As I mentioned a few weeks back, I was on a mission to make it to the two ATP events of the year, Innovations in Testing and the ATP Test Security Summit. I made it and it was a great experience that I intend on repeating in the years to come. In the three days I was there, I got to meet some wonderful and genuine professionals that are interested in increasing the value of your certifications.
As it was pointed out to me, I’m not bound by any NDA and could therefore publicize much of the information that I learned throughout the event, but due to moral and ethical issues we feel that releasing that information to the general public would greatly reduce their effectiveness and do more harm to your certifications than anything. Afterall, we’re not “the Press”. We can tell you, however, that many of the certification vendor are joining forces with 3rd party companies to combat the braindump problem and we can assure you that the value of your certifications is currently moving…well, in the direction opposite that of the US dollar at least.
So what happened at the ATP’s Innovations in Testing convention?! The convention was packed with hundreds of interested people and dozens of interesting speakers; all collaborating on issues related to cheating. Not everyone was there to stop the cheating that’s going on within the IT industry, but a good portion of the convention was focused on your certifications and the programs that dictate those certifications.
To give you an idea of what was discussed this year, the speakers had some great topics and some awesome workshops, which allowed the visitors to interact with the speakers and discuss alternatives to the current methods being used to prevent cheating. Amidst the many possible sessions were a few that I attended, which included “How to beat the cheats”, “Managing Exam Fraud over the Internet”, “Strategies and Tactics for Limiting Item Exposure”, and Caveon’s own “Cheating in the News“.
Next year’s convention is anticipated to be even better, but don’t take my word for it; come join us next year. Registration isn’t open yet, but as soon as it is, we’ll be sure to do our part to publicize it. The convention has already been scheduled, save the date!!
February 22-25, 2009
Westin Mission Hills
Palm Springs, CA
