Claude Certified Architect Practice Tests

1. Exam OverviewFormat: Multiple choice (100–1,000 scaled score; 720 to pass). Experience Level: Recommended 6+ months of hands-on experience.

Key Technologies: Claude API, Claude Agent SDK, Claude Code, and Model Context Protocol (MCP). 2. Core Domains & WeightingThe exam is divided into five functional domains:DomainWeightKey Focus Area1.

Agentic Architecture27%Loops, multi-agent orchestration, and hooks. 2. Tool Design & MCP18%Tool definitions, error handling, and MCP servers.

3. Claude Code20%CLAUDE md, slash commands, and CI/CD integration. 4.

Prompt Engineering20%Structured output (JSON), few-shotting, and precision. 5. Context & Reliability15%Context window management and escalation logic.

3. High-Value Architectural ConceptsTo succeed, you must understand these specific technical patterns:Agentic Loops & Multi-Agent OrchestrationThe "Hub-and-Spoke" model is the standard for complex systems. The Loop: You must inspect stop_reason.

If it is tool_use, you execute the tool and feed the result back; if end_turn, the task is finished. Context Isolation: Subagents do not inherit the coordinator's history. You must explicitly pass relevant data in the subagent's prompt.

Parallelism: To speed up workflows, a coordinator can emit multiple Task tool calls in a single turn. Tool Design & MCPDescriptions are Everything: The model chooses tools based on the text description. Ambiguous descriptions lead to "hallucinated" tool calls or misrouting.

MCP Resources vs. Tools: Use Resources for data catalogs (read-only schemas or docs) and Tools for actions (searching, writing). Error Handling: Use the isError flag and provide structured metadata (e.

g. , isRetryable: true) so the agent knows whether to try again or escalate. Claude Code & CLAUDE mdThe Hierarchy: * User-level: ~/.

claude/CLAUDE md (Personal settings, NOT shared). Project-level: Root CLAUDE md (Shared via Git, contains team standards). Plan Mode vs.

Direct Execution: Use Plan Mode for architectural changes or multi-file refactors. Use Direct Execution for small, well-defined bug fixes. CI/CD: Use the -p (print) flag for non-interactive runs to prevent the pipeline from hanging on user prompts.

4. Key Study Tips for Scenario QuestionsThe exam will randomly select 4 out of 6 possible scenarios (Support Agent, Code Gen, Research System, Dev Productivity, CI/CD, and Data Extraction). Pro-Tip: Focus on the Mental Models.

For example, always choose programmatic enforcement (hooks/gates) over "prompt instructions" for critical safety or financial rules (like a $500 refund limit), because prompts are probabilistic, while code is deterministic.