[TriLUG] Red Hat System Admin class

Joseph Mack NA3T jmack at wm7d.net
Tue Nov 6 08:45:02 EST 2007


On Mon, 5 Nov 2007, Marty Ferguson wrote:

> If the contents of the exam were openly discussed and 
> posted on blogs, the value of the certification would 
> become significantly debased

This is a larger problem. Do you give students previous 
exams to help them learn the material or do you let them 
figure it out on their own? AFAIK there are no studies to 
show which is best and you don't attempt to justify the 
above statement. There are not even agreed upon criteria to 
assess which of these two paths are the best - do you look 
at the abilities of the person 1yr later, 10yrs later? Do 
you give them another exam in a year? If so are the contents 
secret/known?

It has been my experience that exams and courses are given 
to make money for the institution concerned. They are not to 
educate the student, who is trapped by the requirement for 
an easily checked piece of paper. This makes life easier for 
employers, who seem to have no way to check the applicant's 
education, but who can check a piece of paper. I have a PhD 
and have worked at various esteemed research institutions. 
Not once have I been asked by a potential employer to tell 
me the smartest thing I've ever done. They want to know 
which journals I've published in and how much grant money 
I've brought in.

Whenever I see a course where past exams and materials are 
hidden, I assume that the course exists to make money for 
the institution and not to educate the students. It's hard 
for me to see how a student can be in an optimal learning 
situation when access to information is blocked. It tells me 
that the instructor is not far enough ahead of the students 
to think of new questions, or that the material is 
sufficiently routine that no new questions/test situations 
are possible.

> There is no doubt in my mind that the requirement of 
> confidentiality is of utmost importance in maintaining the 
> credibility of the certification and the social contract 
> between RHCE's, employers, and Red Hat Software.

I'm sure this is true. But your statements are in the guise 
of talking about the best training for the student, when in 
fact you're talking about the best outcome for RH.

Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
jmack (at) wm7d (dot) net - azimuthal equidistant map
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