As of today I'm sad to report that I can no longer offer the 100% free study guide that was

previously posted below, as that guide is now for sale. The good news is that some of the components of that study guide are still available for free on the Studio 4 website. The sections of this post originally referring to the free study guide have been edited accordingly. Last week I wrapped up a four week training course training people at my day-job to pass the LEED Green Associate exam. As part of preparing this course, I asked various companies to provide me with their training materials. The result is hopefully a high pass rate from the people in my class and a great opportunity to make some recommendations about what (not) to buy if you're preparing for the same test... I'll also cover a four week curriculum that I think should be sufficient for most people to pass the test. What this post will not cover are the logistics of applying and registering to take the test and everything about the various tiers of accreditation. The Green Buildings Certification Institute has done a pretty good job of explaining those subjects in their Step-by-Step guide and the Candidate Handbook. If you have not read the Candidate Handbook at this time, I strongly suggest you do so before reading the following.This post is about how to study for exam, not how and why you do it. In addition to the guidance below, there is a lot of guidance from those who have taken, passed or failed the exam on the ARE forum's LEED section...

How Long Do I Need To Study?

I believe that you can learn what you need to pass the exam on a four-week regimen. I developed the following reading assignments for those in my in-house class. For that group I also used a variety of thirdparty study guides for homework assignments and practice questions, but I've pared down the suggested reading here to only include the primary references (documents that the LEED-GA exam questions are pulled from). All of the primary references save one can be found via the LEED GA Candidate Handbook free of charge, just go to page 14 and click on the links. The problem is that the references don't really tell you what's important... learning everything listed would be insane (way too much info), and it's tough to get a feel of what to skip and what to focus on. I was happily surprised to see my class schedule mirror guidance from thePPI study guide (reviewed below), so we can't both be too far off the mark. I think it's appropriate to spend 2 weeks on the USGBC, GBCI and the LEED system itself, and another two weeks on sustainable design strategies and concepts:

Week 1 covers test eligibility and registration logistics LEED AP tiers and credentialing maintenance, and an introduction to the USGBC and GBCI organizations. Suggested reading: LEED GA Candidate Handbook - All Green Building and LEED Core Concepts - 15-17 (stop at "LEED Rating Systems")

Week 2 provides an introduction to the structure of the various LEED rating systems, and background information about green buildings. Suggested reading: Cost of Green Revisited - pg 3-9; 24-25 LEED for Homes Rating System - pg iv-xvii (pg 4-7 in pdf) LEED for New Construction Rating System - pg i (3 in pdf); xi-xvii (13-19 in pdf) LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Reference Guide, Introduction - All Sustainable Buildings Technical Manual, Part 2 - All Guidelines for CIR Customers - All Green Building and LEED Core Concepts - pg 3-13; 17-24 (start at "LEED Rating Systems")

Week 3 covers topics related to sustainable site selection, water efficiency, and energy and atmosphere. Suggested reading: Cost of Green Revisited - pg 12-17 The Treatment by LEED of the Environmental Impact of HVAC Refrigerants - pg iv-2 (pg 5-8 in pdf) LEED for New Construction Rating System - pg 1-45 (21-65 in pdf) Green Building and LEED Core Concepts - pg 25-51

Week 4 covers topics related to indoor environmental quality, materials and resources, and innovation in design. Suggested reading: Cost of Green Revisited - pg 18-23 Guidelines for Innovation in Design (ID) Credits - All (1 page) LEED for New Construction Rating System - pg 47-85 (67-105 in pdf) Green Building and LEED Core Concepts - pg 53-67

What Study Guides Do(n't) I Need?

There are a great many study guides out there. As mentioned above, all but one of the primary references are completely free, and if you're willing to slog through everything and figure it out on your own you can make it work. What the primary references don't do is tell you what's important, and I do believe that each of the following guides have a lot to offer...