new style questions beginning 2014

megahz

Hi,

i am new to the forum so hi everybody and thanks for the valuable information.

I have some questions for you. While reading the official isc2 Candidate Information Bulletin i've read that beginning 2014 isc2 will introduce the new style questions "Drag & Drop" and "Hotspot".

There's also a tutorial here: http://www.isc2.org/New-CISSP-Exam

Does anybody have any more information?

Thanks.

JDMurray

It's probably the same CBT GUIs that CompTIA, Cisco, and Microsoft are already using on their exams.

sigsoldier

Very interesting....Thanks for posting!

JDMurray

(ISC)2 yanked that URL and this one too. Even the Goggle cache of the page is gone. Maybe the news was prematurely released.

j.petrov

Drop and Hotspot CISSP Questions

Beginning in 2014, (ISC)²® will introduce new innovative Drag & Drop and Hotspot in its flagship CISSP certification examination. Innovative question types provide several benefits over simple four-option multiple choice items. Benefits of the new CISSP questions include:

Measures knowledge at higher cognitive levels
Measures a broader range of skills
Provides more realistic simulation of practice in the field
Provides opportunities for broader content coverage than may be possible with multiple choice questions

The link within the PDF that would have shown examples is not working, but based on when this doc was created this has been in the works for a while...

Here is the link: (pg 32)
https://www.isc2.org/uploadedFiles/%28ISC%292_Public_Content/Exam_Outlines/CISSP-CIB.pdf

cyberguypr

Innovative? Yeah right!

megahz

so i guess isc2 is aiming to make the exam tougher with these new style questions?

JDMurray

Remember that the (ISC)2 is very new at computer-based testing (when compared to other IT cert vendors) and does things very slowly and carefully. When they speak of "new" and "innovative" they are likely speaking mostly within the context of their own services and products.

megahz

yes that's understood. I am really worried how hard the exam will become with the new style of questions..

kalkan999

My suggestion to you if you're concerned about this type of question/answer drag and drop is to take a MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) certification to prep you. There are a lot of drag and drop items, especially with Excel. Other than that, I can't give you a lot of insight. if I had to venture a 'guess' on how it might be? I'd say maybe they'd have a network diagram and they ask you a question about maybe the inner firewall location, or where the web e-mail server should go (DMZ). If I were a betting man, I'd venture that they might show the Kerberos or SSL process, and you drag and drop where the correct item should go. Again, these are all just guesses, and in NO WAY REFLECT the test as it is now, so I don't think I am breaking any rules by offering a supposition versus fact or their current test format.

acomo

yeah that worries me too but i guess it will not make the exam harder.

TechGuy215

Curious if the 250 questions will drop to a lesser value, considering drag and drop and hotspot can take a little bit longer to answer vs. the standard multiple choice format currently in use.

Joel Goldstein

JDMurray wrote: »

(ISC)2 yanked that URL and this one too. Even the Goggle cache of the page is gone. Maybe the news was prematurely released.

Here is an active URL with more information about the drag and drop format questions.

vasyvasy

That's not so nice of ISC2... how can you make such a huge change and not give a timeframe?
They should state that "the new exam format will be effective starting 6 months from now", at the very least

These dinosaurs are just an inch away from me not taking any exam from them, even if I've invested time and money in studying for their bull* topics. I'm quite fed up with their exam prices, experience requirements, enormous CPE count and ambiguous questions

!nf0s3cure

You are not alone. ISC2 is not pulling any positives at the moment. Other certifications have much more managed processes, better support and planning in place. Not sure where ISC2 is heading with its current direction!

vasyvasy

I'm sure they are facing some decrease in the numbers of exam takers... that's exactly what they want you to do:

"Hey everybody, we plan to change the exam altogether sooooon... so please register for the exam today, or else you will be crucified with the new question battery, give us money now, now, now..."

beads

I don't see how answering this type of question would be any more or less difficult. Maybe easier as once you figure out what is being asked the rest should fall right into place. Of course I am thinking like comparing TCP vs OSI stack questions would be a natural fit here. Or how about incident handling/response questions where you have a very definite path to resolving the problem: P-I-C-R-E-LL comes to mind quite readily. If you don't know the acronym you've probably never done an incident or forensics but then again... Why have any experience before taking the exam?

Personally, I don't see this type of questioning as being more difficult just different from the standard questioning. Certainly better than the pick the tallest dwarf from the line up questions (least bad answer) though it could be done with this style as well, if someone were being truly evil with the question. Though I doubt it. People would immediately howl over the idea.

Last thought here is that the (ISC)2 loves to vet questions over time to see how well people do first. This will also be the case here so those brave souls who first see these questions are most likely not going to be graded against the remainder of the test. I just took the HCISPP shortly after release and I could see test questions on that exam that were obviously test questions and not on a syllabus. Much the same here. Relax - its not that big of a deal. These questions may end up being easier to answer as I eluded to above. Time will tell.

- B Eads

Joel Goldstein

The current time frame for the new questions is Q1 2014. There may be situations beyond (ISC)2's control related to our testing vendor that pushes this date further out in Q1 2014, hence the vague time frame. For what it's worth, the new item types are not too much different from multiple choice items.

If you would like to receive more information about the new CISSP exam questions, e-mail advanceitems[AT]isc2.org. If you would like to express your opinion about the changes, contact Member Support at 866-331-4722 ext. 4 or at MemberSupport[AT]isc2.org.

beads

@Joel Goldstein;

Yeah, I see nothing wrong or formidable here with this new question and answer style. Just a natural progression in presenting the exam. Once the question starts to fall in line the questions generally become easier not more difficult. It also gives more nuance and gray to questions, meaning more to grade with or without. So that's good a well.

As I stated above I can see a number of places this type of question could be used to the benefit of the exam taker and pointed out two viable and likely ways the exam could be written to test one's knowledge as examples. Could probably come up with another half dozen more without thinking too hard but good exam questions nonetheless. Ahhh... I can think of the CPEs already. Thanks for the idea! Woot!

- B Eads

veritas_libertas

Interesting. I have a few years to go before I am eligible to get the CISSP. The bugs should be hammered out by then...

JDMurray

We have all done drag-n-drop items for years in Cisco and Microsoft exams, and drag-n-drop and hotspot items in the CompTIA CASP exam too. We also do them in CBT practice exams. The drag-n-drop and hotspot exam item concept is therefore very familiar to most of us. So what are "we" afraid of?

moyondizvo

"We" are afraid of change......

In all seriousness though, the drag and drop shouldn't be that hard.

beads

It does or should give the exam taker MORE not LESS opportunity to score points versus an all or nothing question.

- B Eads

loun80

vasyvasy wrote: »

That's not so nice of ISC2... how can you make such a huge change and not give a timeframe?
They should state that "the new exam format will be effective starting 6 months from now", at the very least

These dinosaurs are just an inch away from me not taking any exam from them, even if I've invested time and money in studying for their bull* topics. I'm quite fed up with their exam prices, experience requirements, enormous CPE count and ambiguous questions

I agree 100%! If I don't pass my SSCP in January, I'll make sure I don't ever take an (ISC)2 exam ever again!

veritas_libertas

That's just a little extreme...

vasyvasy

I disagree with you agreeing with me

Should you fail the SSCP exam, it may be because you didn't study enough... the format of the questions is not that important after all
Just keep calm, study hard and you will pass for sure

MSP-IT

veritas_libertas wrote: »

That's just a little extreme...

Shh...

It it'll make the certification more value for the rest of us.
Look, if some people are too lazy, or... whatever, and don't want to take the mental challenge that is the CISSP, it will only make the certification more valuable. I'm all for making it a little less common among IT professionals, as it seems to have become a little bit diluted over the past few years.

loun80

Has anyone read the SSCP official guide? In the "Malicious Code" section, a bunch of specific known viruses are mentioned and in the practice exam, there are questions about specific viruses. Are we actually supposed to know about past viruses, their names and characteristics for the SSCP exam? That's a bit extreme. What's weird is that none of that content is in the AIO. In fact, a lot of content in the official guide is not in the AIO however, some people claim they only used the AIO to pass the exam. Content from the two books are very different. This is so misleading.

JDMurray

MSP-IT wrote: »

I'm all for making it a little less common among IT professionals, as it seems to have become a little bit diluted over the past few years.

Over 90,000 people are currently CISSP-certified, while there are just under 1600 people with the SSCP. How much more uncommon do you want it?

Humbe

JDMurray wrote: »

Over 90,000 people are currently CISSP-certified, while there are just under 1600 people with the SSCP. How much more uncommon do you want it?

Over 90,000 already?!

2 million mark approaching sooner than expected!