Is Net+ NOT multiple choice anymore?

I went to take my test today and the questions weren't questions at all, but instead "simulations". The first two were easy to understand what the exam was asking, but the next one...not so much. The test started throwing errors on the third question and I now have to call with an incident report to reschedule, so I may be jumping to conclusions, but I'm worried that they have changed the format in which case, I'm not prepared like I thought I was.

Please somebody, quell my fears!

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Comments

Darril

Sorry to hear you had problems with the test and have to reschedule.

CompTIA has said they will be adding performance based questions to the Network+ exam in the last quarter of this year (October, November, or December 2012) so that is what you are likely seeing. You can read about performance based questions here: CompTIA Performance Based Testing

Don't violate the NDA, but can you give any insight into the simulations you saw?

powder21

First off, thanks for the link! From what I saw on that page and what I read in another post here, it would appear that the entire format of the test has not been changed, and only some questions have been moved to the "performance-based" format. Since I only got through a few questions, I thought that's what ALL the questions were going to be.

Having a few of these new questions is fine, but I think they really need to do a lot better with the layout/format of their "simulations" (based on what I saw) before they try adding too many. That's not to say that all performance-based questions on all tests will be bad. What I saw on that link you posted seemed perfectly reasonable, but that's not what I saw yesterday. I don't want to be too specific as I'm not sure what would violate the NDA. Two of the questions added nothing to the experience but fluff and fancy colors. The only "task" being performed had nothing to do with any real-world task. The other one was the "simulated environment" and that one was the one that didn't work (though the first two threw errors as well after submitting the answer). However, even if functioning normally, it did not seem to me that the task they wanted performed would be performed in the same manner in practical application. So again, could have accomplished the same goal with a multiple choice scenario, with the only difference being that the simulation leaves nothing to choose from and is much more awkward with simulated interfaces that don't match what I've seen in my real-world experience.

That's what had me the most frustrated. I found myself awkwardly focused on deciphering their "environment" more than finding the correct answer. Who knows though? When I take an exam that works, maybe I'll have a better experience.

biggish

I just finished taking the exam. It was mostly simulation. I was not prepared for all that many simulation questions at all. Some were even difficult to understand

olaHalo

biggish wrote: »

I just finished taking the exam. It was mostly simulation. I was not prepared for all that many simulation questions at all. Some were even difficult to understand

did you pass the test?

biggish

Yes I did

N2IT

Gratz on the pass!

Darril

Congrats on the pass biggish.

That is surprising that the exam was 'mostly simulation." I'm fairly certain that's not what people taking the A+ exam are seeing.

biggish

Thanks Darril

powder21

I just got my exam rescheduled for tomorrow so I will post back with my thoughts on the new questions. Hopefully everything works correctly this time.

nosoup4u

Good luck then!

Tuningislife

Mine only had 2 Simulation questions. The first one made no sense, the second one was easy. The third question was putting stuff in order. The rest of the 87 questions were multiple choice.

powder21

So I finished taking the exam today (passed, yay!). So with everything working right, I'm still left with the same impressions. Luckily, this one had less interactive questions. First one was the fluff and fancy colors again, easy. The second was an idiotically presented simulation that made no sense. It's interesting, because this simulation was even worse than the one I saw when the test wasn't working properly. It's just completely awkward and does not seem to "simulate" any actual environment. I'm really put off by it because if CompTIA plans on using this new format in later exams, then they really need to hire some new people to put the simulations together or my next CompTIA exam, if the whole format has been changed to these new simulations, will be my last.

Darril

Congrats on the pass powder21. Good luck with your next adventure.

Vegas

It's still multi choice

asoft

CompTIA introduced simulation type questions for Network+ exam. The intention is basically to test whether the candidate has hands-on experience in configuring or troubleshooting a small network. Though initially the questions are simple, these are likely to be replaced with more practical simulations. The pattern is more in line with that of CCNA, though at different level of difficulty. Has anybody tried CertExams.com Network+ LabSim?