I'm a substance abuse counselor with 3 years of direct client experience and I'm finally pursuing my CADC credential. My state requires 6,000 hours of supervised work (which I have) plus passing the IC&RC exam. I started studying 8 weeks ago and I'm scoring around 68% on practice sets, which feels borderline. The passing threshold is reportedly 70% but I want a bigger buffer than that.
The content areas I struggle with most are pharmacology and co-occurring disorders. Counseling theory and ethics feel pretty solid since I use those frameworks daily. I've been using a CADC practice test twice a week to track my progress, which has helped me see which domains I'm actually losing points in versus just feeling uncertain about.
I'm studying about 90 minutes on weekdays and blocking off Saturday mornings for a full 3-hour session. Is that sustainable for 4 more weeks or should I be pushing harder? A colleague who passed last year told me the exam felt harder than any practice test she'd done, which is making me anxious.
Also curious about the ethics section — is it mostly code-of-ethics application scenarios, or is there a lot of memorization of specific rule numbers? I've been studying the IC&RC ethics code but not the specific article numbers.
I'm in the same boat with pharmacology. What helped me was making flashcards for drug classes, mechanism of action, and withdrawal timelines. Opioid and benzodiazepine withdrawal timelines in particular show up a lot.
Your scoring is close to where I was at a similar point. I went from 67% at week 8 to passing with room to spare after 4 more weeks of targeted study. The pharmacology section does feel disproportionately hard on the real exam so give it extra time.
Your colleague is right that the real exam feels harder. The questions are worded more ambiguously than most practice tests. Read each answer choice carefully and eliminate obviously wrong ones first — don't second-guess yourself too much once you've narrowed it to two options.
Ethics is almost entirely scenario-based — they describe a situation and ask what the appropriate response is. You don't need to memorize rule numbers, just understand the principles. Focus on dual relationships, confidentiality, and mandated reporting scenarios.
It took me right around 11 weeks total, and honestly the only way I got through it was studying in little chunks. I've got two kids and a full caseload, so sitting down for a 3 hour study marathon was never gonna happen. What worked was 30 minutes before my shift with coffee, and then I'd do a quick practice set on my phone during lunch. You're at 68% at 8 weeks, which is actually a totally normal spot to be. I was stuck in the high 60s for what felt like forever too.
The thing that finally moved the needle for me wasn't doing more questions, it was going back through every single one I got wrong and figuring out why. That's slow and kind of boring but it's where the real learning happened. Don't stress about cramming. You already have the hours and the hands on experience, so a lot of this exam is just learning how they word things and getting comfortable with the ethics and confidentiality scenarios. Keep chipping away at it and you'll be fine.
I'm in a similar boat! Started at 62% about six weeks ago and just hit 74% last week, so the improvement is real if you stay consistent. I've been using a mix of the IC&RC content outline and some free alcohol and drug counselor question and answers I found online to fill gaps in the areas I wasn't confident in, especially pharmacology and case management ethics.
I'm planning to sit the real exam in about five weeks. Honestly 68% after eight weeks is solid, you've got time. The practice questions really do start clicking once you've seen enough of the IC&RC phrasing a few times.
Just hit 74% on my last practice set this morning, so I'm finally feeling like things are clicking. Took a few weeks of grinding before the scores started moving, but once I added the free alcohol and drug counselor question and answers to my rotation it really helped fill in the gaps I didn't know I had.
I'm planning to sit for the real exam mid-September. Three years of client hours definitely helps with the scenario questions, but the ethics section still trips me up sometimes. Hoping to clear 80% consistently before I register.