I don't get it. Why vendors don't develop test that would consist of 100s of questions (even 100Os) and have the software generate the 50 or so question test on the fly? So that even if people cheat they still will have to learn the 1000 or so questions and answers. If someone manage to memorize all the 1000 answers, he would be worth the certification.
nw
Expert's answerThere would be quite a bit of complexity involved in building a reliable generator for certification exams although it could be done. There are textbook publishers that provide systems like that for generating course exams. Issues that would need to be addressed include developing the categories of concepts and tasks to be tested against and then building collections of equivalent exam questions for each category. From there the generator would need to be built to pull randomized questions from each category and build the exam. This may be an opportunity for someone to develop a product to offer multiple vendors who need to produce certification exams. But then it might be a tough sell since developing one test or a small set of equivalent tests is more straight forward than constructing a test generation system that will reliably produce random exams to effectively test the same concepts, capabilities and knowledge to the same standards. Developing reliable test items and then verifying the response norms across a set of collected answers to ensure grading standards that properly rank respondents can be a long arduous process. |
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The question you raise is already being done for the FAA Pilot and FCC Amateur Radio exams. For these exams, you can either buy a book, or go to a website where the questions are online or you can buy software that drills you on the questions. All of the questions are available with the correct answer for the exam. With the FAA exams, there is a practical qualification part of the process where you have to fly with a qualified instructor as a part of your process of earning a pilot's license.
As to the technology certifications, I dont know if someone had access to all of the questions and answers and had passed the exam that I would consider that they would be worth the certification because they could memorize the answers. Having a Practicum or lab exam where you would have to actually put into practice what you have learned is a challenge for the vendor. Cisco is already going this for the CCIE exams and I have heard rumor that they are considering doing this for the CCNP certification but on a smaller scale.
Microsoft came up with an interesting approach where they started using "situational analysis" type questions where they give you a situation and then you have to answer based on what you understood the problem was in the question. In this type of question you have to understand the material behind the question in order to be able to give the correct answer.
Ronald Nutter
Help Desk Editor
Network World
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