I'm preparing to take the Zend PHP exam and want to find some resources for study materials. I already have php|Architect's Zend PHP 5 study guide, and of course there is the documentation at the PHP site itself.
I'd particularly be interested in FREE practice tests or first-hand advice from others who have taken the exam as to what to focus on. I've been told that the test puts a lot of emphasis on array functions and XML.
You already have the two most important resources: The PHP site and the php|Architect study guide. The book is a little short on the details you will need to know, but it will show you were you need to study. If you aren't familiar with a section in the book, you can be assured the test will be much more in depth and specific.
I cannot recommend the php|Architect practice tests enough. After the first practice test or two I determined where I was weak and built a study program for those areas. I took detailed notes of everything I was unfamiliar with and tracked my progress on each section after each test. (They give you an excellent, pass, fail rating for each section.) After about five tests I was satisfied with my progress and took the test and passed. I ultimately think the best resource you can create is your own. I had about eight double-column, legal-pad pages of notes and topics that I eventually compressed into one type sheet which I studied relentlessly before the test.
I really believe you must have a long association with PHP to get certification. There are some items that I only knew because I started developing with PHP in 2001 and knew the php.net documentation intimately. Also, remember that you are studying for PHP 5, so topics like XML, OOP and other new features are heavily featured. I hope this helps and good luck!
I actually bought the books even though I never took the exam, and never want to write PHP again in my life at this point --no webdev for me, thank you. I thought they covered nothing I really didn't know already as major topics. But they definitely gave some solid information on the twists and specifics of the language I didn't know. It seemed like the sample tests were meant to trick you more then anything.
The test book can be found here, apparently. I guess you'll have to fill in the gaps with the manual and questions here ;).
There are actually a few things to be aware of when preparing for the certification exam:
The "Official" Prep Book: Although not free, I highly recommend you buy this book. Knowing the prep book cover to cover is not enough to pass the exam, but it will give you a sense of what areas to study. Beyond the book I really recommend you actually read the PHP manual. Use the book to determine which subjects are most important, and then learn the details through the manual.
Areas of Focus: The main thing to focus on (ridiculous I know) are array and string functions. Believe it or not, a large portion of the exam will test you on knowing which functions do what and even what order the parameters are passed (this is particularly annoying because even among related functions, parameter order is not consistent). Also be aware of the functionality added to PHP 5 (SPL, PDO, object-oriented code, and the new XML functionality with SimpleXML and DOMDocument).
Practice Exams: From what I was able to find, the only place to get practice exams is to purchase them from Zend. Even then, the exams can be particularly misleading. I passed all 5 of my practice exams before failing my first real exam. To judge whether or not you are actually ready for the real deal, I would recommend you study until you score excellents in every area on at least two practice exams. Anything less and you will be taking a gamble.
So the nutshell version? Zend's preparation materials are extremely misleading and will lead you to believe you are ready for the real exam when you are not. Use them as a guide, but under the assumption that the exam will be much more detailed and in-depth than than Zend's prep materials and practice exams.
Hope that helps!