whats the exams like

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are they like the MCDST exams ?

 

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Yes, but generally shorter questions... not as scenario-based as the MCDST.

 

Don't they also have more questions per exam than most Microsoft exams?

 

That too.

 

Download a demo of some of the legitimate practice test providers to get a feel for how the exam is going to be. Typically, a practice test from a legitimate company is going to give you an accurate feel for how the exam is.

 

Much less confusing than the MCDST ones. Shorter also...like the guys said above. Quite straight forward.

 

I disagree. If you know your stuff, the Microsoft questions are much less confusing than the CompTIA questions... reason being, CompTIA recruits just about anyone who has passed a previous version of a certification to write items for new exam revisions... and unfortunately, it shows. Badly worded or ambiguous questions, questions with no possible correct answers, questions with multiple possible correct answers... eeesh.

Now I don't mean to say that the entire exam is filled with these. There aren't enough to make you fail if you truly know your stuff. But I guarantee there are more than enough to prevent you from getting a perfect score.

 

Hm...maybe i was lucky

 

Perhaps. But CompTIA's badly worded questions are neither rare nor new. It's been discussed quite often. The thing is, most people don't notice, because they generally take those exams early in their careers at a time where they - for lack of a better term - don't know any better. I took the A+ after I had been a tech for 5 years (and messing with computers for 23) and found it to be pretty flawed.

Since then, I've taken a bucketload of CompTIA exams... and yet, the problem remains.

 

If the exam questions are flawed (I actually found a mistake in an A+ book I am reading), then how can they possibly test you? Surely the questions have to be vetted and found to be "correct"?

 

They can test you because it's "good enough". Besides, it's their certification exam; they can certify whomever they want based on whatever standards they want using whatever questions they want to use.

Their questions are likely vetted by somebody or somebodies... but by whom? If it's a peer review by the same people who create those questions, then that's likely why they miss things.

In CompTIA's defense, I haven't yet seen an exam, either real or practice, including those I myself have written, that has been flawless. Still, some are worse than others.

 

Oh man. Working through the practice tests atm - I've had this thought so often but I've put it down them being practice tests from 3rd parties and I assumed the official exams would be better. I guess not...

Enlightening stuff.

 

Best you can do is to pick the best choice or choices from among those available, and let the chips fall where they may. Still, there's no need to worry. Even with the occasional bad question here and there, you should be able to pass without problem if you know your stuff.

 

As Michael mentioned, although there are ambiguous and poorly worded questions, you can still deduce the correct answer for most of those items. I wouldn't get too worried about the poorly worded questions. If you know your stuff, you'll pass the exam.

 

I'm assuming the number of poorly worded questions is high enough to notice but low enough that it's not common. At most 5% or 10% if you're really really picky on what is worded correctly.

If you figure out of those very few are going to be so awkwardly worded that they will cause you to get it wrong if you know the information.

For example

Used to store information:
A) Mouse
B) Keyboard
C) Heard Disk
D) Number Lock Key

WTF is a heard disk? Doesn't matter you're still going to get it right. It shouldn't cause you to fail, it could be a bit annoying though. It also doesn't look very professional to me. With the cost to take the tests and the amount being taken you think they could outsource some editing if not do it in house.

Oh well, deal with it And good luck. I'm taking mine on this coming Wed. I studied tons years ago and then got hired before I took it. I ended up putting it off and now I'm finally taking it. I'm a little stressed about it myself.

 

Nope, that's not at all what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about are questions where, for instance, there are multiple correct answers or no correct answers... not where something is misspelled. They catch those. It's the others they aren't capable of catching.

 

I agree, going by the practice exams, sometimes all of the answers could be correct. Questions where the answers based on conjecture or like what has been said multiple correct answers.

Bit like, 'name a hairy dog'
A-Jack Russell
Wrong- Irish wolf hound.

This I think is terrible of compTIA. We spend all our time and money to pass and be part of their certification, they cant even get the questions right, it degrades the ethos of the compTIA exam and the value of the cert.

 

Eh, most hiring managers don't know the questions are poor, so I don't think it hurts the value of the certifications much.

 

The people who write the books dont write the exams.

Generally it seems compTIA ask Past students to write new versions of their exams where as nobody knows who the **** writes the MS exams

Generally you find the compTIA questions are long winded and have answers that no one would really do where as the MS exams are not long winded but still no one would really do the answer.

Welcome to the crazy world of certification