Gregory Childers said:

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.

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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.

Chicago_FJR said:

Tess, please don't insult my integrity in a public forum or otherwise my integrity.

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As Bruce indicated, I was asking for a clarification on the original question, which to my sleep-addled brain read somewhat ambiguously.

We get all kinds of people on CIN, despite CompTIA's best efforts at screening. I don't personally know you, I've never really interacted with you before on these forums, hence why I have no clue about your integrity and dedication. Your post history also didn't give much clues as to those, which is why I asked.

Back to the original topic.

I would absolutely file feature requests or even complaints with the CertMaster content creators about this subject. This product is sold to both schools and trainers, as well as to self-studying individuals. You would expect them to provide an answer key to both instructors and individuals as a teaching and learning aid.

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.

D Brown said:

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

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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.

Chicago_FJR said:

Tess, please don't insult my integrity in a public forum or otherwise my integrity.

I cannot even believe that you would assume I would even be thinking about asking for confidential information. All test takers, especially we instructors, have committed to a statement of ethics not to divulge any portion of the test, discuss it, hint about it, or otherwise convey its contents in any fashion whatsoever.

Please retract the above statement and issue an apology as I am deeply offended and extremely angry.

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From an outsider looking in, it doesn't appear she accused you of anything, just asked a clarifying question.

Chicago_FJR said:

Hello!

My Comptia rep stated there is no official answer key from the company for Security+'s 701 PBQs. Did any of you create your own that I could model from? I was just going to answer each question one-by-one, take screen shots, repeat as needed, to share with my class but I'm hoping there is a better/faster/strong/more efficient approach that has already been done.

Any guidance would be appreciated, thank you!

Patrick Shaughnessy
City Colleges of Chicago
Chicago, IL

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This is exactly what I have done. The result is a Word document with screenshots.

Thank you @Stephen Schneiter, I received my Pentest voucher

Richard Elliott said:

This is great information. Thanks. I would be interested to hear about your overseas experiences if you're willing to share anything.

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I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

TechTrainer11 said:

Well done good luck on your exams

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Thank you very much!

Well done good luck on your exams

I got my Pentest voucher!

Rick Butler said:

See, I could see DataX renewing these two.

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I wish they would. My Data+ is up for renewal in November, and my DataSys+ is up next year.

Rick Butler said:

Meanwhile, not so much here - since CloudNetX is more of an amalgam of cloud and networking. Like a Venn diagram, there's a good amount of material in Cloud+ and Network+ that would not come out in CloudNetX from what I can determine.

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I think there is probably as much overlap between CloudNetX and Net+/Cloud+ as there is in SecurityX and PenTest+/CySA+/Security+.

Tess, please don't insult my integrity in a public forum or otherwise my integrity.

I cannot even believe that you would assume I would even be thinking about asking for confidential information. All test takers, especially we instructors, have committed to a statement of ethics not to divulge any portion of the test, discuss it, hint about it, or otherwise convey its contents in any fashion whatsoever.

Please retract the above statement and issue an apology as I am deeply offended and extremely angry.

My question was fishing to see if you were asking for the actual answer keys for the real exam PBQs

But you've answered it adequately: it's for CertMaster-whatever. It's odd that CertMaster does not include details on how to score their PBQ.

Rick Butler said:

Career College/Tech school, traditional college, and a scant amount of consulting/freelance training and a scanter amount of DoD internal training.

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Thanks. Do you have any observations about the differences between teaching for career tech and college?

Gregory Childers said:

I have worked for training centers and as an independent contract trainer. I have traveled to all 50 of the states in the US, as well as DC and Puerto Rico. I've also traveled to six countries abroad. I've taught for local, state, and federal government. Health care, shipping/logistics, food services, manufacturing, defense companies, universities, community colleges, and school districts. I've taught in almost every industry and in most of the United States.

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This is great information. Thanks. I would be interested to hear about your overseas experiences if you're willing to share anything.

congrats

congrats

I used Transcender back in the day to get my MCSE.

Gregory Childers said:

DataX is an expert level data science certification. It is a higher level than Data+ and DataSys+. It currently does not renew either of these certifications.

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See, I could see DataX renewing these two.

Gregory Childers said:

CloudNetX is an expert level networking certification. It is a higher level than Network+ and Cloud+. It currently does not renew either of these certifications.

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Meanwhile, not so much here - since CloudNetX is more of an amalgam of cloud and networking. Like a Venn diagram, there's a good amount of material in Cloud+ and Network+ that would not come out in CloudNetX from what I can determine.

Gregory Childers said:

I also recommend CyberVista (formerly Kaplan IT, Transcender)

CompTIA Practice Tests, Labs, and Vouchers - CyberVista now N2K

CompTIA exams are world-recognized, vendor-neutral IT certification exams that grace the resumes of today’s most qualified and skilled technology professionals. Since the program’s inception, more than two million individuals have earned a CompTIA certification, paving the way for better job...

certify.cybervista.net

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I used to use CyberVista for a while. Their questions weren't quite certification grade in the years we used them. I would say they are more on par with CompTIA's review questions from Learn and Labs, in terms of difficulty. Good for ramping up, but not so great if trying to evaluate for test readiness.

Gregory Childers said:

The Sybex books from Wiley Publishing are rather solid

https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Complete-Certification-Kit-220-1101/dp/1119863228/

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I always liked Sybex' materials. I'm with Greg here - well put together. I used to review them when I wrote for MCP Magazine/Redmond/1105...wayyyyy back in the day.

I recommend MeasureUp


I also recommend CyberVista (formerly Kaplan IT, Transcender)


You can also try Boson


The Sybex books from Wiley Publishing are rather solid

@Tess Sluijter I am unsure how to respond as in the set-up we use at City Colleges of Chicago, PBQs are in the "CertMaster Learn and CertMaster Labs". In "CertMaster Practice" we have only the five (5) Domains and the Practice Test.

I searched throughout for a similar thread but didn't find one. Hoping this has been discussed, if someone could point in that direction, I would be grateful.

I agree with Rick: there are already many first and third party solutions for practice quizes.

Ranging from mixed quality on Udemy, to solid with prof. Messer and the practice tests from Sybex.

I'm sincerely hoping you're referring to CertMaster Practice or CertMaster Learn.