Took the A+ core last Friday
I took the A+ core exam Friday and it proved to be a humiliating experience! I thought I new everything there could possibly be on that Test. I was wrong! 
I read Mike Meyers AIO, twice. I studied Christopher Crayton's Testtaker's book and scored 100 on about 40 different practice exams. I took the Cert21 exam using all 261 questions and got 247 right on my first try. Most of the questions I got wrong were just stupid mistakes on my part, like, not making sure I clicked an answer on each question or not choosing 3 answers when it told me to. Actually, there only 2 questions on the Cert21 test I was unsure of. Add to all that the fact I have some experience inside a computer and I walked into the testing center with a load of confidence.
The result was a mediocre, at best, 738. There were probably 20 questions I never had anticipated running into on the core exam. There were questions about which lights would blink in varying situations on a DSL modem. There were actually different types of T1 lines they required the test taker to know the speeds of, and there was 1 totally incomprehensible question about hooking up 2 harddrives to one connection on an IDE cable! This question, I just couldn't deal with at all. On top of that, I know I missed the one about the speed of a serial port that has a 16650 Uart chip. My answer was 115Kbps. I was probably wrong but I would have known it 7 years ago. I probably got more answers wrong because my nerves had gotten the best of me and I lost all confidence after I had read some of these questions, about which I was clueless.
To turn humiliation into pure embarrassment my test result list 9 categories were I got "One or most questions wrong." Categories like "Identify environmental protection measures and procedures, and when/how to use them." This one probably pertains to the one about what is inside a CRT that makes it so we can't throw the old ones in the garbage like we did in the good old days. Man! I can't tell you how stupid the whole thing has made me feel!
I was going to take the OS in 2 weeks but I better rethink my timetable. I took an OS practice test and only got 96%. With that as a gauge, I'd probably score, like, 250 on the Comp test, if I took it tomorrow!
Maybe, I'm just blowing off steam, but, for those of you who haven't taken the test yet: let me tell you, that test is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be!
I read Mike Meyers AIO, twice. I studied Christopher Crayton's Testtaker's book and scored 100 on about 40 different practice exams. I took the Cert21 exam using all 261 questions and got 247 right on my first try. Most of the questions I got wrong were just stupid mistakes on my part, like, not making sure I clicked an answer on each question or not choosing 3 answers when it told me to. Actually, there only 2 questions on the Cert21 test I was unsure of. Add to all that the fact I have some experience inside a computer and I walked into the testing center with a load of confidence.
The result was a mediocre, at best, 738. There were probably 20 questions I never had anticipated running into on the core exam. There were questions about which lights would blink in varying situations on a DSL modem. There were actually different types of T1 lines they required the test taker to know the speeds of, and there was 1 totally incomprehensible question about hooking up 2 harddrives to one connection on an IDE cable! This question, I just couldn't deal with at all. On top of that, I know I missed the one about the speed of a serial port that has a 16650 Uart chip. My answer was 115Kbps. I was probably wrong but I would have known it 7 years ago. I probably got more answers wrong because my nerves had gotten the best of me and I lost all confidence after I had read some of these questions, about which I was clueless.
To turn humiliation into pure embarrassment my test result list 9 categories were I got "One or most questions wrong." Categories like "Identify environmental protection measures and procedures, and when/how to use them." This one probably pertains to the one about what is inside a CRT that makes it so we can't throw the old ones in the garbage like we did in the good old days. Man! I can't tell you how stupid the whole thing has made me feel!
I was going to take the OS in 2 weeks but I better rethink my timetable. I took an OS practice test and only got 96%. With that as a gauge, I'd probably score, like, 250 on the Comp test, if I took it tomorrow!
Maybe, I'm just blowing off steam, but, for those of you who haven't taken the test yet: let me tell you, that test is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be!
Webmaster for calendardaze.com ezcalculator.com and digitizedvideo.com
Comments
-
certificationjourney [ban
Inactive Imported Users Posts: 68 ■■□□□□□□□□
What is wrong with you? 738 is humiliating to you. You better know how to do the work instead of memorizing the theory. Good luck on scoring 95-100% on your certs. I hope to see a similar thread by you after your A+ OS exam b/c I am sure you won't score 100% on it.
Best Regards, -
janmike
Member Posts: 3,076
Congrats on the pass!
Your 738 is well beyond average. Good luck as you continue."It doesn't matter, it's in the past!"--Rafiki -
Plantwiz
Mod Posts: 5,057 Mod
Congratulations!
BTW- you're assuming that there were a possible 900. Possible points range between 100-900 and only CompTIA 'knows' how things are scored. Some questions may not even count toward/against your score.
Since you did received 'areas' of missed questions, it's reasonible to figure you may have missed some questions. Oh well, it happens. Doesn't mean you know or don't know your stuff - it's how you handle things in the field that will matter.
Good luck on the next onePlantwiz
_____
"Grammar and spelling aren't everything, but this is a forum, not a chat room. You have plenty of time to spell out the word "you", and look just a little bit smarter." by Phaideaux
***I'll add you can Capitalize the word 'I' to show a little respect for yourself too.
'i' before 'e' except after 'c'.... weird? -
elathrop
Member Posts: 88 ■■□□□□□□□□
Thank you all for your reasonable comments. Actually, I feel like I owe everyone an apology. I never have been a "top of the class" type. My problem was that I scheduled my test for too far in advance and I kept studying the materials I had, over and over again. As a result, I never have been or never will be as prepared for a test as I was for that one. Then, at the test, I feel like I got blind-sided.
It is true that a test really can’t be the most important thing in a person's career. It is much more important we have a good understanding of what is going in inside the computer.
The OS has brought my aspirations back to normal. I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings by referring to 738 as "mediocre, at best." In my particular, unique situation, it was less than stellar. However, I know how difficult that test can be and I sincerely respect anybody who's ever passed it.Webmaster for calendardaze.com ezcalculator.com and digitizedvideo.com