ISM - Professional Credentials

Exam Preparation

How Exam Questions are Written
Exam questions are written by C.P.M.s with a variety of purchasing and supply backgrounds. All items are reviewed for their efficacy and fairness by committees of purchasing and supply experts. Consideration is given to the composition of these committees with regard to purchasing and supply practice, gender, and race, as well as the input of educators within the field of purchasing and supply.

Sample Exam Questions
Questions appearing in the exam are multiple-choice type, with four options per item (labeled A, B, C, and D), only one of which is correct. The most common formats are presented here:

Closed Stem: In this type of question, you are given four possible answers from which to choose.

Which of the following parties is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the correct freight classification rates are used in shipment?

The buyer
The carrier
The freight auditor
The seller

Answer: A

Sentence Completion Item: This question is characterized by an incomplete sentence, followed by options that represent conclusions to that sentence.

In formal bidding procedures, a bid submitted by a supplier is considered to be

an offer to sell
a counteroffer to sell
an acceptance of an offer to buy
an acknowledgment of an offer to buy

Answer: A

Except: In this type of question, an examinee is required to recognize that there are three correct responses within the question. The respondent does this by identifying the incorrect option. A variation on this type of question is to use the word NOT instead of EXCEPT in the stem, in the form of "Which one of the following is NOT...."

All of the following are considerations in establishing freight rates EXCEPT

distance
density
stowability
reliability

Answer: D

MOST/LEAST/BEST: This type of question requires the examinee to identify which option is better or worse than the others.

Which of the following forms of payment for international purchases is generally MOST favorable to the buying organization?

Cash in advance
Draft
Letter of credit
Open account

Answer: D

Master List: This type of question is actually several questions in one. Here the options are presented first, followed by several questions, all of which apply to those options. It is important to note that each option can be used once, more than once, or not at all by the questions (paper exams only).

Questions 1-3 refer to the following cost-type contracts:

Cost plus percentage of cost
Cost plus incentive fee
Cost plus fixed fee
Cost without fee

Choose from the contracts above to the one referred to by each of the following. A choice may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

Under this type of contract, a seller may lose all or part of its fee, but all of its costs must be paid by the buyer.
This type of contract is usually used by universities doing research work for government and industry.
Federal agencies are prohibited from using this type of contract, although it is still used in the construction industry.

Answers: B, D, A

Study Materials for the Exam

Real-life scenarios of candidate study decisions

Developing Your C.P.M. and A.P.P. Study and Test Taking Skills

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