Good work, Jared.
On Mon, 30 Aug 1999, Jared Buckley wrote:
> Here's an attempt to get a concensus on the topics of Exam Renewal and
> Certificate Recertificatation. I thought briefly about separating them
> out into two different emails, but the two topics seem to be continually
> confused and cross-referenced, so Tom, please accept my apologies in
> advance! ;)
>
> Recertification Consensus:
>
> LPI will not require certificate holders to renew or recertify. LPI
> will keep records of the test(s) passed and the revision date/level(s)
> of the passed test(s). LPI will adopt a written policy advisory policy
> encouraging certificate holders to recertify in these areas where their
> certification is more than two years old.
How about reserving the right for LPI to place a notice on certificates
that we consider certificates current for two years after the date of
issue. And when employers verify cert status with us, we could include a
warning message on "old" certificates saying the same thing.
(Ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised if "end-users" [HR types who make
hiring decisions] pressure us to set an absolute rule about how long certs
are valid. Hiring managers are concered about satisfying
non-discrimination (EEO) laws. Ambiguous policies, like this where we
issue pertetually-valid certs but "advice" that the certs should be
refreshed every 2 years, are preceived as inviting lawsuits. Imagine, as
an example, that someone is denied a job, partially because one of the
other applicants possessed a 4 year old cert. The candidate could make
the case that the hiring manager should not have considered the cert
because (1) it's too old and/or (2) the issuer (we) "advises" that the
cert should be after 2 years. For this reason, hiring managers prefer
absolute policies over advisories.)
> Exam Renewal Consensus:
>
> In order to provide for security, test validity, new material, and to
> incorporate feedback from experience, LPI will update each exam on a two
> year interval.
Let's not tie our hands by adopting an across-the-board policy on this.
How about changing it to "LPI will update each exam when it determines
necessary but at least every two years."
The reasons for this are:
1. All high-stakes exams need to be revised every 2-3 years to remain
valid. (This is true even for exams covering slower-moving fields.)
2. Different content areas change at different rates, so some content
areas might be changing so quickly that more frequent updates are needed.
3. With brand new exams (which ours will be), it is often necessary to
"fine tune" them within a few months of release and put out a revised
version. For example, if we release T1 on September 30, 1999, we should
plan to issue a (slightly) revised T1 in early '00.
So, I suggest that we make this policy a maximum time between revisions.
-Scott
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