CompuServe Messages

Steve.. Great!!! Rigorous discussion over the Certification Exam….cool!! You point regarding the typical student (high school or otherwise) is well taken and acknowledged. We realize that a lot of folks get bonafide hands on time using AutoCAD, but I think you have a misunderstanding of WHAT the certification is all about. As a reference, in the midst of your comments you stated… > There level of expertise may be high, but they lack the PRACTICAL > knowledge gained from day-to-day application of AutoCAD. …careful big fella…PRACTICAL knowledge is a very tough "high bar" to jump. In other words, you're expecting Certification to be a measurement of their "after they've held a job" experience..when in fact the Certification process is really intended to verify that they can perform WHEN they get the job. You see, you've got a potential Catch-22 since you're proposing a person have Practical Knowledge to be certified, but they can't get certified until they are employed (which gives them the practical knowledge. Babble, babble, babble…. actually, the numerous education programs I've seen (and heard of), provide the students with real time application projects to give them the "before you get there" experience of having the actual job. So effectively they do get the Practical experience… Keep in mind that practical experience is actually "what you've done", when Certification means you now have the tools to "go do something". As a closing…you'd asked about the various tracking records from the testing process. We, as a Board, are hopefull to provide the statistics from the testing processes as they become available. Keep in mind that the test has just begun being held in the private sector with the new Electronic process and Drake combination. Early on the stats appear to be proving a stable test, and one that can be used without question (no pun intended) as a tool for certification…We'll be posting those as released by the folks a Drake and approved for release by Autodesk… Hit Return…Bill Elliott