Today marks the passing of my first Apple certification exam. I’ve gone the Novell and Microsoft routes in the past and witnessed how the tests have evolved. What have I learned?

Back in the day Novell used “adaptive” tests where the more questions you answered correctly the fewer asked. In contrast, if you answered incorrectly the next question was easier and you needed to answer more of them. It was a fine day when I’d walk out with a passing grade from 12 questions.

Eventually people realized that rote memorization of the study guide was enough to pass so Microsoft upped the ante. They changed the question methodology to require first-hand knowledge of the software. Knowing the book inside and out meant nothing to solve the word problems thrown at you. Fortunately, most of Microsoft’s questions were “industry accurate” meaning they weren’t based on “how Microsoft (but no one else) does it.”

Apple has taken the middle-ground. The tests aren’t adaptive and there are no complex word problems. Can you read a study guide from PeachPit Press and pass? No. The study guide didn’t cover some of the questions asked in my exam making memorization pointless. However, a balance of hands-on experience and book-reading should get you a passing grade. Hint: whatever topic you feel weak in, get your hands dirty using it on the Mac before taking the test.

Today’s test was in the Technician track and my direction from here is Pro certification. It’ll be interesting to see how those tests differ.

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• The Apple Product Cycle

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