# API Developer Path – Mock Exam 1

A 60-item independent mock exam for the OpenAI API developer path, blueprint-weighted across seven domains, with full explanations and a readiness readout.

import PracticeExam from '../../../../components/PracticeExam.astro';


This is a full-length, blueprint-weighted **independent mock exam** for the **API developer path** built from publicly available OpenAI learning objectives and product documentation. It is **not** an official OpenAI assessment and not the Academy assessment: Academy badges and pathway certificates are [not certifications](/openai/credentials/). All 60 items are new and do not repeat the domain-page questions. Use this as your diagnostic sitting before the harder [Mock Exam 2](/openai/api/practice-exam-2/).

## Instructions

- **Time:** 90 minutes for 60 items — the pace our mock uses; OpenAI does not publish a public exam length.
- **Items:** 60, single-answer and multiple-response. Each item states how many answers to select.
- **Selection:** for a *Select two* item you must pick both correct options and no incorrect one to earn the mark. There is **no guessing penalty**, so answer every question.
- **Target:** aim for **at least 80% raw** (about 48 of 60) before you sit the real Academy assessment, which passes at the same 80% line.
- Work each question before expanding the answer.

## Domain distribution

| # | Domain | Items here |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D1 | Scoping AI Solutions | 7 |
| D2 | The Responses API and Model Selection | 11 |
| D3 | Evaluating AI Applications | 10 |
| D4 | Designing and Building Agentic Systems | 11 |
| D5 | Retrieval-Augmented Generation | 9 |
| D6 | Performance, Latency and Cost | 7 |
| D7 | Production Safety and Operations | 5 |

Total: 7 + 11 + 10 + 11 + 9 + 7 + 5 = **60 items**.

## Readiness interpretation

This is an independent readiness indicator, not an official score.

| Raw score (of 60) | Band | Interpretation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 54–60 (90%+) | Strong readiness | Confident across all domains |
| 48–53 (80–89%) | Assessment ready | At or above the 80% Academy line; tidy up weak domains |
| 42–47 (70–79%) | Building confidence | Close; target the domains that cost you marks |
| under 42 (less than 70%) | Keep learning | Revisit the [domain pages](/openai/api/) before re-attempting |

## Take the mock exam

Two ways to use the questions below: the **interactive mode** runs a timed sitting one question at a time and ends with your score, a per-domain breakdown and a full correction; the **review mode** underneath lists every question with its options one per line and the answer hidden until you ask for it.

<PracticeExam exam="openai-api" />