Instrument written Sheppard Air

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For the instrument written exam, did you only use Sheppard air or did you use Sheppard air with another product? Thanks
 
I used Sheppard in conjunction with a Cessna (rebranded King Schools) ground course for my Instrument.
 
Use Sheppard Air and follow their plan. It works and will get you pass the FAA written. Then actually learn the material.
 
Used King for the ground to get the written endorsement, then used Sheppard for the written. Like stated above, FOLLOW Sheppard's study plan for their program. It works! I got a 98% on my IFR
 
Ideally Sheppard and other sources to have a full understanding… but I used only Sheppard and if you follow it, it works very well.

The written has poor questions and poorly worded questions. My experience is that Sheppard alone would yield a high score for most people.
 
I used ASA, it is a lot of reading though. How’s Sheppard air and how much time does it take to go through everything? I’m so bored reading ASA FOI for CFI/FOI written exam.
 
I used Shepard Air for the FOI, CFI, and CFII. Highly recommended! All scores above 95.

Now if only Shepard Air would get in to the A&P/IA testing business, that would be amazing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
If only Sheppard would enter into the 90s and allow sign up or renewal via the internet…..
 
tree9er said:
Ideally Sheppard and other sources to have a full understanding… but I used only Sheppard and if you follow it, it works very well.

The written has poor questions and poorly worded questions. My experience is that Sheppard alone would yield a high score for most people.
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When is the last time you took the instrument knowledge test?
 
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I just finished the Sporty's course... can't recommend it at all. At times I felt like it was a commercial for Garmin. I also felt like they threw in a lot of videos that had nothing to do with IFR just to make you feel like you were getting your money's worth. Terrible waste of time and money.
 
tree9er said:
Spring of 2021.
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How were the questions poorly written or worded? I'm genuinely curious, because it's been about two decades since I've taken mine. In the mean time, as part of the shift from PTS to ACS, there has been a huge effort to overhaul questions, remove obsolete and poorly written questions, and update the knowledge test supplement. Further, there's been an effort to shift from rote knowledge memorization regurgitation to scenario based questions.
 
Brad Z said:
How were the questions poorly written or worded? I'm genuinely curious, because it's been about two decades since I've taken mine. In the mean time, as part of the shift from PTS to ACS, there has been a huge effort to overhaul questions, remove obsolete and poorly written questions, and update the knowledge test supplement. Further, there's been an effort to shift from rote knowledge memorization regurgitation to scenario based questions.
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I had heard about the change from rote memorization, but the questions were all very similar to Sheppard when I took it. They weren’t all carbon copies of Sheppard questions, but similar enough. Maybe it’s changed since.

The poorly written aspect - I have felt all my FAA knowledge exams have included questions that are ambiguous. Sorry I don’t have specific examples, it’s been a while since my last one.

Sheppard even hints at this in their answer explanations, some directly stating that the question is looking for answer X, even though it doesn’t make sense. That is their literal explanation to some questions.

Maybe others can chime in, but that has been my experience, and it’s more than a “select the best answer and not just one that is correct” issue. That is why I would recommend SA, unless the test questions have been improved, although, it’s definitely not a requirement, but if I had to pass the test next week, that’s where I would put my time.
 
I cannot post links but there is a thread on this site, albeit a few years dated, that discusses the question wording better than I can.

“Passed the IR written today...what a ridiculous test.”
 
I found some of Sheppard's memorization tools helpful, but overall it didn't work for me by itself. I finally enrolled in an American Flyers weekend ground school.
 
Brad Z said:
How were the questions poorly written or worded? I'm genuinely curious, because it's been about two decades since I've taken mine. In the mean time, as part of the shift from PTS to ACS, there has been a huge effort to overhaul questions, remove obsolete and poorly written questions, and update the knowledge test supplement. Further, there's been an effort to shift from rote knowledge memorization regurgitation to scenario based questions.
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So I spent to $45 just see Sheppard Air’s product for IRA. As of last night, there’s 1,117 questions in the test bank. Caveating with I don’ know whether the FAA subscribe’s Bloom’s Taxonomy as part of their Instructional Systems Design philosophy, it appears many of the questions in the bank can only be rote memorization.


For example, there were several questions that all could only be answered by knowing the definition of MOCA and whether the signal coverage is in SM or NM. Another example was along the lines of you’re on the FAC and see a blue flashing light and hear dashes on the radio, which marker beacon did you pass?

In Bloom’s world, that is at the bottom of pyramid as either a Knowledge (original taxonomy) or Remember (revised, 2001) category. That category targets an outcome of recalling specifics or universals, methods and processes, patterns, structures, or settings.

In the knowledge component of every single IRA ACS task, the learning objective states “The applicant demonstrates understanding of:…”

Understanding is the next rung up the taxonomy and equates to an outcome where the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of it without having to relate it to other concepts or in it’s fullest implication. Action verbs associated with these type questions would be interpret, classify, summarize, infer, compare, explain, and synonyms.

Some of the questions around see the HSI, select it’s relationship to the aircraft location relative to a VOR do well at that. The rote memorization of MOCA or marker beacons, not so much. Better questions would be scenario based, but harder to write and longer to read which adds up over the 60 questions and 180 mins available as there are industry standards that guide a test maker’s time/speed/distance problem.

The other challenge I see appears to be re-use of the question bank and supplement among most, if not all, other written exams. That leads to a quest of efficiency for the question writers while diluting the learning experience as a whole.

I think reality is the entire knowledge component segment, from ground schools to test prep to written exam has been nothing but a block-checking exercise from an adult learning standpoint. There are better ways for an applicant to demonstrate knowledge transfer and retention. One example is a combo open book/closed book exam that have different number of questions and different minimum acceptable performance scores.
 
n7421w said:
FOLLOW Sheppard's study plan for their program. It works! I got a 98% on my IFR
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Same. Used Sheppard to drill-n-kill the written. Took two weeks of pretty intense, focused studying and following their system to the letter, but it resulted in a 98%. I forget which question I missed. As mentioned above - you have to follow the Sheppard system to the letter. Don't try to invent your own study system using the Sheppard questions/answers. Follow. Their. System. To. The. Letter. You will pass with a high score. You will also never want to study another IR question again in your life after the intense study system is over.

Salty said:
If only Sheppard would enter into the 90s and allow sign up or renewal via the internet
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Yeah, what's with that? I used them for my commercial written, too (100%, thanks Sheppard)... and thought maybe they would have updated their site... nope. Like something you would see on the internet wayback machine.
 
TCABM said:
So I spent to $45 just see Sheppard Air’s product for IRA. As of last night, there’s 1,117 questions in the test bank. Caveating with I don’ know whether the FAA subscribe’s Bloom’s Taxonomy as part of their Instructional Systems Design philosophy, it appears many of the questions in the bank can only be rote memorization.


For example, there were several questions that all could only be answered by knowing the definition of MOCA and whether the signal coverage is in SM or NM. Another example was along the lines of you’re on the FAC and see a blue flashing light and hear dashes on the radio, which marker beacon did you pass?

In Bloom’s world, that is at the bottom of pyramid as either a Knowledge (original taxonomy) or Remember (revised, 2001) category. That category targets an outcome of recalling specifics or universals, methods and processes, patterns, structures, or settings.

In the knowledge component of every single IRA ACS task, the learning objective states “The applicant demonstrates understanding of:…”

Understanding is the next rung up the taxonomy and equates to an outcome where the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of it without having to relate it to other concepts or in it’s fullest implication. Action verbs associated with these type questions would be interpret, classify, summarize, infer, compare, explain, and synonyms.

Some of the questions around see the HSI, select it’s relationship to the aircraft location relative to a VOR do well at that. The rote memorization of MOCA or marker beacons, not so much. Better questions would be scenario based, but harder to write and longer to read which adds up over the 60 questions and 180 mins available as there are industry standards that guide a test maker’s time/speed/distance problem.

The other challenge I see appears to be re-use of the question bank and supplement among most, if not all, other written exams. That leads to a quest of efficiency for the question writers while diluting the learning experience as a whole.

I think reality is the entire knowledge component segment, from ground schools to test prep to written exam has been nothing but a block-checking exercise from an adult learning standpoint. There are better ways for an applicant to demonstrate knowledge transfer and retention. One example is a combo open book/closed book exam that have different number of questions and different minimum acceptable performance scores.
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I understand. No doubt some of the questions are esoteric. But you can miss 18 questions and still pass the test. So it seems that there are going to be a certain percentage of questions that will separate the 98th percentile of test takers from the 80th percentile. I suspect we'll see marker beacon and MOCA questions go away as we continue our transition into GNS-based navigation systems.

I'll also mention not to confuse what questions are in the actual test banks versus what questions are in the various test prep databases. The FAA frequently gets queries about questions that still live on in the test prep banks but are no longer in the official FAA test bank. The FAA does not make the official question bank public so the only way to know if a question exists is to get it in a real test.
 
Brad, this isn't an argument to your point because you are not wrong about FAA not making questions known to the public. Just want to call one thing out about the Sheppard system - I think Sheppard is able to keep their test question bank up-to-date by relying on the test-takers themselves. They have some kind of guarantee that if you see a question on the test you have never seen in the Sheppard question bank, you memorize the question and all possible answers. Then, once you are done with the test you immediately write that information down and/or call Sheppard to report the new question. It seems to work, because I don't think I had a question on the IR or Comm written I hadn't seen (many many many many many) times using the Sheppard system.
 
Deelee said:
Brad, this isn't an argument to your point because you are not wrong about FAA not making questions known to the public. Just want to call one thing out about the Sheppard system - I think Sheppard is able to keep their test question bank up-to-date by relying on the test-takers themselves. They have some kind of guarantee that if you see a question on the test you have never seen in the Sheppard question bank, you memorize the question and all possible answers. Then, once you are done with the test you immediately write that information down and/or call Sheppard to report the new question. It seems to work, because I don't think I had a question on the IR or Comm written I hadn't seen (many many many many many) times using the Sheppard system.
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Thanks, I'm familiar with their policy. I was one of the last few folks to take their ATP written prep in 2014 right before the ATP knowledge test was re-vamped (and the ATP-CTP in August 2014.

The problem is is there is no simple mechanism for Shepard to remove questions from their bank that are no longer used by the FAA. Sure, they can add new questions, but I'm not sure there is any reward for verifying that a question is still in the bank. They would have to pull out questions that never got verification; something I don't think they do.
 
Deelee said:
Same. Used Sheppard to drill-n-kill the written. Took two weeks of pretty intense, focused studying and following their system to the letter, but it resulted in a 98%. I forget which question I missed. As mentioned above - you have to follow the Sheppard system to the letter. Don't try to invent your own study system using the Sheppard questions/answers. Follow. Their. System. To. The. Letter. You will pass with a high score. You will also never want to study another IR question again in your life after the intense study system is over.



Yeah, what's with that? I used them for my commercial written, too (100%, thanks Sheppard)... and thought maybe they would have updated their site... nope. Like something you would see on the internet wayback machine.
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It annoys me because I always want to sign up late at night or on a weekend. Never 9-5 weekdays. So I’ve never used them.
 
Brad Z said:
…
I'll also mention not to confuse what questions are in the actual test banks versus what questions are in the various test prep databases...
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I should have been more clear when referencing between the two different question banks.

Next train of thought
—————————

I think the current version of most home study programs all do a disservice to the customer and I think some of that blame falls on the FAA. With the pure amount of reference material the FAA has available (21 specific publications plus the catch-all “other” titles) that amounts to tens of thousands of pages of reference material that’s designed as individual references and not to work hand-in-hand with one another is a recipe for failure.

That leaves it up to industry to provide an effective solution based off a learning objective to understand navigation system displays, annunciations, and modes of operation based on everything the FAA lists as a reference.

Just to do that, you have to know what “navigation systems” means to the FAA generally and contextually as well as what level of knowledge transfer and retention is required to declare “success” on the written.

Kind of unwieldy and contravene’s the FAA’s own guidance on assessments in the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook. I would love to see the FAA and industry take modernized approaches to adult learning, but I hold no hopes.
 
About a year ago I used both King Schools for actual learning and understanding the IFR material, but Shepard was an awesome tool to get a wide coverage of questions and know what the various "gotcha" questions are (e.g. the ones that score wrong answers correctly or have multiple correct answers).

Also, in my experience both King's and Shepard's phone and email support were pretty good. I had previously abandoned instrument training, so when I picked it back up I had to contact both to revalidate my licenses for their apps.

Edit to add: I ended up missing one question b/c I misread which approach minimums the question was asking for. Stupid simple mistake, otherwise I'd have had 100%.
 
Brad Z said:
The problem is is there is no simple mechanism for Shepard to remove questions from their bank that are no longer used by the FAA. Sure, they can add new questions, but I'm not sure there is any reward for verifying that a question is still in the bank. They would have to pull out questions that never got verification; something I don't think they do.
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Good point good point. So their question bank just grows and grows with no pruning of deprecated questions. :D so I probably studied a lot more than I needed to... no wonder my head hurt for days after taking those writtens.
 
mark.staggs said:
… the various "gotcha" questions are (e.g. the ones that score wrong answers correctly or have multiple correct answers)…
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This encourages negative knowledge transfer and disappoints me both in both the FAA and Sheppard.
 
Deelee said:
Good point good point. So their question bank just grows and grows with no pruning of deprecated questions. :D so I probably studied a lot more than I needed to... no wonder my head hurt for days after taking those writtens.
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Well... :dunno:

I think it's a question worth asking test prep companies. I mean, it is in their best interest to convince us test takers that the FAA question bank is downright draconian, lest we just use the FAA available materials and self study.

The other day I came across an allegation that a VOR question showed up on Remote Pilot (UAG) knowledge test. Turns out it wasn't an FAA test but a practice test by a test prep company. Not sure how they slipped in a VOR question but VORs and ground based nav aids are not a knowledge area covered in the small UAS remote pilot ACS.
 
Brad Z said:
… I mean, it is in their best interest to convince us test takers that the FAA question bank is downright draconian, lest we just use the FAA available materials and self study...
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And this is why we can’t have nice things. The FAA has zero vested interest in an airman passing a test of any type, be it medical, knowledge, or practical. It’s counter to providing the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.

Given that mission, why would the FAA as a governing agency seek to actually improve the learning experience instead of maintaining a gatekeeper status?
 
Brad Z said:
Why not just learn the material and pass the test?
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Because the test is poorly written, and full knowledge of the material is no guarantee. There are many trick questions, dubious answers, and just badly worded questions and answers.

Learn the test, then learn the material.
 
I used King. John and Martha are corny to the point it hurts, but it worked for me. I also used them for PP back when VHS was cutting edge. Yeah been a while. The test? Hated it, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. No experience with any other study program. Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
Used Shepard, sportys, and CheckRidePrep

sportys = awful

checkrideprep-actually learned something

shepard-an hour a day plowing through the questions allowed me to focus on the bad question/answers.

passed this year, 90+% of the questions were close to Shepard

Supposedly the examiner will focus on weak areas so limit them
 
Thank you all for all of your response! This pilots of America is an outstanding community and thank you for all of your helpful tips and discussions.
 
Brad Z said:
...I'll also mention not to confuse what questions are in the actual test banks versus what questions are in the various test prep databases. The FAA frequently gets queries about questions that still live on in the test prep banks but are no longer in the official FAA test bank. The FAA does not make the official question bank public so the only way to know if a question exists is to get it in a real test.
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Wanted to come back to this as I play with the Sheppard Air product. One criticism I have keeps popping up in their explanations is the use of outdated references. For example, a question pertaining to Convective Outlook Charts references AC 00-45E - Aviation Weather Services. The current version of that AC is H and is dated 2016.

Hopefully the FAA test bank isn't using the question Sheppard is because there are some differences between the reference versions on this particular topic.
 
Hi all. I recently purchased and completed the Rod Machado IFR ground school video course and figured I'd share some comments. Relatable here because I wish I had taken the time to do some Sheppard Air or similar practice tests before going into the hot seat. The style of the Rod Machado videos I've got to think is a little polarizing - they are nearly all cartoon-ish animation usually over illustrated or photo content narrated by a collection of accents with overly used puns and "jokes" and dancing cartoon figures. Machado's style I think works well for his books to keep interest and I respect his willingness to be silly for my benefit, however I can't imagine anyone thinking it hasn't been overdone about 1/4 of the way through. Maybe somewhat less so if I had taken it in smaller chunks. I went pretty hard at it more than a few hours per day (I went start to finish in two weeks). I thought I had read somewhere that it was 50 hours of content. Seems like more especially with taking and retaking a few of the quizzes. Which brings me to my point -- when I got into the room with the test booklet and a ****ty computer I felt like I had barely prepared at all for the questions in front of me - even though I had scored about 90% on all of the practice quizzes and the three practice tests that are part of the course. In hindsight I wish I had found a source (like Sheppard Air?) for better explanation and examples of what the test was going to be like. 30 years ago before my PP written I had done a weekend course in a hotel ballroom. I think there are still some of those around and maybe that could have been a good post-video course, pre-test tactic here too.

I had done the Machado course (and the test) in preparation for a 10-day intensive IFR training which I hope to start in a month or two. I feel like it did a good job of introducing and teaching the material and instrument flying as a whole to someone coming into it with little to no IFR knowledge. In fact, more than once I told myself there's no way the average CFI could come close to teaching me as effectively in one-on-one ground instruction as the perfected presentation in the videos. However, I won't say the same about it being successful prep for the written test. The test is just... weird. I did pass, at 78%. But I turned it in with very little confidence and feeling quite frustrated with myself. If I hadn't had some recency with taking Part 107 (drone) written tests I would have been even further blindsided. I will gladly jump on the bandwagon saying those the FAA test-writers are definitely out to get ya.
 
TCABM said:
Wanted to come back to this as I play with the Sheppard Air product. One criticism I have keeps popping up in their explanations is the use of outdated references. For example, a question pertaining to Convective Outlook Charts references AC 00-45E - Aviation Weather Services. The current version of that AC is H and is dated 2016.

Hopefully the FAA test bank isn't using the question Sheppard is because there are some differences between the reference versions on this particular topic.
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Sheppard repeatedly said follow their answers, even when wrong. Maybe that’s changed since spring but they list out ten or more questions with wrong answers accepted as correct by faa and ten or more non IFR questions.

hindsight is 20/20-I’d do Sheppard first, pass the written, then learn the material. Gotta be less confusing
 
Randomskylane said:
Sheppard repeatedly said follow their answers, even when wrong...
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I’ve seen that as well, but I don’t see how Sheppard validates their claim.

Since I’m already IRA, this is a personal research project.
 
If you look at it like the test that it is, then use Shep. Hopefully you take acquiring and practicing your IFR skills as a lifelong process. You will keep getting better, pushing new limits, sharpening those skills. Get up with an instructor that will push you hard, and keep a professional arts out acquiring and practicing those skills. 100 questions in a couple of hours…you want to pass that thing cleanly, and not worry if this is one of those “bad” questions. Do Shepard Air, seclude yourself with your computer, paper, charts, e6b and you will pass easily. Then, become a better Pilot.
 
For IR, I actually did Sporty’s, Jeppesen, King, and Sheppard. I bought Jepp because that’s what my instructor wanted. Sporty and King were free and I just watched them instead of TV at night, lol. Shep was solely test prep.

For commercial, based on my experiences above, I only bought King and passed just fine.
 
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