Pearsonvue test center? You got one?

[Hemlock]

Anyone here work for an organization that also runs a pearsonvue test center?
Does your public test center get paid for running exams?
IIRC, private test centers do not get paid, but public ones should. Is that still the case?
Thanks!

 

[Tess Sluijter]

The school I teach at has its own PearsonVue testing center, which definitely is used by the general public. As far as I know they are indeed paid for the effort. No clue how much; that'd be something you'd have to figure out via PV.

 

[Mark Anthony Germanos]

On a similar note, are you recommending your students take the test at a testing site, or remotely with a sanitized environment?

 

[Hemlock]

I haven't experienced personally the online remote testing, but I recommend to our students to write at a test center.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

On a similar note, are you recommending your students take the test at a testing site, or remotely with a sanitized environment?

I recommend neither, I recommend that they figure out what's best for them and their circumstances and preferences.

 

[Gregory Childers]

I take all my CompTIA exams online. The only exams that I take at a testing center are ISC2 exams because they do not do online testing.

Online is so much easier. The nearest testing center is ten miles away and they only test M-Th from 8:00 AM until 1;00 PM. With OnVue, I can schedule 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I've taken exams on weekends, nights, and early mornings. Plus, there's no traffic from my kitchen to my home office.

 

[Rick Butler]

Our college has an on-prem PearsonVUE testing center for testing - not just for our computer programs, but for our AMT medical programs as well. Our test center is not available to the public, meaning you can't schedule through the web for our site - you have to contact our librarian who would set you up. Since we put students through testing in waves, it's just easier to run an eight seat center. We've had it in place since 2016.

Private test centers do get a small cut of testing fees. Like 5-10 bucks per candidate, but it's not a defined revenue stream for us. We do it in conjunction with our programs. One downside is that I can't take beta exams at the private center - since beta exams are scheduled online, and we can't schedule our private center online, well, I have to go to a public center for beta testing (I don't do a bunch of it, but when I do...)

I am not a fan of OnVUE. With the horror stories I've heard, I'm just more comfortable going to a test center. My brain seems to engage better when I have to go somewhere. I, myself, don't typically test at our school - as I don't like taking up a seat for a student - so I go elsewhere. I know OnVUE got its wind during the Coronapocalypse - but it's just never been my thing.

I also have a great story:

Turns out, about a week before I was supposed to do the Server+ TTT for 005, @Stephen Schneiter asked me to take the beta. Well, I had to go to a nearby public site for that - for the reasons addressed above. Well, the pandemic hit the day before my testing date and I couldn't get tested. It cost me a bottle of my homemade mead to the test center owner for her to quietly open the test center (despite Pearson 'highly recommending' everyone close down), to get my Beta done. The Test Center Owner and I still laugh about it to this day, which is one reason why I keep coming back - they became good friends of mine.

/r

 

[D Brown]

I haven't experienced personally the online remote testing, but I recommend to our students to write at a test center.

I have done online testing and recommend against it. Especially for a first test.

 

[Bruce Weaver]

I have done online testing and recommend against it. Especially for a first test.

I very much agree, home testing, while convenient comes with a lot of other potential issues/headaches that just are not worth it if you have another option.

 

[Gregory Childers]

I have found that the vast majority of issues with home testing are due to testers NOT reading and following the technical instructions or the room setup requirements.

If you can't figure out how to troubleshoot basic stuff like this, you're not ready for the test. I've taken dozens of online exams with zero problems.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

I have found that the vast majority of issues with home testing are due to testers NOT reading and following the technical instructions or the room setup requirements.

If you can't figure out how to troubleshoot basic stuff like this, you're not ready for the test. I've taken dozens of online exams with zero problems.

Based on my years on r/comptia, I'd say the top 5 are:

1. Test-takers not reading and following the technical instructions or rules.
2. PearsonVue's CDN for video streaming, which does not span the globe effectively.
3. The quality of PearsonVue's OnVue software, which leads to crashes, hangs and slow performance.
4. Proctors maliciously or un-expertly handling their responsibilities.
5. Test-takers misinterpreting timezones and scheduling.

Your final sentence, the addition about test-takers personal qualities, I find too judgmental. Students can influence #1, but not the other four.

 

[VICTOR CHIDI OKPURUKA]

Based on my years on r/comptia, I'd say the top 5 are:

1. Test-takers not reading and following the technical instructions or rules.
2. PearsonVue's CDN for video streaming, which does not span the globe effectively.
3. The quality of PearsonVue's OnVue software, which leads to crashes, hangs and slow performance.
4. Proctors maliciously or un-expertly handling their responsibilities.
5. Test-takers misinterpreting timezones and scheduling.

Your final sentence, the addition about test-takers personal qualities, I find too judgmental. Students can influence #1, but not the other four.

Very true @Tess Sluijter I have had to take exams both at test centers and at times through OnVue.

The quality of PearsonVue's Onvue software can be lacking in terms of quality.

with respect to students - seen students misinterpreting time zones and at the end of the day missing exams.

One good thing PearsonVue is the ability to have as much rescheduling allowed if you appeal and provide enough evidence of some of these glitches which is a huge plus.