NCARB offers simulations of full-length ARE 5.0 divisions through the ARE 5.0 practice exams. There are six practice exams and one demo exam, all of which are available at no cost to licensure candidates. ARE 5.0 practice exams feature the same exam format and tools as an actual ARE division and were developed using the same process and guidelines.
If you have active exam eligibilities in your jurisdiction, you can start taking the practice exams now. Get started by navigating to the "Exams" tab of your NCARB Record, then go to "Additional Resources".
Practice Exam Content
There are six divisional practice exams and one multidivisional demo exam. There is one ARE 5.0 practice exam for each of the six ARE 5.0 divisions, assembled using the same number of items and tied to the same objectives as the actual versions of each division. You can take one of these exams to help prepare for a particular division. The multidivisional demo exam is made of 75 total items across all six divisions and features two case studies, and is great for candidates who want to become familiar with the exam’s delivery and understand a cross-section of the exam’s content.
How to Access NCARB's Practice Exams
Licensure candidates can access the practice exams in an exam administration format, which allows you to experience the exam just like the real thing. AXP supervisors/mentors and architect licensing advisors can access a PDF version of the practice exams. Follow these instructions to access the practice exams:
- ARE candidates with active eligibilities: ARE candidates with active exam eligibilities can access the ARE 5.0 Practice Exams through the Practice Exam Dashboard. For access to the dashboard, log into your NCARB Record, click the “Exams” tab, and navigate to the “Additional Resources” section of the page.
- Licensure candidates without active eligibilities: Licensure candidates without active exam eligibilities can also access the ARE 5.0 Practice Exam through their NCARB Record. Navigate to the “Overview” tab and select “Practice the ARE.”
- AXP Supervisors and Mentors: Supervisors and mentors can only access the PDF version of the ARE 5.0 Practice Exams. The PDFs are available below.
How to Use NCARB's Practice Exams
Though the ARE 5.0 practice exams are available in two formats—as an exam administration and as a PDF—they were designed for ARE candidates to replicate the delivery and content of an actual ARE exam administration. We strongly encourage ARE candidates to take advantage of the exam administration option in your NCARB Record. There are two modes of administering the ARE 5.0 Practice Exams. If you want to test your grasp of ARE divisional content while replicating many of the conditions of an actual exam appointment, you can take the practice exam in test mode. If you want to linger over the exam tools and navigation and be provided with correct responses and the rationales behind them, you can take each practice exam in practice mode. Both modes provide an examination results page at the end of the exam, where you can find a record of the items you answered correctly or incorrectly, a percentage breakdown of how you fared in each section, and a list of the correct responses and rationales for every item on the exam.
The PDF form of the ARE 5.0 Practice Exams is recommended for AXP supervisors and mentors working with exam candidates. The PDF includes every item, the correct response, and item explanations that appear on each practice exam. Please note, for case study questions in the practice exams, the case study resources are not reproduced for copyright and other reasons. Each case study question identifies which case study resources should be used to properly answer the question. Any licensure candidate can access the practice exam at no cost and show their supervisor or mentor the resources available within each case study.
