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Practice Tests

Quizzing can be the best way to gauge your understanding of this material, and of your readiness to take the exam. A wrong answer on a test question acts as a laser beam: showing you what you know, and more importantly, what you do not know. Each chapter in this book has 15 practice test questions at the end, ranging from easy to medium to hard. The Self-Test Appendix includes explanations for all correct and incorrect answers; these explanations are designed to help you understand why the answers you chose were marked correct or incorrect.

You should aim for 80% or greater correct answers on any practice test. The real exam requires a scaled score of at least 700 out of 1000 points, but achieving 80% or more on practice tests will give you some margin for error. Take these quizzes closed book, just as you will take the real exam. Pay careful attention to any wrong answers and be sure to reread the relevant section of this book. Identify any weaker domains (we all have them): domains where you consistently get more wrong answers than others. Then focus your studies on those weak areas.

Time yourself while taking any practice exam. Aim to answer at a rate faster than one question per minute. You need to move faster than true exam pace because the actual exam questions may be more difficult and therefore take more time. If you are taking longer than that, practice more to improve your speed. Time management is critical on the exam: running out of time usually equals failure.

Read the Glossary

As you wrap up your studies, quickly read through the glossary towards the back of this book. It has over 1000 entries and is highly detailed by design. The glossary definitions should all be familiar concepts to you at this point.

If you see a glossary definition that is not clear or obvious to you, go back to the chapter it is based on, and reread that material. Ask yourself: do I understand this concept enough to answer a question about it?

Readiness Checklist

These steps will serve as a “readiness checklist” as you near the exam day. If you remember to think like a manager, consistently score over 80% on practice tests, answer practice questions quickly, understand all glossary terms, and perform a final thorough read through of your notes card, you are ready to go.

How to Take the Exam

As of book publication: the CISSP® exam is available in eight languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish-Modern, Brazilian Portuguese, and French. The English exam uses CISSP® CAT (Computerized Adaptive Testing, see below), while the other languages, “are administered as linear, fixed-form exams”[^3].

The English exam now has between 125 and 175 questions, with a 4-hour time limit. Four hours may sound like a long time, until you do the math: 175 questions in 240 minutes leaves 82 seconds to answer each question. The exam is long and can be grueling; it is also a race against time. Preparation is the key to success.

Note that the content on the CISSP® exam is normally updated every 3 years (the most recent update as of this book’s publication was April 2021). Note that (ISC)²® occasionally changes the number of questions on the exam and the time limit (while leaving the testable content unchanged). The most recent change (as of this book’s publication) was June 1, 2022, when the exam changed from 100–150 questions to 125–175. Always check https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/CISSP for the most recent information regarding the CISSP® exam.