I have the same "problem" in germany. I do not think it makes the certs any easier and I would think a non-native speaker would get a lower score if he/she had to spend more time understanding basic nuances of english(that to be truthful many native speakers cannot seem to fathom either). I am not a linguist or teacher so this is just a guess. I assume that the 30 minute figure was probably added just to try to remove the bias but I have friends from non-us english speaking countries who also have little problems with some of the case studies etc. If someone really didnt want the time they could just set themselves a limit and walk out at 30 mins until end but I assume that most people who know the material and can read reasonably quickly will finish the test well within the time limits. It would probably be very hard for Vue or Prometric to change the policy and I do not think there would be much benefit to them or the students only an added cost. stuart -----Urspr|ngliche Nachricht----- Von: ElephantChild [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Gesendet am: Monday, June 11, 2001 4:33 PM An: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Betreff: Semi-RANT: extended exams [7:7871] This is a copy of a message I sent to cisco training about hidden dangers of extended exams. Thoughtful comments and answering rants are equally welcome. No flames, please. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: ElephantChild To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2001 13:51:08 +0200 (CEST) Subject: CSIDS 2.0 beta: can I have the unextended version? Organization: (noun) 1. the act or process of organizing. 2. the state of being organized. 3. a body of persons acting together for some purpose. On June 1st, I registered to take 9E1-572, the CSIDS 2.0 beta. I'm scheduled to take it on June 14 at a VUE testing center in France. The confirmation message I received stated that the test time was extended by 30 minutes to accomodate me as a "non-native English speaker living in (a) non-English-speaking country", when I didn't request any such accomodation. That, IMO, carries 3 disturbing assumptions: 1- That no native English speaker would live outside an English-speaking country. 2- That ESL fluency is somehow inferior to native fluency, and not enough to handle technical material on a subject I should know well at the same rate as a native speaker would, or at a rate close enough not to need extra time. 3- That I want the extension at all. I raised that issue with VUE, and I was eventually told that I needed to get approval from cisco training before VUE, or anyone, would let me take the unextended version. If you follow discussions among cisco certified professionals, you probably noticed that a recurring theme is the perception that making any certification too easy lowers the worth of all certifications for those who hold them, are preparing for them, or are contemplating passing them. Granted, some candidates, maybe most of them, know the subject well enough, but have trouble with English and need the extra time to understand the questions and the possible answers. For them, the extra time may help keep the exam more or less as difficult as the unextended exam is for a candidate fluent in English. However, for a fluent English speaker (whether native or not), that's not needed, and forcing me to take an extended version when I don't need it is lowering its worth for all candidates worldwide. This strikes me as especially important for a beta exam, as you're still trying to set the difficulty and evaluate individual questions for clarity, accuracy, and relevance. I'm not sure how many worldwide will be taking that exam, and what share of them got the extended version. It seems to me, though, that the less unsure you are how much of the score comes from domain knowledge and how much from English fluency (or the lack of either), the better for the released exam. I respectfully request that you make extended exams an option, available to the candidates who request them, and not force them on candidates who neither want nor need them. I also request that you let candidates registered for the beta who didn't take it already choose which version they want to take, and inform them quickly if you decide to grant my request. Thanks for listening. -- "Someone approached me and asked me to teach a javascript course. I was about to decline, saying that my complete ignorance of the subject made me unsuitable, then I thought again, that maybe it doesn't, as driving people away from it is a desirable outcome." --Me Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=7992&t=7871 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
AW: Semi-RANT: extended exams [7:7871]
Laubstein, Stuart(TESSAG, SU-IT) Mon, 11 Jun 2001 10:32:23 -0700
