Re: AS/400 RPG Certification Test -- MIDRANGE-L

Larry et al:

I don't want to get into another long and involved discussion about problems
with the RPG test only to have that discussion basically ignored.  However,
when I took (and passsed) the certification test at COMMON in San Antonio,
there was one code sample which would not compile.  There was at least one
and I think two questions where more than one answer was correct because of
the way the questions were asked.  There were a number of opinionated questions.

There were also several questions on SEU.  I fail to see how knowing what
the line commands 'XX' and 'LLP' have to do with an RPG certification.
Further, if you happen to be working an an advanced shop which does not use
green screens and uses CODE/400 instead, what do you care about SEU and SDA?
The test is twinax biased.

The basic flaw I see with the test is it tests knowledge, not skill.  I
frankly don't care if you remember the name of the op code which is used to
find the last non-blank character in a field as long as you know where to
look up that information.  I don't care whether you know all of the SFL
keywords in a display file.  You should not be writing the screen or the
program which drives the screen from scratch - you should be cloning
instead.  The test would be far more relevant to a true programming
environment if it were open book.

Please do not misunderstand what I am saying.  There is no question there is
value to having the RPG (and other) certification.  My point is if you pass
the test, you probably have a decent knowledge of RPG.  If you do not pass
the test, it does not in any way, shape, or manner mean you do not have a
decent knowledge of RPG.  I know several people who have not passed who I
would hire in a minute in the $60K+ range.

As a side note, I tried to schedule an SEU/PDM session at the next COMMON
which addressed all of the SEU questions which were asked on the
certification test.  It was not scheduled.

>  Al, (And other complainers...)
>
>  As one who helps write these tests, I must assure you that the
>questions are NOT written to be tricky.  The primary rule for each
>question is that the correct answer stands out to the qualified
>candidate, while all answers appear correct to the unqualified
>candidate.  As much as possible the answers are written so that none can
>be eliminated out of hand, thus improving the odds of guessing a correct
>answer from the remaining ones.
>
>  For example we could not ask: 'What is the preferred method of turning
>off your AS/400?' and have answers like: 'The PWRDWNSYS command, Pull
>the plug, Turn off the circuit breaker, Press the emergency power off
>button outside the computer room.'  Nearly everyone with ANY computer or
>electrical knowledge would rule out the last three answers simply
>because the word 'Preffered' in the question would rule out those
>drastic actions. Additionally the first answer is a system command (even
>if you were AS/400 clueless, it LOOKS like a computer command) and the
>other three are physical actions.  Correctly formatting all the answers
>has the effect (to the unqualified candidate) of making no correct
>answer stand out.
>
>  If a question appears tricky, might I suggest the taker did not know
>the correct answer thus making the question appear to be tricky?
>
>  Larry Bolhuis
>  Arbor Solutions, Inc
>  lbolhui@ibm.net
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>


Charlie Massoglia, Massoglia Technical Consulting, Inc.
PO Box 1065, Okemos, MI 48854, USA
517-676-9700  Fax: 517-676-1006  EMAIL: cmassoglia@voyager.net


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