CHES

Success on the CHES exam depends on content knowledge and on using your time and reasoning well on test day. These strategies help you answer efficiently, and the techniques that follow help you keep test anxiety under control.

Know the Format

Knowing the structure in advance removes surprises. Practice pacing during your study sessions and practice tests so the rhythm of about one question per minute feels familiar. Plan to finish questions 1–83 with a few minutes to spare, because you cannot return to them after the break.

Approach Each Question Strategically

Read the entire question

Make sure you understand what is being asked before you look at the options.

Look for keywords and qualifiers

Words such as always, never, MOST, LEAST, FIRST, BEST, and NOT change the meaning of a question and often decide the answer.

Eliminate wrong answers

Cross out options that are clearly incorrect to improve your odds among those that remain.

Trust sound reasoning

Your first well-reasoned choice is often correct. Change an answer only when you find a clear reason to.

Mark and move on

If a question stalls you, choose your best answer, mark it for review, and return if time allows. There is no penalty for guessing, so never leave a question blank.

Review with purpose

Use leftover time to check marked questions for misreadings and careless errors.

Many CHES questions ask what a health education specialist should do FIRST or NEXT. The answer is usually the earliest step in the program cycle that has not yet been completed, such as defining the purpose of a needs assessment before collecting data, or engaging stakeholders before choosing an intervention.

➜

➜

➜

Assessment, planning,

Does an earlier step (data,

Is it evidence-based, fair, and

implementation, or evaluation?

stakeholders, objectives) still

Does the option engage the

within your competence?

need to happen?

people affected?

Overcoming Test Anxiety

Some anxiety is normal and can even sharpen focus. When it starts to interfere with preparation or performance, these techniques help.

Box breathing: inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for

Picture yourself entering the testing room calmly and working

four, and repeat. Progressive muscle relaxation: tense and

through questions steadily. Replace catastrophic thoughts with

then release each muscle group from your toes to your head.

realistic ones, such as "I have prepared, and I can work through this."

If anxiety spikes during the exam, pause for three slow breaths, relax your shoulders, and reread the question. A 20-second reset costs far less time than several rushed answers.