How I Passed the Acquia Certified Backend Specialist Drupal 11 Exam (Preparation Guide & Tips)

Becoming an Acquia Certified Backend Specialist – Drupal 11 was an important milestone in my Drupal journey. In this post, I want to share my exam experience, preparation strategy, key resources, and practical tips to help other developers — whether you have 2 years of experience or more than 10 — confidently prepare for and clear this certification.

This article covers:

• What the exam is about
• The syllabus and exam pattern
• How I prepared step-by-step
• Mistakes to avoid
• Whether the certification is worth it

What Is the Acquia Certified Backend Specialist – Drupal 11 Exam?

The Acquia Certified Backend Specialist – Drupal 11 certification validates your ability to:

• Build and maintain Drupal 11 backend functionality
• Work with entities, fields, and configuration
• Implement custom modules and hooks
• Use Drupal APIs properly
• Follow Drupal best practices and coding standards

It focuses on real-world Drupal backend development, not just theoretical questions.

This makes it valuable both for:

• Developers with 2–5 years who want to strengthen fundamentals
• Senior developers who want formal recognition of their expertise

Exam Pattern, Format & Difficulty

• Format: Multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
• Duration: 120 minutes
• Number of questions: 60 (can vary)
• Passing score: 70% (as per Acquia standards)
• Difficulty: Moderate — concept-driven, not memory-based

You need to understand how Drupal works internally, not just how to click in the UI.

Drupal 11 Backend Exam Syllabus (Key Topics)

Here are the main areas you should focus on:

1. Fundamental Web Development Concepts

• HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery related questions
• You must know about sematic tags like main, article, header, aside, figure, footer etc.
• You should know the latest PHP 8 and OOP concepts
• Git Version Control and commands such as git rebase, git fetch in details
• Drupal Testing concepts

Sample Question from this section

Question: Which of the following is NOT a semantic HTML tag?

A) <article> B) <div> C) <nav> D) <aside>

Correct Answer: B) <div>

2. Drupal Core API

• Custom module structure
• Entities, bundles, fields, and configuration
• Routing and controllers
• Plugin system
• Dependency injection
• Hook system
• Event subscribers
• Services and service containers

You must know how to create a route, route parameters, access control, permissions, query parameter and all the possible options that you can use in your custom module.

Sample questions:

1) You are creating a custom Content Entity class by extending 'ContentEntityBase'. You need to add a base field that references a User entity. Which method and field type should you use within your entity class?

2) Your custom module is already installed on a production site. You now need to add a new base field to your custom entity. In which file and through which function should you implement this change to ensure the database schema updates correctly?

3) You need to create a custom validation constraint to ensure a field value meets specific business logic. In which specific namespace must your Constraint and ConstraintValidator classes be located for Drupal to discover them automatically?
 

3. Debug Code and Troubleshooting

• Master the logging services
• Devel and Development settings
• xdebug
• Server logs, php.ini settings etc.

4. Theme Integration

• How to create custom theme
• Understand each key:value pair available in theme.info.yml file.
• Library, library override etc
• How to work with twig functions, filters and security 

Sample Questions

1. In a Drupal 11 Twig template, you need to display a translatable string that includes a dynamic variable for a count. Which is the correct syntax to ensure the string is translatable and the variable is safely injected?
2. You are building a custom CSS class name dynamically in Twig. You need to concatenate a prefix 'status--' with a variable 'type', while ensuring no extra whitespace is introduced. Which syntax is correct?

5. Performance

• How to debug a page which is slow
• Deep understanding of cache metadata such as Cache Tags, Cache Key, max-age, context etc.
• How to use cache bin and invalidations techniques

Sample Questions

1. You are building a custom block that displays the current weather based on the user's preferred language and their geographic location (stored in a custom field on the user entity). Which cache contexts must be added to the block's render array to ensure correct variation?
2. A custom block displays a list of 'Article' nodes. You want the block's cache to be invalidated automatically whenever any 'Article' node is updated or a new one is created. Which cache tag should you add to the render array?

6. Security

• Access checks and permissions
• Caching strategies
• Sanitization and XSS protection

7. Leveraging Community resources

• Issue queue and workflow
• Coding standards
• Identify the missing coding standards in the code

Sample Questions:

1. Find missing coding standard in the blow code

   <?php
   /**
    * Get user detias.
    * 
    * @param number $count
    *  User count
    */
   function get_user_data($count = 2, $total_user) {
     // Some other code
   }

My Step-by-Step Preparation Strategy

Step 1: Review Official Exam Objectives

I started by carefully reading Acquia’s official exam guide and objectives. This helped me understand what to focus on and what not to over-study.

Step 2: Strengthen Core Concepts

Even with experience, I revisited:

• Entity API
• Dependency Injection
• Routing and Controllers
• Plugin system

These are frequently tested.

Step 3: Hands-On Practice

I created small practice modules to:

• Define a custom entity
• Create routes and controllers
• Add admin forms
• Implement services

This practical work made the concepts stick better than reading alone.

Step 4: Use Documentation Effectively

I regularly referred to:

• Drupal.org documentation
• API references
• Acquia documentation

Don’t memorize — understand how things fit together.

Step 5: Mock Tests & Self-Assessment

I attempted sample questions and reviewed incorrect answers deeply to understand my weak areas.

Resources I Used

• Official Acquia Exam Guide
• Drupal.org API documentation
• Drupal core source code (for understanding behavior)
• Blog posts and community tutorials
• My own past project code

Exam Day Experience

The exam was:

• Well structured
• Time was sufficient
• Questions were scenario-based

Many questions tested “what is the correct Drupal way” instead of just “what works”.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Memorizing answers instead of understanding concepts
• Ignoring Drupal architecture basics
• Skipping security and caching topics
• Not practicing hands-on module development
• Underestimating configuration management

Is the Acquia Drupal Certification Worth It?

Yes — especially if you:

• Want formal recognition of your Drupal skills
• Are working with enterprise clients
• Want to stand out in interviews or proposals
• Are transitioning into a Drupal-focused role

It also forces you to fill knowledge gaps that real projects sometimes don’t expose.

Final Tips for Aspirants

• Focus on why Drupal behaves a certain way
• Practice more than you read
• Read the exam objectives carefully
• Learn from your mistakes during preparation
• Don’t rush — prepare calmly and confidently

FAQs

How hard is the Acquia Drupal 11 backend exam?

Moderate difficulty. Strong fundamentals make it manageable.

How long does it take to prepare?

2–3 weeks for experienced developers, 4–6 weeks for juniors.

Is hands-on experience required?

Yes — purely theoretical study is not enough.

Is this certification useful outside Drupal?

Yes — it strengthens backend architecture thinking and API design skills.

Conclusion

Passing the Acquia Certified Backend Specialist – Drupal 11 exam was a rewarding experience. It validated my knowledge, strengthened my understanding of Drupal internals, and boosted my confidence as a backend developer.

If you're preparing for this exam — you absolutely can pass it with the right strategy and mindset.

If you have any questions or want to share your own experience, feel free to contact me. 😊