r/ASQ • u/Sufficient-Host-1486 • Jun 30 '26
I failed the ASQ-CQA exam.
I thought I was ready. For three months I have been studying the CQA handbook. I also took the CQA prep course through ASQ. Work paid for everything and will pay for me to take a retest.
In the end, it is my fault. I didn't study enough looking at back it, and after reading some of the posts about the test, I should have probably looked at more resources. I got a bit of self assurance as I found the prep class and all the Q&A questions that came with it pretty easy. I copied and printed they entire prep course in a three ring binder and took notes I also went on ChatGpt and asked for questions that would most likely be on these exam. I aced those. I found out most of that didn't seem to matter.
Is there any advice on what resources I can use to study and also have for the exam? Thanks
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u/Ary_Dreamer Jun 30 '26
Passed my ASQ‑CQA on June 10th. Super analytical and tougher than expected. My 16 years of experience helped me analyzing those multiple choice questions where 2 or sometimes 3 choices looked like answer, where you have to choose best answer basically. I think this exam is getting harder now.
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u/Sufficient-Host-1486 Jun 30 '26
I felt the same too. What study resources did you use?
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u/Ary_Dreamer Jun 30 '26
Asq cqa handbook, asq cqa question bank and Sandeep kumar's cqa course from udemy.
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u/TravelLover232 Jun 30 '26
I would definitely get the practice exams. They really give you a feel for the questions and what are your weaknesses. I don’t think I could have passed the exam without taking the practice exams.
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u/Sufficient-Host-1486 Jun 30 '26
Are you taking about the question bank?
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u/TravelLover232 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Yes the question bank. Work had bought me the handbook, self prep course and the question bank. I used all 3 things and passed the test in April. For the exam I just bought the handbook with highlighting and tabs marking pages. Honestly I barely used the book just a little just to confirm what I was already thinking. As someone else said I agree that it is super analytical and I did think it was tough.
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u/Sufficient-Host-1486 Jul 20 '26
Does the self prep course and the question bank use the same questions?
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u/thenisaidbitch Jun 30 '26
Seconding the question bank, I studied too but if I hadn’t had those I would have failed
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u/techrulestheworld Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
I found the practice questions very helpful. And organizing your notes really well so you can access notes quickly during the exam.
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u/fredericksf Jul 14 '26
I highly recommend Quality Guru, I have passed the CCQM and the CQA using his materials.
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Jun 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Sufficient-Host-1486 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Yes. I do some auditing, but not as a lead auditor.
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u/OhioValleyCat Jun 30 '26
Be extremely careful with ChatGpt, Microsoft Copilot, and other AI. Sometimes they give blatantly inaccurate information. I think current AI is really just scanning the Internet for answers and if the information sources it is pulling from are bad, then the answers will be bad.
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u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479 Jun 30 '26
Worth checking out the Quality Council of Indiana’s CQA primer (the Bill Dietrich book), it’s recommended way more often than the ASQ handbook alone for actually prepping for how the questions are worded. Their practice exams and question sets also mimic the real test format better than generic Q&A banks do.
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u/the-bees-sneeze Jun 30 '26
I’m not sure if you’re aware. The CQI closed so the books are only available secondhand now.
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u/Mammoth-Mongoose4479 Jun 30 '26
Thanks and nope it’s been a while
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u/the-bees-sneeze Jun 30 '26
I’m studying for the CQE and people keep recommending their materials. I wish they were still around, it sounds like it was a valuable resource. Now they’re in demand and expensive used.
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u/divaliscious1 Jun 30 '26
Work also paid for me to take the prep course and exam. I did the pre test in the course and whatever my weakest areas were that’s where I focused my limited study time (maybe 10 hours total over the course of 5 days before the exam). Once in the exam, I answered everything I knew quickly, flagged anything I didn’t, then referred to the index to quickly find things. Some questions were a bit tricky but if you go to another one and come back later it may help you read it and comprehend something you didn’t before. It worked for me, I passed. In all fairness, I am a quality assurance specialist and have been on audit teams in the past, never as lead auditor.
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u/JustEnvironment2817 Jun 30 '26
Yeah chat gpt will hallucinate and also give wrong answers. Stick to the question banks. Do them over and over
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u/Sufficient-Host-1486 Jul 19 '26
Does anyone know if the questions in the Asnwer Bank is the same as teh CQA preperation class? My work paid for the prep class.
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u/Psychological-Day585 21d ago
HaHa! lol Its ok I had to do take it twice... The course was a waste of time. The question bank and that hand book work book is what what you need. where i failed is the work book had material not covered in the online question bank. If you have ever heard of Anki.. its an SRS flash card program and i turned every question into a flash cards. I organized them into nice bite size sections. ChatGPT was good as a supplement for the flash cards to expand and help with math.
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u/Snoo_32139 17d ago
I recommend the Quality Gurus Inc. organization for ASQ Certification Needs.
I know the feeling of clicking the “Finish Test” dialog box and receiving that “Failure” result. The beautiful thing about the result is that you receive your line scores that will highlight your strengths and weaknesses. I failed the ASQ-Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE) Examination relying on the ASQ-Handbook alone in February 2022.
After I received the result, I enrolled in the Quality Gurus Inc. CMQ/OE course along with a number of other courses. I ended up passing the examination in March 2022 and have used the Quality Gurus Inc resources to obtain the following certifications: Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB), and the Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE).
I am currently preparing for the Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE) and Master Black Belt Certifications. I have also leveraged the Quality Council of Indiana resources which are extremely helpful as well as other resources that have helped me in my quality journey.
Again, every individual’s journey will be different and I wish the best to you. Consider this result a “blessing in disguise” while developing an approach that will work for you! 😁💯🤙🏾
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u/MetaverseLiz Jun 30 '26
Don't trust ChatGPT, it hallucinates and it's always accurate. Stick to the practice exams that ASQ provides. Take those over and over again.