Spanish Theory Test Mock Exam: How to Make It Realistic

A mock exam is a full test taken under the same conditions as the DGT theory exam: 30 questions, a time limit and no way of knowing whether you are right until you finish. Its job is not to teach you but to tell you whether you are ready.

It is different from a practice test. In practice you see the solution and the explanation after every question, and it should focus on your mistakes. A mock exam needs the opposite: varied questions from the whole syllabus and the result at the end, just like on exam day.

These are the facts about the theory test for the permiso B (standard car licence) that a mock exam should reproduce:

The DGT has announced that the exam will include risk-perception videos and that, when a test includes a video, the time will be extended according to its length. If your exam includes one, practise with that format too.

In DriveIQ 3.0 the mock exam is designed to measure, not to drill your mistakes:

1. Every topic gets its share. The number of questions from each topic is proportional to its weight in DriveIQ's question bank, rounded so they add up to 30.
2. Random within each topic. Every mock exam is different, so you cannot learn the exam by heart.
3. What you have just seen goes last. Questions you answered in the last 24 hours only come in if nothing else is left, so the score reflects what you remember, not what you saw a moment ago.
4. Shuffled order, marked at the end. As in the exam, you only see whether you were right when you finish.

Your mistakes do not disappear: you work on them in practice sessions with spaced repetition, which is where you learn them. We have not found an official breakdown of questions per topic published by the DGT, so treat the mock exam as a close approximation of the real one, not a copy.

There is no official number, but there is a sensible rule of thumb:

• Start mock exams once you have practised questions from every topic; before that, they mostly measure what you have not studied yet.
• Take one or two a week while you keep practising daily.
• Consider yourself ready when you pass several mock exams in a row with 3 errors or fewer, not just one.
• If you fail, check which topics you missed and spend your next practice sessions on them.

A single pass can be luck; several in a row with different questions show solid knowledge.

To make the mock exam tell you the truth about your level:

1. Do it in one go, with no breaks and the 30-minute timer running.
2. Read every question in full and watch for negatives and exceptions ("not", "except", "always").
3. Don't look at notes or search for answers: a mock exam taken with help measures the help, not you.
4. When you finish, go through every question you got wrong and understand why the correct answer is right.
5. Note the topics you miss most and practise them over the following days.
6. Leave a few days before the next mock exam so your reviews can take effect.

These mistakes make a mock exam a poor measure of how prepared you are:

• Retaking the same mock exam. If you already know the questions, your score goes up even though you know no more.
• Only taking mock exams. They are for measuring; to learn, you need to practise your mistakes with their explanations.
• Ignoring the clock. Practising without a timer hides pacing problems that show up on exam day.
• Keeping the score and forgetting the mistakes. The valuable part of a mock exam is the list of what you have not mastered yet.

A good mock exam copies the real test and measures honestly: 30 varied questions, 30 minutes and the score at the end. Use it to find out whether you are ready, and leave the learning to daily practice. You can take mock exams in this format at www.driveiq.es. Always check the current exam conditions on the DGT's online portal (sede electrónica).