I just got my results yesterday and I passed with a 78%, which honestly felt like winning the lottery after failing by 4 points back in March. First attempt I went in way too confident — I'd been working in substance abuse counseling for three years and thought my field experience would carry me. It did not. The exam tests very specific competency areas and the wording on some questions is deliberately tricky.
What changed the second time around was being way more systematic. I spent about 6 weeks studying, probably 8-10 hours a week total. I found a solid CAADC practice test that closely mirrored the real exam format — doing timed practice sets showed me I was consistently weak on co-occurring disorders and documentation standards. Those two areas probably cost me the first time.
Anyone else here prepping for the CAADC? Happy to share more details about what study materials I used or what the testing experience is like. The study guide I ended up using was way more helpful than just reading the IC&RC domains on their own.