How I Passed The Launch School RB109 Assessments

Students in the first Launch School course have asked me questions about my experience, what it took to pass the course, and how to know if one is ready to take the written exam and the interview.

How I Passed RB109. Just kidding… (Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash)

My Experience

I started Ruby 109 on January 22nd, and passed both assessments by March 19th. During that time I logged 117 hours studying and practicing the material. The first time I took the written exam I received a ‘not yet’. In order to pass, one needs to master the material, and I received a ‘B’, which is not mastery. I write about that experience here.

Having worked through all the recommended Launch School resources on learning how to learn, and having already obtained a master’s degree in a different field, I developed a plan for completing the course. But after I failed to pass on my first try, I reviewed and adjusted my plan with help from TAs and other students more experienced than myself. Here is what I ultimately did to prepare for the exam:

1. I read through all the Launch School Prep Matierials twice. The first time I read to understand the big picture, and the second time I read for mastery, slowly, taking notes and making flash cards along the way.
2. I completed the Codecademy Ruby Track course twice.
3. I worked all the Ruby Basics exercises twice. I always tried to solve the problem without hints, without looking at the solution, and without hunting through the Ruby Docs for methods. If I got stuck, I would look at the hint, if there was one. If I was still stuck I would look at the Ruby Docs and/or the Ruby curriculum for help. I don’t think I ever had to look at the answer before having a working solution. The first time through I looked at the Launch School official solution to see how they solved the problem. I made sure that I understood their solution before moving on. The second time I solved the problems, I followed the same steps above, but I also read through several student solutions, and I looked up any new methods in the Ruby Docs to gain familiarity with new methods and ways of thinking about the problems.
4. I attended every TA led study session, every student led SPOT study session, and when I got stuck I used Slack to reach out to other students for help.
5. I also reviewed my flash cards multiple times to make sure the concepts and methods were ver familiar to me.

I did all this, took the test, and did not pass. I thought I had mastered the material, and for the most part, I had. What I lacked was an understanding of how to talk about Ruby with the precision and detail required of those in the Software Engineering field. So, I spoke with a TA, and several more advanced students to gain an understanding of what it would take to pass the assessment. One student recommended that I read an article by Rebecca Biancofiore on how to speak in Ruby here. Not only did I read it, I created a cheat sheet with useful phrases from her article and kept it on my desk. I practiced writing explanations for some of the Launch School example problems using key phrases from her article. And I kept it handy for group study sessions, reviewing the key words and phrases immediately before the sessions so they were fresh in my mind.

I also paid close attention to the feedback I received from TAs and fellow students form my study sessions. I value that feedback, so I made sure to always ask for feedback, take it well, and express my gratitude for it. Honest feedback is rare. I think this is because most of us are too proud to hear constructive criticism, and we have learned not to give it because most people resent us for it. But constructive criticism is to a willing student as fertilizer is to a flower garden. If we are willing to receive it and put it to use, our skills will improve much faster and we will go farther than we would without it.

So, Joshua, How Should I Prepare For The Exam?

Good question! I would suggest working through all the materials 2–3 times, taking notes in your own words, and participating in as many group and pair study sessions as you can. Once you have the material down cold, focus on your communication skills, your ability to talk and write technically. Ask for feedback from TAs on the precision of your language. And work through the SPOT session materials. If you find that the formatting of the SPOT Wiki problems is frustrating, feel free to find my on slack and ask, and I will send you the one I formatted for proper rending in Markdown and in your IDE.

One more suggestion: while you are permitted to use the Ruby Docs and personal notes on the written assessment, they are not permitted in the interview. I highly recommend that you prepare for and take the written without referring to any reference materials. Then you will be much better prepared for the interview assessment, and you will be better able to manage your time during the written assessment.

How Will I Know I Am Ready To Take The Exam?

Here are some indicators that you are probably ready:

1. You find yourself jumping in to help explain concepts to other students in your study group.
2. You practice problems and find that you are able to solve them without much effort and without looking at documentation.
3. You find yourself getting bored with the material.

At the end of the day, when you feel 95% certain that you are ready, and you are thoroughly acquainted with the materials, just take the test! Get good rest, breath deeply before the exam starts, tell yourself that you are well prepared so that you are in a good mental state when you begin the assessment, and do a work a couple of light warmup problems a few minutes before the test begins to get your mental juices flowing. Then don’t sweat if you receive a ‘not yet’. It is valuable feedback necessary to improve, and a couple of more weeks of study is likely to decrease your odds of receiving a ‘not yet’ anyway. Most of the time ‘not yet’ grades are the result of putting your efforts in the wrong place. The feedback from the exam will help you discover the places you need to hone your skills, and the sooner you receive that feedback, if necessary, the faster your overall progress will be!

I hope this article encourages you on your journey at Launch School! If you have further suggestions for your fellow students, let us know in the comment section below.