Some people feel anxious at the thought of having to take tests, quizzes and assessments in order to get their EM 385 certification.
An EM385 test or quiz is a required component of any training and certification program, but it should not be something to be worried about – after all, you will be doing the training before you are required to take the assessment!
It is a USACE requirement that those who work in jobs in the construction and adjacent industries on military projects complete the recommended type of EM385-1-1 training, testing and certification.
The goal of this type of training is to help provide a safer environment for all on-site workers and employees. Anyone considering working in construction on military contracts, or those who already do, should ensure that they have a valid EM 385 test and certificate.
EM 385 1-1 free practice test
You can take the interactive EM 385 test preparation just below.
This EM 385 practice quiz will help you get an idea of what is involved in EM385 training assessments.
You will be able to view and answer randomly selected questions based on content in the chapters of the EM385 manual. These questions are similar to those used in the real training assessments.
Unlike the real course assessments, in this EM385 practice test you can skip questions, and you will immediately see the question result and feedback after each question. You won’t have this luxury in the real exams.
Click the link below to open the EM385 manual in a new browser tab so you can refer to it while doing the test quiz. You can search within the manual for terms or phrases used in the questions by hitting CTRL+F (Windows) or CMND+F (Mac).
Table of Contents
How to Prepare for an EM 385 Quiz
Online Training Means Online Assessment
It is likely you are completing an online training program, so naturally the quiz or test will be online as well.
This typically means that it will contain various types of questions, like multiple choice questions, multiple select questions, fill in the blank, sorting and True/False, although there are many other types of questions that you may encounter depending on the training provider and how they have deisgned their course.
These questions can be either as a longer final exam, or as shorter tests at the end of each training module, or a combination or both.
The best online EM 385 training courses will give you the option to re-take any test you need at no extra charge.
You should also check that any course you are signing up for has the ability to review content easily, and as often as you need to. If a course is chunked down into multiple sections, lessons or topics this is a good sign it’s built with instructional design best practices.
Are the tests different for each EM 385 training course?
This will really depend on the course that you decide upon and how the provider designed it.
To recap, there are, generally speaking, four main types of EM 385 training:
EM385 40-Hour
The 40-Hour EM385 1-1 Training is for workers seeking compliance with the US Army Corps of Engineers Contractor Safety and Health Requirements. This course focuses on preventing jobsite hazards and how contractors can protect their employees.
EM385 24-Hour
The 24-Hour EM 385-1-1 course ensures that contractors, supervisors and government employees are compliant with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) standards for workplace safety and health.
EM385 16-Hour
The 16-hour EM 385 1-1 course is a starter course covering the regulations and requirements of EM 385 1-1’s manual’s guidelines.
EM385 8-Hour
The 8 Hour EM 385-1-1 refresher course is designed to keep Site Safety Health Officers (SSHOs), military contractors and government employees in compliance with annual refresher training requirements from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Subsets of content
The fact is that all of these courses use the same content from the manual, the difference is in which parts (chapters) of the manual must be covered in the training. Some providers may opt to build discreet assessments for each coure they offer, the majority will likely be using question banks that refer to the content covered in specific chapters, so, for example, the assessment you are required to take for Chapter 1 of the manual could well be the same in both the 8-hour and 40-hour versions of the course.
Why do I have to take an EM 385 test?
There are many reasons that a test is normally a part of an online certification course. Contrary to what you may beleive, we training providers don’t just put them there to annoy you, they do serve a very important purpose.
Test EM 385 Knowledge
In order to assess whether you have absorbed and retained the required information and skills from the training some kind of test is required. Passing a test proves that that you took the training and earned your certification.
Helps with knowledge retention
A test or quiz is a proven aid in remembering key content presented in a training program The test will have been created by a training professional and will target specific topics and information in the training that’s essential for you to recall later.
Proof of online training record
All of those difficult questions that you answered will be stored in your online training record. This serves as proof that you did complete the training, and achieved a passing score in the associated assessment or quiz. If for any reason it was necessary to prove you passed the exam, a good online training provider will ensure your secure training records contain all your quiz responses.
What to expect in an EM 385 quiz
Depending on the version of EM385 certification course you are taking the test may be either at the end of the course, or it might be shorter tests or quizzes at the end of each training lesson.
We would recommend you choose a course that has shorter tests at the end of each module rather than a lengthy final exam.
Why? Testing at the end of each module or major topic ensures the content is fresh in your mind. It also breaks up the training content naturally and is less daunting than a big final assessment.
Types of quiz questions
What should you expect when you start the first test?
Online training courses tend to build their tests using a set of fairly standard question formats, so it’s likely that the online course that you choose will use quiz questions in the following formats.
True or False
For this type of test question just select whether you think the statement is True or False.
Multiple Choice
You are sure to be familiar with multiple choice questions, just select whichever you think is the correct answer.
Fill in the Blank
These are not as common but do appear in some online EM385 test quizzes. For this type of question fill in the correct word or words in the blank space to answer the question or complete the statement.
Multiple Selection
In this case you can select one or more answers that you think are correct usung checkboxes.
Sorting
This is a more modern type of question format that you will probably not see from providers using older training technology. In these questions you will be asked to sort a process into the correct order.
Matrix Sorting
this is another more modern question type. You will be asked to sort card elements to the correct descriptor, for example, in some of our testing you need to sort a particular responsibility to the correct EM385 role as defined in the manual.
Didn't pass the quiz?
The best online training providers will allow you to attempt test(s) multiple times so don’t worry if you didn’t pass a quiz on the first attempt.
A good online course will also give you the option to go back and review relevant course materials before retaking the test or quiz.
After the EM 385 test
The great thing about online EM 385 training is that your assessment results will be automatically calculated and saved.
The overall pass mark for most Em385 courses is 70-80%. If the course has a number of smaller tests usually you will be required to pass each one by reaching the pass threshold, this ensures that the full training coverage is achieved.
After successfully completing your chosen course and tests you will be awarded your certificate.
Conclusion
This article took a deep dive into what to expect from the testing when you take an EM 385 1-1 course.
If you are interested in getting EM385 certified take a look at our training courses.
Also, do be aware that the EM385 manual was updated this year, so if you have previously taken a course, the assessments now will be very different, it is worth checking what’s new in the EM 385 2024 revision.
