by ina123 » Sun Feb 04, 2018 12:13 am
I would definitely transition. Granted I only took one test in 4.0 (CDS and failed *just* the vignette portion), I find 5.0 to be MUCH MUCH better. First, there is no god-awful vignette. The questions also seem to be better worded and more inline with the material that is supposed to be on the test (at least in my experience, 4.0 seemed to have many more "off topic" questions). The only issue is the loading times for the case studies can be a little long, but overall I would take 5.0 over 4.0 any day. If it helps you feel more comfortable too, that is an additional bonus!
As far as study materials are concerned, you can still use what you have for 4.0, you will just need to re-organize for the new division of information. I personally have been heavily relying on Ballast 5.0 as a start point to understand what is covered on the exam, and reading/referencing the "top references" listed in NCARB's ARE 5.0 Handbook at the end of each section. Additional references are included in the back of the handbook in the "reference matrix" but my experience is that you don't need to really look at those (just my experience!). I keep going back to what is listed as covered by the exam in NCARB's ARE 5.0 handbook to make sure that I am keeping on topic, and I am not missing any topics.
This has worked for me for 4 of the 6 ARE 5.0 exams, each of this I have passed on the first try (CE, PjM, PcM, and PA, in that order). Right now, I am about 1/3 of the way studying for PPD (exam is at the end of Feb.), and after that I will have PDD.
Hope this helps!