Finally passed my NEDP after two attempts — here's what actually helped

So I just got my results back last week and I finally cleared the NEDP on my second try. First attempt I went in pretty confident after about three weeks of casual reading and completely bombed the performance-based sections. Honestly embarrassing. Score was a 68 and I needed a 75, so I knew I had to rethink my whole approach.

This time around I spent about six weeks being way more systematic. The biggest difference was actually drilling with a solid NEDP practice test — doing timed sessions and reviewing every wrong answer instead of just moving on. I also found a study guide that broke down the competency domains clearly, which helped me stop treating the exam like a knowledge dump and start thinking about applied scenarios the way the questions actually frame them.

A few exam tips I wish someone had told me: the case-based questions reward slowing down, not speeding through. Also don't underestimate the ethics and professional standards section — I thought I'd coast through it and it caught me off guard both times. Anyone else here prepping right now? Happy to share more specifics about what resources I used.