Just got my APA exam results back and I'm sitting at 71%, which I'm pretty sure is right on the borderline. I studied for about 9 weeks, roughly 2 hours a day on weekdays and 4 hours on Saturdays. My main resources were the APA Publication Manual (7th edition), some psychology ethics readings, and a handful of practice question sets I found online.
The section that really caught me off guard was the research methodology portion. I thought I had statistics down cold, but some of the application questions were framed in ways I hadn't seen before. I probably got around 60% correct in that section alone, which dragged my overall score down noticeably.
The ethics and professional standards section was where I felt strongest — probably landed around 80% there based on how confident I felt leaving those questions. The publication standards questions were middle of the road, maybe 73%.
Has anyone retaken after a 71%? How much extra time did you put in, and which sections did you focus on? I'm trying to figure out if 4 more weeks of targeted study is realistic or if I need to budget 8-10 weeks for a proper retake.
The framing on the stats questions is intentionally tricky. I went back and did every practice scenario I could find on ANOVA assumptions and regression interpretation, and that moved my score from about 62% to 79% in that section. Four more weeks should be enough if you're targeted about it.
I scored 69% on my first try, studied another 6 weeks, and passed at 78%. Ethics was my anchor section too — once you nail that you're not starting from zero. The methodology stuff just takes repetition, there's honestly no shortcut.
What practice materials were you using? Some of the free stuff online doesn't reflect the actual question style very well. I switched to more official-aligned resources for my retake and noticed the difference immediately.
71% is actually really close — I passed with 76% on my second attempt after failing at 68%. The methodology section is brutal because they test concept application, not just definitions. I spent 3 extra weeks specifically on quasi-experimental design and effect size interpretation.
I failed my first attempt too, ended up at 68%. What changed for me the second time was focusing less on memorizing the manual and more on applying it. Like I knew the formatting rules cold but I kept getting tripped up on the scenario-based ethics questions because I wasn't connecting the principles to actual situations. I spent the last two weeks before my retake just doing practice questions and explaining to myself why each answer was right or wrong, not just whether I got it correct.
Also 71% might actually be a pass depending on your credentialing body, so double-check that before you panic. If you do need to retake it, don't add more material. You've clearly put in the time. What usually trips people up at that score range isn't knowledge gaps, it's test-taking stuff like misreading what the question is actually asking or second-guessing an answer you got right the first time.
Hey, I feel this post. I'm in a similar boat -- took a full practice test last weekend and hit 74%, which honestly surprised me because I've been struggling with the research methods section. Sitting the real thing in about three weeks so I'm in crunch mode right now.
For what it's worth, the ethics questions tripped me up way more than I expected. I thought I knew the APA code pretty well but the scenario-based stuff is trickier than just memorizing principles. If you retake, that might be worth another look. Good luck to you though, 71% is so close!