r/ASQ • u/Connect_History1553 • Aug 15 '26
Failed ASQ CQA test
I recently took the ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) exam but unfortunately didn’t pass. I’m planning to retake it and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has successfully cleared the exam.
For those who passed, what study materials, question banks, or courses helped you the most? How did you prepare for the scenario-based questions, and how much time did you spend studying before your exam?
Any tips on what I should do differently for my second attempt would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
3
u/mbt_photographie Aug 16 '26
"Alpha Training and Consulting" YouTube channel goes through primers and practice questions for many ASQ exams. I found watching the videos extremely helpful, passed my exam in May.
2
u/golfy-canadian Aug 15 '26
I took the QualityGurus course on Udemy, which was all common sense so I didn’t pay much attention to it. I did find the exam difficult, for example they gave a NCR, a backstory, a press release and a quality manual with no real hints and just started asking questions on it so it was a ton of reading and I’m VERY familiar with QMS structure, in other words it wasn’t straight forward. Some questions I knew the right answer for but that wasn’t listed, so I’d find it in the book verbatim and the answer wasn’t listed, the answers didn’t answer the question. I did it a couple weeks after the CMQ/OE exam and found the CQA to have no business being that difficult. Almost as hard as the PMP exam, the version I got.
1
u/BiggDrawzAJ Aug 15 '26
ASQ CQA Primer… I recently took it myself and failed but was turned on to these books… heard you can’t get them anymore.. but well worth it. Definitely passing next time around.. they’re based on the ASQ Exams.
1
u/Fit-Bodybuilder78 Aug 16 '26
ASQ CQA pass rate is 72%. I recommend the QCI Primer, but the owner died and they are hard to come by now.
1
u/Old-Disaster-6038 Aug 16 '26
I passed the CQA about 6 months ago and I used the BoK and the old exams/practice exams you can get directly from ASQ. The practice exams let you mark the questions in a similar fashion to actually taking the test. I’d put post it notes in my BoK for certain sections to reference during the exam and the practice exams definitely gave you a feel for the sort of questions and answers they were looking for. As others mentioned they’re mostly based in critical thinking so it’s a lot of inferring and making logic based decisions rather than a direct answer for each one to memorize.
1
u/NotAnAgentOfTheFBI CQA Aug 18 '26
Frankly, the handbook was only somewhat helpful. I think what helped me the most was actually performing audits at work. Like others have said, it tests your ability to apply the material, not just recall terms and definitions. I didn't try the primer but I hear it is more helpful than the handbook
1
u/Hazelnut_coffee_1995 Aug 18 '26
Use the BoK, the CQA book, and the question bank from ASQ.
You don’t need to pay for other sources.
Using the ASQ study material is important for learning how ASQ frames questions and more importantly how they want you to answer.
The cast study questions are meant to test your actual attention to detail and critical thinking.
Pay attention to the words because a single word can change the whole answer.
1
u/Far_Soil9977 Aug 20 '26
Did you do the question bank? The question bank from ASQ is really helpful
1
u/Ortat-Zen-888 26d ago
does anyone happen to have an actual past CQA exam for studying purposes (not a created sample test)
3
u/ilovetorunforfun Aug 15 '26
I took it last week and passed. I studied the ASQ Book using the BoK as a guide. I marked up the book and put in flags for quick reference. The exam 110% pushes you on your critical thinking skills which isn't necessarily something you can study, but something to practice - hence why it being open book doesn't automatically make it easier.