Can the cheat sheet alone get me a passing CSA score?

No — it's a rapid-review and final-week cram layer, not a full course. The CSA is scored on a scaled score of 70 to pass across scenario-based items, so use the sheet to lock facts and the free practice test to build the readiness that actually moves your score.

Is this CSA the eldercare credential or an IT certification?

This is the Certified Senior Advisor credential from the Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA), focused on aging and eldercare. It is not the ServiceNow Certified System Administrator or any Scrum-related CSA — every fact on the sheet is about serving older adults.

How current is the CSA cheat sheet?

It reflects SCSA's exam blueprint effective December 12, 2024, and the current Pearson VUE delivery details. Fees and weights can shift by cycle, so confirm the exact numbers against SCSA's handbook before you register.

Free CSA Cheat Sheet 2026 — Downloadable PDF

Q: What's on the CSA cheat sheet?

It condenses the highest-yield facts across all nine SCSA content areas — Financial Aspects, Lifestyle Aspects, Health and Wellness, Anthropology and Sociology, Family and Aging, Eldercare Planning, Ethical Issues, Legal Aspects, and End-of-life Planning — with the Medicare-vs-Medicaid, ADL/IADL, and advance-directive distinctions the exam returns to most.

This CSA cheat sheet distills the Society of Certified Senior Advisors blueprint into a printable rundown of the facts the exam tests most across all nine content areas. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free CSA toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.

CSA exam at a glance

Questions: 150 multiple-choice (135 scored + 15 unscored pretest)
Time: 3 hours
Passing score: Scaled score of 70 (overall, not per area)
Format: Proctored, computer-based at a Pearson VUE test center
Cost: ≈ $395 registration (≈ $115 retake) — verify current fees with SCSA
Certifying body: Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA)

What’s on the CSA cheat sheet

Financial Aspects (≈19%) — the largest area — retirement income, long-term-care financing, estate basics, and preventing financial exploitation.
Lifestyle Aspects (≈18%) — aging in place, universal design, housing options, social engagement, and quality-of-life counseling.
Health and Wellness (≈13%) — normal aging vs. disease, dementia vs. delirium, polypharmacy, falls, and chronic-condition management.
Anthropology & Sociology (≈11%) — the sociology and psychology of aging, ageism, Erikson's integrity-vs-despair stage, and aging theories.
Family and Aging (≈11%) — caregiving, caregiver burden, the sandwich generation, and communicating with older adults and families.
Eldercare Planning (≈9%) — geriatric assessment, person-centered care plans, the aging-services network, and the continuum of care.
Ethical Issues (≈7%) — autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest, and elder-abuse reporting.
Legal Aspects (≈6%) — durable and springing powers of attorney, guardianship as last resort, capacity, and substituted judgment.
End-of-life Planning (≈6%) — advance directives, living wills, DNR and POLST orders, and hospice vs. palliative care.

Highest-yield facts on the sheet

Medicare is age/disability-based federal insurance; Medicaid is need-based and the main payer of long-term custodial care — the single most-tested distinction.
ADLs measure basic self-care (bathing, dressing, toileting); IADLs measure independent living (money, meds, shopping, transportation), and IADL decline usually comes first.
A durable power of attorney survives incapacity — unlike an ordinary POA — while guardianship is the most restrictive, last-resort option.
An advance directive combines a living will (treatment wishes) with a health-care proxy (who decides); DNR and POLST are physician orders, not just wishes.
Sudden confusion in an older adult is often delirium (frequently reversible, commonly a UTI) — not automatically dementia.

How to use it in your final week

Front-load Financial and Lifestyle Aspects — together they are the two heaviest areas (roughly 37% of scored items), so drill Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, long-term-care funding, and aging-in-place first.
Burn in the two distinctions examiners repeat: Medicare (age/disability-based) vs. Medicaid (need-based, the main payer of long-term care), and ADLs (basic self-care) vs. IADLs (money, meds, transportation).
Skim the sheet the morning of the test for a last pass on the memory hooks — durable POA survives incapacity, guardianship is the last resort, and sudden confusion in a senior is delirium until proven otherwise.
Pair each review pass with a short timed practice set (the real exam is 150 items in 3 hours ≈ 72 seconds each) so your pacing on scenario questions stays sharp.

The cheat sheet is your review layer — your CSA practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.

CSA cheat sheet FAQ

Yes — the CSA cheat sheet is a free PDF download with no sign-up and no account required. It sits alongside Career Employer's free CSA practice test, study guide, and flashcards so you can build your whole Certified Senior Advisor prep in one place.

References

1.Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA). “CSA Certification — Exam Information.” csa.us, 2026. ↑
2.Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA). “CSA Certification Handbook.” csa.us. ↑
3.Pearson VUE. “SCSA / CSA Testing (scheduling).” PearsonVUE.com. ↑
4.FINRA. “Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) Designation Overview.” FINRA.org. ↑

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Your Free CSA Cheat Sheet 2026 — Downloadable PDF