the version of the exam you receive, so unfortunately there is no direct answer to this question. A good estimate using basic mathematics tells us that 500 minimum/700 maximum is about 71%. So it can be said that you need to correctly answer about 71% of the questions. But please remember that this is a floating target.

Add to that the fact that 25 of the 225 questions on the exam are not scored at all; they are questions that are being evaluated by HRCI for possible inclusion in later exams. But these questions are indistinguishable from the 200 scored items, so you can’t eliminate them from consideration.

Here’s my rule of thumb: if you answer four out of five questions correctly, you should be okay. That would be 80%, of course, which gives you a little wiggle room. And wiggle room is good when you’re trying to hit a “floating target.”

Last year, Money magazine and Salary.com published a list of the 50 best jobs in America.  Human resource manager came in at number four, behind software engineer, college professor, and financial planner.  The article says that “HR is no longer about benefits administration and the employee newsletter. Those tasks are increasingly outsourced, and directors and v.p.s are considered strategic planners. Even lower-level managers are expected to design employee programs that also benefit the bottom line.”  Is it any wonder that beginning with the May-June 2007 test period “strategic management” will account for 29% of the SPHR exam?  That means that 58 of the scored questions on the SPHR exam relate to strategic management.  If I were preparing to take the SPHR exam this spring, I would study strategic management first  And I would study strategic management last.  Fifty-eight questions warrant a double dose of this functional area.

In yesterday’s blog entry, I discussed the December 2006 – January 2007 pass rates. HRCI doesn’t publish a “fail-rate,” but, sadly, it’s easy to calculate: 37% (PHR) and 45% (SPHR) didn’t pass the exam. What do you do if you are among that gloomy group? Will you try again?

You’ve probably heard that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting a different result. Am I suggesting that re-taking the exam is insane? Maybe. If you do “the same thing” to prepare this time around, you really can’t (sanely) expect a different result. So, what should you do differently?

• Review your results. The detailed results provided by HRCI can help you identify areas where you may be weak. Be sure to put extra emphasis on those areas as you study.
• Assess your study materials. Were the topics included on the exam adequately covered in the study materials you used? You might consider obtaining more or better study aids.
• Examine your own preparation. Were you sufficiently diligent in your study? Did you put in the time and effort to learn the HR body of knowledge?
• Practice, practice, practice. Work on improving your test-taking skills. (See yesterday’s blog entry.) I’ll offer specific test-taking tips as the spring test period approaches.

The December 2006 – January 2007 PHR and SPHR exam testing period produced the lowest pass rates achieved in the past five years. The pass rate on the PHR exam was 63%, and 55% of the SPHR candidates passed their exam. I don’t know what the reason for the declining pass rates might be. Are the exams getting more difficult? Is the cutoff for passing set higher? Are less-qualified individuals taking the exams? Are people going into the exams less prepared? Can we somehow blame it on global warming? Whatever the real reason (or reasons), the only thing you can control is your personal preparation. Here are two things you can do to increase your odds of passing:

1. Study hard. With not quite two-thirds passing the PHR exam and barely more than half passing the SPHR exam, HR certification is clearly not a cake-walk. Make sure you know your stuff. And do more than just read the study material. Make sure that you really know it, that you can explain it, calculate it, and most of all, apply it.
2. Practice, practice, practice. You’ve heard the saying: Practice makes perfect. The best way to prepare for the PHR or SPHR exam is to practice responding to questions in a timed format
   that simulates the conditions under which you will take the exam. We have practice tests on our website, and you can find practice tests in a number of other places as well. All of the good HR certification prep study programs come with practice questions. Ours includes 400.

Many HR professionals have been stymied by the decision between the PHR and the SPHR exams. HRCI lists some helpful guidelines for choosing between them in the 2007 PHR/SPHR/GPHR Handbook, which is available in print form and on their website. While two years of experience are required for both exams, HRCI recommends 2-4 years of experience for the PHR exam and 6-8 years for the SPHR exam. HRCI further clarifies the difference between PHR and SPHR candidates (from the “Applying for the Exam” section of the Handbook) :

PHR Candidate:

• Focuses on program implementation.
• Has tactical/logistical orientation.
• Has accountability to another HR professional within the organization.
• Has two to four years of exempt-level generalist HR work experience, but because of career length may lack the breadth and depth of a more senior-level generalist.
• Has not had progressive HR work experience by virtue of career length.
• Focuses his or her impact on the organization within the HR department rather than organizationwide.
• Commands respect through the credibility of knowledge and the use of policies and guidelines to make decisions.

SPHR Candidate:

• Designs and plans rather than implements.
• Focuses on the “big picture.”
• Has ultimate accountability in the HR department.
• Has six to eight years of progressive HR experience.
• Has breadth and depth of HR generalist knowledge.
• Uses judgment obtained with time and application of knowledge.
• Has generalist role within organization.
• Understands the effect of decisions made within and outside of the organization.
• Understands the business, not just the HR function.
• Manages relationships; has influence within overall organization.
• Commands credibility within organization, community and field by experience.
• Possesses excellent negotiation skills.

Most people (but not all) believe that the PHR exam is easier, so some HR professionals who are qualified to take the SPHR exam choose to first take the PHR exam as “insurance.” Here’s my opinion on that: Why go through this twice if you don’t have to? If you truly fit the above description of an SPHR candidate, just go ahead and prepare for the SPHR exam. And what if you don’t pass? Take it again. Your other plan was to take two tests anyway. The cost difference between the two exams ($125) would be a reasonable fee for a preview of the exam you ultimately desire to pass. Then again, you might pass on the first try.

I think you probably will.