Part 2 of the series I'm writing...
 

Well, here it is...Part deux!

The cheating industry that is devaluing IT certification - part two
http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/13646


These are the other links I posted from the Part 1 post, in case ya missed
'em. ;-)
http://www.networkworld.com/subnets/cisco/

This is part 1 of the article:
http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/13341




Some other useful links:

Home: http://www.CertGuard.com
Forums: http://www.CertGuard.com/forums/
Braindumps: http://www.CertGuard.com/braindumps.asp
Practice Test Providers: http://www.CertGuard.com/reviews.asp
Study Materials and Books: http://www.CertGuard.com/store.asp
Vendor Links and Emails: http://www.CertGuard.com/links.asp


--
CertGuard
You think you know IT?!?!
Check out the new 'No Braindump' CertGear:
http://www.cafepress.com/certguard <-- we sell Thongs!!

Re: Part 2 of the series I'm writing...
 

Scooby schrieb:

> I think the real focus should be towards the tests themselves. I say make
> these tests really hard, and open book/open resource. Then, braindumps
> become useless. You would need to really understand what you are doing to
> pass the test. Also, real life is open book. I use resources all the time
> to complete my work. All good engineers know how to be resourceful, not
> just apply what is in the memory banks. That is really what needs to be
> tested.

I believe, a certification which would really mean something, should
include a test about solving problems, with all the basic informations
available. Because this is what You have to be able to do in Your work,
not to know some obscure parameters and numbers which You can easily
google for.

Re: Part 2 of the series I'm writing...
 

You're right, and I absolutely agree that braindumps will not be resolved until
the tests themselves become more comprehensive. If you're not already aware,
Microsoft has been using adaptive exams for a couple years now. I haven't taken
one myself, but there are many people here that have. Maybe one of them can
throw in their 2c about the adaptive exams.

Educating people about the dangers of using braindumps is only one aspect that
CertGuard is exploring. It's the whole "Arrest the 'Johns', to prevent the
prostitutes from working" theory. We know it isn't 100% effective, but while we
work on other methods of preventing cheating, we're trying to get the word out
to as many people as possible that using braindumps is wrong.

You've got a great idea about the exams being 'open book'. Although it would
need a lot of refining, that is one possibility that, I too feel, should be
looked into. I remember taking college exams, and the toughest exams were always
the open book exams, because if you had to search for the information on even
25% of the questions, you were going to fail the exam. Knowing the answers was
always the best method of passing the exams, but you're never going to remember
everything, and therefore, having the resources by your side is equally as
important.

Thanks for your comments Jim, why don't you (and your high horse) come on over
to the CertGuard Forums?! We can always use a little opposition and fresh ideas.

Again, thanks


--
CertGuard
Get the new 'No Braindump' CertGear
http://www.cafepress.com/certguard




"Scooby" <mmscooby1@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:37XSh.1764$3P3.1238@newsread3.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> "CertGuard" <CertGuard - The Stronghold for Excellence in IT Certification>
> wrote in message news:131mvok52rdbt0e@news.supernews.com...
>> Well, here it is...Part deux!
>>
>> The cheating industry that is devaluing IT certification - part two
>> http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/13646
>>
>>
>> These are the other links I posted from the Part 1 post, in case ya missed
>> 'em. ;-)
>> http://www.networkworld.com/subnets/cisco/
>>
>> This is part 1 of the article:
>> http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/13341
>>
>
>
> While I agree with you on concept about cheating hurting the certification
> industry, I don't believe that is the real problem. You could almost consider
> some of the ciscopress material as braindumps, since it is meant to help you
> pass an exam. In the end, you aren't that much closer to understanding the
> material, you just have learned enough to pass the test.
>
> Back in the early 90's, I started my networking career by going to classes to
> get my Novell CNE. When I got all done, I was certified, but I would have
> been scared to death to take over someone's Novell network, even though I knew
> enough to pass the tests. This was long before the days of readily available
> braindumps. Also, I've hired contractors with certifications that didn't
> understand what they were doing - again before the days of braindumps.
>
> I think the real focus should be towards the tests themselves. I say make
> these tests really hard, and open book/open resource. Then, braindumps become
> useless. You would need to really understand what you are doing to pass the
> test. Also, real life is open book. I use resources all the time to complete
> my work. All good engineers know how to be resourceful, not just apply what
> is in the memory banks. That is really what needs to be tested.
>
> Now, I understand that this would make testing more expensive, but I am all
> for that. Personally, I despise paying $125 for a certification test that
> really isn't testing my ability to do the job. I'd be much more happy paying
> $500 for a more comprehensive open book test. And, I firmly believe that a
> certification received from that type of testing would be much more valued
> than today's paper certs.
>
> I think Cisco has it right with their CCIE lab tests, although I do think it
> should be a litte more open resource. Extremely comprehensive, proctored and
> no way are you getting out of there with brain dumps. I'm not saying every
> test should be quite this comprehensive, as the CCIE tests are really
> expensive and long (a full day). But, I think this is a good model that
> should be built on for the other tests.
>
> So, in summary, I think the focus here is in the wrong place. You aren't
> going to stop the brain dumps from happening. Try changing the testing
> industry to give us tests worth a certification.
>
> <Jim now gets down off his high horse>
>
> Just MHO,
>
> Jim
>
>
>
>
>
>

Re: Part 2 of the series I'm writing...
 

Although knowing obscure parameters and numbers helps at times, you're correct.
I can't even count the number of times I've had to pull up a TechNet article to
help me get through a problem, or gone searching through a book to find the set
of command line commands used to check the setup of a mail client.

Thanks for your input.


--
CertGuard
Get the new 'No Braindump' CertGear
http://www.cafepress.com/certguard




"Peter Pradelski" <nospam.abuse@gmx.de> wrote in message
news:583vt8F2f5nlcU1@mid.individual.net...
> Scooby schrieb:
>
>> I think the real focus should be towards the tests themselves. I say make
>> these tests really hard, and open book/open resource. Then, braindumps
>> become useless. You would need to really understand what you are doing to
>> pass the test. Also, real life is open book. I use resources all the time
>> to complete my work. All good engineers know how to be resourceful, not just
>> apply what is in the memory banks. That is really what needs to be tested.
>
> I believe, a certification which would really mean something, should include a
> test about solving problems, with all the basic informations available.
> Because this is what You have to be able to do in Your work, not to know some
> obscure parameters and numbers which You can easily google for.