The Best Combination to Unlock the SHRM Certification Exams

The SHRM certification exams are not easy, as most people who start investigating HR certifications soon find out. Both the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exams are fair, but tough, and each covers a lot of ground. 

Early-career HR professionals likely need to study all the HR knowledge areas and competencies when preparing to take either level of exam. But even mid-career and senior HR professionals who have greater knowledge and more experience can be weaker or stronger in some knowledge areas or competencies versus others. 

Therefore, virtually all candidates for SHRM certification need to find good resources to help them prepare for the exams. What are the best ones to use? 

Resource Options for Exam Preparation 

The two most common exam preparation resources are the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (SHRM BASK™) and the SHRM Learning System. 

The SHRM BASK is the foundational document of SHRM certification. It describes the core set of HR behavioral competencies, principles of functional knowledge, and definitions, and it is the common framework for the development of the SHRM exams. This resource is available for free. 

The SHRM Learning System is a comprehensive study aid specifically designed to help candidates for certification learn and apply HR knowledge and competencies to real-life situations and prepare for the SHRM exams. An optional resource, it is available for separate purchase. 

Here are the various methods and resources that SHRM certification candidates report using to prepare for the exams: 

• 63 percent use the SHRM Learning System.
• 60 percent use the SHRM BASK.
• Only 25 percent or fewer use other HR books or materials or other exam preparation methods.
• Just 3 percent of examinees report using no study materials at all. 

Is Exam Preparation Related to Exam Performance? 

Are the common preparation methods and resources effective? To investigate this, we focused on evaluating whether their use is related to better exam performance. It is important to note, however, that we are simply looking for relationships; it is impossible to say whether specific methods and resources cause better exam performance. (In other words, we did not conduct an experiment.) Other factors in addition to these preparation methods and resources also play important roles in determining who passes the exams. 

Effects of the SHRM BASK. Examinees who report using the SHRM BASK have significantly higher SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exam pass rates than examinees who do not use it.

Effects of the SHRM Learning System. Examinees who report using the SHRM Learning System have significantly higher SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exams pass rates than examinees who do not use it.

Combined Effects of SHRM BASK and SHRM Learning System 

The results above show that the SHRM BASK and the SHRM Learning System have important and significant relationships to exam pass rates. However, it is possible that their combined effects are no greater than the effect of either one separately. Therefore, it is important to look at the combined effects in the same analysis, to determine whether they are additive or whether one cancels the other out. 

To do this, we looked at candidates who report using for exam preparation:

• Neither the SHRM BASK nor the SHRM Learning System
• The SHRM BASK or the SHRM Learning System (one method but not the other)
• Both the SHRM BASK and the SHRM Learning System. 

Examinees who report using both the SHRM BASK and the SHRM Learning System perform much better on the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exams than those who use neither resource or who use only one resource. On the SHRM-CP exam, users of this combination of resources pass the exam at a rate of 19 points higher than non-users (36 percent greater likelihood of passing). On the SHRM-SCP exam, users of this combination of resources pass the exam at a rate of 16 points higher than non-users (42 percent greater likelihood of passing). 

Conclusion 

There are many options available to candidates who are preparing to take the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exams. Our research shows that the combined use of both the SHRM BASK and the SHRM Learning System provides examinees with great results. 

Nothing will guarantee a successful exam performance, of course, but these results provide clear support for using both resources together in efforts to prepare for the SHRM certification exams. 

Mark Smith, Ph.D., is director of HR Thought Leadership for SHRM Research.