I would’ve thought I’d have heard about it before it got announced, but there’s a new set of networking centric certs out there. And this one’s not an incremental knock-off on vendor certs – it’s a complete paradign shift. The details are sketchy, but I figured it’s worth a quick post. I’ll get back to the lab stuff next time, I promise.
First off, the primary goal is to prove real-world IT skills. This group did a two year study of IT Professionals, with the study focusing on areas such as networking, database, operating systems, and storage, with tons of little pieces in between. Then after the $$ dried up before getting to market, they tossed out most of the studies, because those studies were funded by big company management – and they decided instead they wanted a cert series for the worker, not management. They did use some of the key points from the study, tossed in some “we the people”, and came up with a truly bizarre but refreshing set of requirements for this new program.
- The tests are 100% adaptive, because people are different.
- The exams should determine what the candidate knows, not what they don’t know.
- The exams measure your ability to get the job done – period.
- The simulators behind the computer-based test must be really realistic.
- People shouldn’t have to mold themselves to our cert formula – we should mold the certs to match the people.
- The scoring is not pass/fail, it’s incremental.
How do they do this? Well, take the Networking track, which is the first available track. Say you know switching, with Cisco switches, a fair amount about IP, but very little about IP routing protocols. So you take the Networking R/S test. The test asks you 100 questions. The first 10 are widespread. Then, the test adapts, asking you more about the topics you got right. The more you get right on a topic, the more and deeper the questions. The goal? Keep asking you until you hit the wall. The test measures what you know, and doesn’t bother with things you clearly don’t know.
If you get at least 1 correct (that’s not a typo), then you officially pass. More importantly, though, your score sheet shows what you do and don’t know. It looks like a bar chart, with the depth you achieved on each of the component topics on the exam, typically 12-15 such topics.
With such flexibility, what cert could they give you? The key’s in the bar chart. Well, say you picked the Networking “R/S” test (others include voice, security, storage, wireless). You take the test, you pass (looks like anyone with half a clue would pass), and you become an N-RS-01 – whether you actually got 20 questions or 90 questions right. The difference is in the bar chart for your score.
Also, for $20, you can get a pair of nice lapel pins – one to keep, one to trade. (Ever been to Disney, or been in boy scouts? That’s where they got the pin idea, I’m told.) The pin shows your somewhat-unique bar chart of skills, which can NEVER BE REDUCED (see below).
So, what’s the next cert? Instead of having a progression of levels (like Cisco’s Associate, Professional, and Expert), these certs have a finer gradient. On your second test for a given topic (eg, Route/Switch), the exam will again ask 10 baseline questions, essentially about the deepest topics you got to last time. It’ll then adapt after the first 10, and then dive deeper. You’re proving more skills/knowledge each test you sit. Your score is CUMULATIVE, just like real life – your bars on each subtopic get taller, but never shorter. You pass the next test, and you become N-RS-02,- but again, the more siginificant scoring is based on your improved bar chart.
Eventually, you answer all they have on RS, you become…N-RS-DONE-xx, where xx is the year. You can get the lapel pins each time, and once you’re done, your $20 buys the pair of pins and a really cool T-shirt. These pins show a solid block, because you have to have answered all questions on all topics, at some iteration of the exam, before being DONE.
Other cools features…
- It’s a pay what you think is fair model. They have suggested donations based on your income and geography.
- To get it started, they say it’s ok to not donate for your first test.
- It’s open book, open friend, open tool. It measures what you could do in a real job, so you can text/call/email (if you’re old)/twit errr tweet/post here, and if you get the answer, that’s fine. So, you can have few skills other than finding the answer, and still do well.
- The rest of the big topics will be released one per quarter, so Networkers get a head-start on the rest of the IT world.
You can also help by writing questions, in your own words.
Ready to get started? Details next page…
I really will get back to real stuff next post. For now… April Fool’s! So… did you know it was an April Fool’s post before the first bullet list, on the first bullet list, or after? I was shooting for the maybe-real-enough-to-believe effect, rather than having people laugh out loud. Maybe a rolling of the eyes? 😉
