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Andy Barkl
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RussS
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 Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 4:35 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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| Heh heh heh - about time |
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Adam Leinss
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 4:52 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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"RussS" <yeah_right@roflmao.com> wrote in news:jnBYa.109023$JA5.2433112
@news.xtra.co.nz:
| Quote: | Heh heh heh - about time
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4 times the questions and you like the change???
Adam |
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JK_Deth
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 6:30 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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Heh heh.
You do realize that this only applies to the A+ exams? (the only ones that
were adaptive anyway)
Perhaps you feel that somehow this will add extra "credibilty" Have checked
the Comptia web site or even read the link posted? It was done to allow
extra UNSCORED questions to be on the test. Remember A+ is entry level
certification, all it was ever meant to be. Anyone with a year or so real
world experience is already beyond the level that A+ tests for.
$JA5.2433112@news.xtra.co.nz...
| Quote: | Heh heh heh - about time
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Ghost
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 7:41 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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In article <vj5uvsb2ro3qf4@corp.supernews.com>, "JK_Deth"
<john1@telpage.net> wrote:
| Quote: | Heh heh.
You do realize that this only applies to the A+ exams? (the only ones that
were adaptive anyway)
Perhaps you feel that somehow this will add extra "credibilty" Have checked
the Comptia web site or even read the link posted? It was done to allow
extra UNSCORED questions to be on the test. Remember A+ is entry level
certification, all it was ever meant to be. Anyone with a year or so real
world experience is already beyond the level that A+ tests for.
$JA5.2433112@news.xtra.co.nz...
Heh heh heh - about time
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I would not necessarily go there John ("Anyone with a year or so real
world experience is already beyond the level that A+ tests for:") ....
Yes, A+ is supposed to indicate entry level with about 6 months of
experience, but in reality I do not think it can be used as a measurement
of any real world experience at all.
What I mean by this is I have seen MANY PC techs, who have been techs for
a very long time, who cannot pass the A+ exams.
Part of that is the nature of our world. For instance, lightning damage
is only really prevelant certain times of the year, and is not that common
is certain parts of the country. So, a tech who has worked for sic or
eight months in a shop may never have seen overvoltage damage.
Viruses seem to make their way around in waves. In our shop, we might not
have a virus complaint for a month or more- then get deluged with a dozen
PCs with viruses per day for a week or more at a time. So again, a tech
might not see viruses on his bench for a long time- or he could have every
other PC with a virus.
How often do you get a PC with Win2K? Not that it is rare or anything,
but the average home PC (even the average small business PC) is not
running Win2K so you will not see it quite as much as Win98, WinME, or
WinXP Home or Pro. So how long would you have to work at a shop before
you see Win2K, and then how long till the next one.
These are all just examples and may differ from one shop to another, or
from one region to another.
Point being, you might be a tech at a small shop for six months and have
seen damned near everything more than once, or a tech in a large shop
where you may have done only one or two things for six months- or vice
versa!
One of my vendors also builds PCs for an additional $25 over the cost of
the parts. So, out of the dozen or so full time techs there, nobody has
any experience actually diagnosing a problem. The tech manager is the
only one that does that, and that is only on computers they have built.
In my shop, I am the only one who works on Macs. For no other reason than
nobody else knows how. I am also the only one who works on laptops
(hardware). Partly becuase I have the experience (and that was only
because I had the balls to try- lol), and partly because the other techs
want no part of taking a laptop down to its smallest component parts,
soldering, and then trying to re-assemble it- all without any leftover
parts.
Then, on the other side of the coin you have the students who memorize the
test and pass the exams, but have absolutely zero skill set for actually
working on a PC. I have a tech right now- perfectly nice guy- with a new
2 year degree in Computer Science, and he struggles with the simplest of
tasks. Other than working as a network administrator at his school, he
had no experience. The networking experience he had is crap too, because
today I asked him to set up a static IP on a few of the PCs and he did not
know where to begin. He has talked to me about quitting because he feels
he is way over his head. I have been trying to bring him along and have
been trying to get him to stick it out. I think once he gains some
experience and some confidence he will be OK. But, that is another story.
So, in *MY* estimation, on one hand the A+ certification really is an
indication of about a full year of a very well rounded experience, but on
the other hand, is an indication only of the ability to pass two written
exams.
And of course, this is all opinion... lol
Oh, and btw- I always thought adaptive exams were crap, and very glad to
hear they are going away. My exams were long before the adaptive exams. |
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Ghost
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 7:49 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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In article <Xns93D0BFF8CC046aleinsstoughguynet@toughguy.net>, Adam Leinss
<aleinss@toughguy.net> wrote:
| Quote: | "RussS" <yeah_right@roflmao.com> wrote in news:jnBYa.109023$JA5.2433112
@news.xtra.co.nz:
Heh heh heh - about time
4 times the questions and you like the change???
Adam
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Oh Yes, yes, yes, yes!!!!
I have never believed in the adaptive exams. I do not believe 20
questions can ever be any indication of a particular skill level. I think
the current wave of unqualified certified A+ applicants I am getting is a
measure of that.
You can get lucky and get 20 easy questions, or 20 questions in an area
you are strong in, and pass the exam. You could get screwed and get a
bunch of questions on SCSI and HDD geometry for instance, and blow the
exam totally.
Now, take a hundred or so questions and you can get a really good mix of
questions on a large variety of topics. If you suck in SCSI (as many do)
you might only have 2 or 3 questions- not enough to fail the exam. Your
storng suits might be also the bulk of the exam questions. I think it is
a much more realistic measure of your abilities.
But then, I could be wrong... lol |
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RussS
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 8:19 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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Hell yes. OS took me longer to fill out their questionaire than it did for
the exam part. That is crap and in the eyes of many industry people
diminishes the value of A+.
Personally I would rather a 100 question exam with a practical component to
sort those who know their stuff from the bullshitters. |
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RussS
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 8:20 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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| JK - even on the adaptive there were unscored questions. |
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RussS
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 8:22 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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Hey ghost
I have this funny shaped thingy from my last laptop rebuild - wanna identify
it for me? ..... heh heh heh |
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Ghost
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 10:14 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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In article <sIEYa.109210$JA5.2437189@news.xtra.co.nz>, "RussS"
<yeah_right@roflmao.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Hey ghost
I have this funny shaped thingy from my last laptop rebuild - wanna identify
it for me? ..... heh heh heh
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Funny shaped??? Sounds like a whatchajiggit... goes right under the
whosenflabits. |
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Tony Sivori
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2003 12:29 am Post subject: Re: CompTIA to drop adaptive exam format September 12, 2003 |
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On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 02:41:35 +0000, Ghost wrote: [giant snip]
| Quote: |
Oh, and btw- I always thought adaptive exams were crap, and very glad to
hear they are going away.
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I think you are right about that. Before I took the A+, my most in depth
knowledge of laser printers was that they used a powdered toner instead of
liquid ink.
I studied hard, and I learned the laser printing process, memorized the
troubleshooting symptoms and remedies.
I didn't get one laser printer question on my test. I don't care how
scientific they claim adaptive testing is, there is no way that they could
deduce from the questions on my test if I knew anything about laser
printers, or not.
--
Tony Sivori |
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