Exam

spooky

Hi to you all.......
I'm going to take my A+ exam (hardware) on monday and i'm totally cr**ing myself on what to expect . has anyone taken the exams on the new linear format, and is their any new questions that i have got to look out for or is it basically the same.
i've seem to have studied for ever but i just don't know what to expect....

Thanx in advance

spooky

PS... Is that correct that the pass mark is lower than the Adaptive test :

janmike

From COMPtia site:

http://comptia.com/certification/A/general_info.asp

A+ exams consist of two exams and both tests are administered in an adaptive format. Each test consists of 80 questions and are scored on a scale of 100 - 900. The minimum passing score for the A+ Core Hardware exam is 467 and the minimum passing score for the A+ OS Technologies exam is 469. Ninety minutes are allowed to complete each exam.

Adaptive was pass OS 600, pass Core 596 w/ 30 min to complete on each.

I don't believe that anyone has any need for concern on the Linear. I took my A+ adaptive, same day, back to back and passed OK. I took Network+ linear, and sort of enjoyed it.

The thing is to "know your stuff". If you've studied and done practice in lab of any kind, you should be OK. And, if you have some practical experience, even better.

My advice, relax and don't be intimidated. It's only one exam. I've been taking exams all my life for one thing or another, and none of them ever did me any damage whatsoever(I'll never see 50 again.)--even the ones that I've failed.

You're in competition with nobody but yourself--so don't scare yourself!!

Best of luck!

carbunkle

After the 12th it is just linear. But it is the same objectives. I took my test on the 11th to get it in as adaptive. I'm sure its giong to feel like the same test except you can mark questions and go back to them later and thier are more questions.

spooky

Thanx alot for replying.......

My field of work is not IT based so i might find it slightly harder than normal, but i do spend a lot of time on computers. The reason i am doing these exams is for a new career so thats why i feel a bit insecure in pasing compared to someone that is working in IT.
Does anyone know any good practice exams i could try :

Thanks again for your advice folks

Webmaster

www.techexams.net/co_apluscore.shtml

Besides our own practice exams, check out the link section at the bottom of that page...

Webmaster

janmike wrote:

A+ exams consist of two exams and both tests are administered in an adaptive format. Each test consists of 80 questions and are scored on a scale of 100 - 900. The minimum passing score for the A+ Core Hardware exam is 467 and the minimum passing score for the A+ OS Technologies exam is 469. Ninety minutes are allowed to complete each exam.

Adaptive was pass OS 600, pass Core 596 w/ 30 min to complete on each.

In my opinion these new passing scores are ridiculous low...

cheeblie

Yeah, that is pretty low considering what it tests you on. I guess CompTIA is trying to take away any importance associated with A+ . I wonder how they came up with such a low number.

Cheeblie

Drakonblayde

Man, those are low passing reqs. If CompTIA really is interested in maintaining the quality of the cert and not just milking folks for their money, I'd hope someone would wake up and realize those passing scores need to be adjusted upwards by at least 100 points each

bellboy

what are comptia doing? surely if the passing scores are that low, the market could get flooded with a+ certified techs. i mean, not only could it devalue the cert, but as it is two exams. it is a great money spinner for them.

do they think that if they drop the pass mark, they could increase revenue?

RussS

Comptia doesn't have a bloody idea what it is doing. The A+ has been devalued so much since it first came out that it was becoming an industry joke. From what I have heard Comptia has become top heavy and needs to generate more revenue - my guess is that the more people that pass A+ then they will have more moving on to other certifications

Personally I thought that the old passing score was about 100 too low

spooky

Hi.......Just taken my A+ exam (hardware) today 15th sept and passed with a score of 557
i was really sweating over it but somehow i pulled through..now for the OS exam
I must mention that your sight help me enormously and i am definately going to recommend it to all my budding computer mates .

cheers

janmike

Most excellent spooky! Congrats.

Best of luck as you continue preparation for OS.

spooky

Thanks alot matey, I hope i'm as lucky with the OS exam

maanitrules

sry to ask the same question again..
but i am still confused.. coz according to my teacher.. we still have 30 minutes and 20-30 questions for the A+ core hardware test..
and according to the Comptia website...

A+ Certification Upgrade Information
Because technology changes, so do our exams. The CompTIA A+ exam will be upgraded on November 26, 2003, but you can study for and take both the current A+ 2001 exams now or choose to take one exam now and the second exam after the 2003 upgrade goes into effect

plz help me.. coz i am going to take the test on thursday.. and i am also worried just like spooky.. as to what i am gonna face in the exam..

thanx in advance..

Maanit

spooky

Hi maanitrules,

the exam you are taking is for 90 minutes and its in linear form. As to which one you should take, i would go for this one if its fresh in your mind. And also the A+ certification will stay with you until you die no matter what version you take

I hope this was some help and good luck with the exam

maanitrules

thanx spooky..
i was supposed to go take the test thursday but due to the hurricane ISABEL, it got cancelled..
now i am gonna take the test on the 26th... i hope i pass.. i havent had much practice with taking these tests.. and am having a lot of trouble with the OSI model and some network stuff.. but thanx for the help..!!!
Maanit

Special_k21

Hey Everyone,

I am new to this site and I must say, very cool! The practice tests were awesome and definitely offered me questions I haven't seen before! I have also been reading in the forums and agree with everyone on the low scores to pass. I scored a 837 and you only need something like a 467? Whoa!
Anyway, thanx for the site.
Now onto the A+ OS exam

Raelcreve

The A+ is linear only for a short period of time. Because they are updating the exam with new material (i.e. Windows XP, etc.), CompTIA needs to figure out how hard the questions are. So, they change the tests to linear for a couple of months, and depending on how candidates do on the new questions, they rate the difficulty accordingly before they recompile the exams to adaptive format (for the point weighting of each question).

In fact, it makes no difference if you get the new questions right or wrong, because you are not graded on them. About half the questions on the linear exam are new.

jrowe

Raelcreve wrote:

The A+ is linear only for a short period of time.

it's not for a short period. the exams will be staying as linear, they will not be returning to an adaptive format.

Elrhino

Raelcreve wrote:

The A+ is linear only for a short period of time. Because they are updating the exam with new material (i.e. Windows XP, etc.), CompTIA needs to figure out how hard the questions are. So, they change the tests to linear for a couple of months, and depending on how candidates do on the new questions, they rate the difficulty accordingly before they recompile the exams to adaptive format (for the point weighting of each question).

In fact, it makes no difference if you get the new questions right or wrong, because you are not graded on them. About half the questions on the linear exam are new.

I believe you are somewhat correct. The format will stay linear indefinitely, but the reason for the new low passing rates is that many of the questions are new and for the 2003 format, the content is not required of test takers until the November conversion date. Missed questions concerning 2003 material are not held against the test taker until November, as they are currently being evaluated (too hard, too easy, unclear wording, etc. etc.). Once the 2003 format comes to release date, test takers will be required for that material and they will be held accountable for missed questions.

If nothing else, it provides a 3 month window of opportunity for those sitting on the fence deciding whether to take the test or not. Carpe Diem.

bellboy

maanitrules wrote:

sry to ask the same question again..
but i am still confused.. coz according to my teacher.. we still have 30 minutes and 20-30 questions for the A+ core hardware test..
and according to the Comptia website...

the exams reverted back to the traditional format in september. the present exam is something like 80 questions, but some of those are unmarked as they are beta questions for the new objectives. only 72 questions are marked.