12 ARDMS Exam Day Tips: What to Do the Week Before, the Night Before and in the Testing Room

You've put in the hours. Now the goal is simple: make sure exam day doesn't cost you points you've already earned. Whether you're sitting for the SPI or a specialty exam like Abdomen, these 12 tips cover the final week, the night before, the morning of, and what to do once you're in the testing room. Think of this as the last chapter of your ARDMS board exam study guide, the part most online guides skip.

Quick facts to know before exam day

• ARDMS exams are administered by Inteleos/ARDMS and taken at Pearson VUE test centers.
• SPI: about 110 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours (including a short survey).
• Specialty exams: most run about 3 hours. The Abdomen exam, for example, has about 165 questions in 3 hours, including hotspot (image) questions.
• Scores are reported on a 300–700 scale, and 555 passes.

Always confirm the details for your specific exam on ardms.org and in your confirmation email.

The week before (tips 1–5)

1. Take a full-length, timed mock exam

If you do only one thing this week, make it this. A full-length mock under real timing shows you whether your pacing holds up and where your focus slips. Take it at the same time of day as your real appointment if you can.

2. Do your pacing math now, not in the testing room

Know your target pace before you walk in:

Exam	Questions	Time	Rough pace	Halfway check
SPI	~110	2 hours (incl. short survey)	about 1 minute per question	~question 55 at about 1 hour
Abdomen	~165	3 hours	about 1 minute per question	~question 55 at 1 hour, ~110 at 2 hours
Other specialties	check your exam	most ~3 hours	divide minutes by questions	set checkpoints each hour

For other specialty exams, look up the current question count on ardms.org and do the same division. A one-minute-per-question habit leaves a little buffer for flagged questions in most cases, but check your own numbers.

3. Switch from learning to reviewing

The final week isn't the time to open a new textbook. Review your weakest categories, re-do questions you missed, and run through flashcards. Short, focused sessions beat long cramming marathons.

A simple final-week routine that works well with any ARDMS board exam study guide online or on paper:

• One focused block a day on your weakest category, with practice questions instead of re-reading.
• One short mixed set (about 10 questions) to keep every topic fresh.
• A few minutes of flashcards for normal values, formulas and key definitions.
• A quick look at your progress so tomorrow's block targets what still needs work.

4. Confirm your logistics

Check your Pearson VUE confirmation email for the address, appointment time and any instructions. Make sure the name on your valid, unexpired government ID matches your registration exactly. If something doesn't match, fix it now, not on exam morning.

5. Protect your sleep

Getting consistent sleep the whole week matters more than one perfect night. Keep your study sessions earlier in the evening so your brain has time to wind down.

The night before (tips 6–8)

6. Do a light review, then stop

Flip through a short set of flashcards or a quick 10-question session to keep things warm. Then close the books. Late-night cramming tends to raise anxiety more than it raises scores.

7. Pack your bag

Put your ID somewhere you can't forget it. Personal items will go in a locker at the test center, so bring only what you need. You'll be given an erasable note board / whiteboard, so you don't need to bring scratch paper.

8. Plan your route

Know how long the drive takes at that time of day, where you'll park, and have a backup plan. Removing small unknowns removes a lot of stress.

The morning of (tips 9–10)

9. Eat something steady and arrive early

Have a normal breakfast you know agrees with you. Plan to arrive about 30 minutes early (check your confirmation email for exact guidance). Check-in takes time, and rushing in at the last minute is a rough way to start a timed exam.

10. Warm up, don't cram

A few easy questions over coffee can help you shift into test mode. Avoid trying to learn anything new. If you hit a question you don't know this morning, let it go.

Inside the testing room (tips 11–12)

11. Brain-dump onto your note board, then pace yourself

When the exam starts, take a minute to jot down anything you're worried about forgetting: formulas, normal values, key relationships. Then work steadily. If a question is taking too long, choose your best answer, flag it, and move on. Use your hourly checkpoints from tip 2 to stay on track.

On specialty exams, expect hotspot questions, where you click on a structure or finding in an image. Read the question stem carefully so you know exactly what you're being asked to identify.

12. Change answers for a reason, not out of nerves

The old advice to "never change your first answer" doesn't hold up well. Research on answer changing generally finds that changed answers go wrong to right more often than right to wrong. So:

• Change it if you misread the question or a later question reminds you of a specific fact.
• Leave it if the only reason is a vague feeling of doubt.

After the exam

When you finish, you'll receive a score report, and your results will also be available in your ARDMS account. Don't plan around seeing an instant pass/fail on screen; just know your report is coming.

If you passed, congratulations, and take a real break. If you didn't, it's not the end of the road. ARDMS sets a waiting period between attempts, so check the current retake policy on ardms.org. Use your score report to see where you lost points and build your next study block around those areas.

Practice exam day before exam day

The best way to make exam day feel familiar is to rehearse it. SonoPass includes 20 full-length mock exams timed like the real exams: SPI mocks are 110 questions in 2 hours, and RVT and specialty mocks are 170 questions in 3 hours. Each one has a question grid, flagging, a review screen and auto-submit when time runs out, so you can practice your pacing checkpoints exactly as you'll use them.

Every question comes with a detailed explanation and a hint, and your progress screen tracks accuracy, streaks and weak categories across all 9 registries: SPI, Vascular (RVT), Abdomen, OB/GYN, Adult Echo, Breast, Pediatric, Fetal Echo and MSK. That makes it easy to build your final-week review around what you actually need, on iPhone, Android or sonopass.com.

Start free with one Quick 10 a day, or unlock every mock exam with SonoPass Pro: $9.99/month or $49.99 one-time for Pro Lifetime at the launch price (it goes up after launch).

Still in the early stages? Start with our guide on how to pass the ARDMS SPI exam on your first try.