About the CompTIA tests...is it considered a braindump when...

Sharkbait

My wife took her state license test for insurance last year. We recently got on the subject of braindumps. She said that in her test, it was strictly forbidden to walk into the center, start the test, grab a sheet of scratch paper and just start writing down stats, figures...etc from her short-term memory. Her instructors told her that was considered a braindump and you would be disqualified from the exam.

I'm familiar with a braindump being where you get the no kidding test questions from another source. I know that's a braindump and of course strictly forbidden (even though people do it). Is CompTIA the same way about writing down your notes? If its permissible, I'd like to take a sheet of scratch paper and just write down all of the ports and protocols, and possibly some other tidbits to reference back to.

-Sharkbait-

FloOz

You're given a dry erase board at the start of your test. You can't take anything else other then that into the testing room. Once the test starts you can write whatever you want on that erase board. Also note that the proctor says to not erase anything off of your board because I believe they make a copy of it to go in with your records.
In my CCNA studies I would write down a subnetting chart and maybe some other things that seemed trivial that I might forget.

Darril

Flo0z is on target with his answer. This is acceptable. You can't take it in with you but you are provided with either paper or a dry erase board. You can also ask for an extra one if you want it.

I think "braindump" just means different things in the insurance licensing arena than it does in the IT arena. I don't know, but I would guess that there aren't any sources to get the "no kidding test questions" for an insurance licensing exam so that type of "braindump" is completely foreign to them.

danny069

When I took my Security+ exam, they gave me a sharpie, dry eraser, and dry erase board, I used this to calculate an ALE question. I even had to take my watch off and leave it in the locker...I don't know what the purpose of that was but anyway... I don't know if they instructed me not to erase anything I wrote down, but I remember I left my calculations when handing the dry erase board in. As long as you don't bring anything in written before hand it is okay, they can't say anything if you start writing on the dry erase board strictly from your brain - This is not considered a "brain ****" and should not be disqualified for doing so.

kanecain

When I was given my erase board, I was told that nothing could be written until the test started.

toc

All 3 Comptia exams Ive sat at 3 different venues were all the same Ive been given a white board and dry marker + ear plugs!

You can write as soon as you start the exam, I don't tend too use it but thats just me, If you've memorized something you want to get down straight away then as soon as the exam starts go for it but remember not to spend a lot of time doing this and then reducing the time you have left to do the exam!

I thought I was finally going to get to use the white board on the Network+ for binary, but I had no subnetting.

Lockers have always been provided you are not allowed to take anything in a part from you're clothes (duh) and the key to the locker, Watches are removed because of smart watches.

JDMurray

There are several cert vendors with a written rule stating that the exam candidate is not allowed to write anything on the supplied dry erase sheet until AFTER the exam has started. You are given the sheet to write on, and there is no restriction on what you can write, so start your Great American Novel then and there if you like.

I do not remember ever reading anything about being required to leave all marks on the sheet. I usually erase the dry erase sheet many times during an exam and after I finish. If that weren't allowed then the exam candidate wouldn't be given an eraser. If the testing center or cert vendor wanted all markings to be preserved then paper and pencils with no erasers should be issued instead.

Baack

I remember my proctor telling me she was going to take a picture of the few things I scribbled down for the "record"

JDMurray

If that happened to me, I would finish all but the last exam question as soon as I could and spend the rest of the exam time writing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" over every square inch of the sheet--but that's just the way I am.