PARTING WORDS
UNDOUBLE
It’s time for CompTIA to
fold the separate halves
of its A+ certification exam
into a unified wholeompTIA’s A+ certification
for professional computer
technicians has been part
of the IT industry landscape for more
than 25 years. The A+ accounts for half
of all CompTIA certifications award-
ed in the association’s long history.
Five years ago, CompTIA awarded its
one-millionth A+ certification, making
it one of the most popular IT creden-
tials in the world.
Earlier this year, CompTIA did a
refresh of both A+ certification exams,
releasing exams 220-1001 and 220-
- This latest refresh was just one
of several revisions CompTIA has
performed on the A+ exams during
their lifespan. Every exam refresh
gives CompTIA and its subject matter
experts the opportunity to reconfigure
the exams so that outdated material is
removed, and more current content is
added.
There is an outstanding issue, how-
ever, that directly pertains to Comp-
TIA’s latest revision of its flagship
credential. The problem boils down to
a single question: Should the A+ cer-
tification still consist of two separate
exams? Let’s take a closer look at this
question, and consider the argument
that it’s time for CompTIA to offer a
single unified A+ exam.Hardware and software testsThe history of the A+ certification
is a story of two different exams: one
exam focused on computer hardware,
and a second exam based on comput-
er software. In order to be awarded
an A+ certification, candidates have
always had to pass both exams; there
has never been any sort of recognition
for passing only one of the A+ exams.When CompTIA refreshes the A+
exams, it decides what existing exam
content still belongs, what content
should be added, and what content
should be removed. These decisions
have historically been made based on
a given technology’s level of industry
adoption.
For example, consider how you
could sort hardware and software into
one of three categories:
Aged/Discontinued: Hardware and
software which is no longer used or is
on its way out
Current: Hardware and software
implemented in a majority of current
IT environments
Emerging: Hardware and software
that has just started to make inroads in
the industry
These are obviously very broad
categories with sub-levels existing
within each of them. The point hereC
Aaron Axline is a freelance technology
writer and knowledge management
specialist based in Edmonton, Canada.
His work has appeared in titles from Que
Publishing, and on many tech blogs and
websites. His professional writing site is
AaronAxline.blogspot.ca.BY AARON AXLINE
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