For the past few months, I have slowly been preparing for taking the Academy of Certified Archivist (ACA)'s exam. I first became aware of it back around 2008 or 2009, and while my experience and education were on the cusp of meeting the requirements for taking the exam, I think the additional four to five years of professional experience and the (impending) second master's help out considerably. Part of me wonders if, after all of this, I would need the ACA certification. My thinking? It can't hurt.
I remember the first time I looked at the sample exam in the ACA's exam study guide. I could grasp the ideas, but it reminded me a lot of taking the GRE--particularly the verbal section. Unlike the quantitative section, where it is easy to discern the best answer (unless it involves finding the potential values or range(s) of a variable--which can take time), the verbal section can be tricky. Often, there are multiple "correct" answers. Again, it's about finding the best answer--and while scholars who designed the test have a firm notion of what is correct and...not-so-correct, I think it's a bit more subjective than that.
I also think that there should be some points for being on the right track versus being utterly wrong altogether. In baseball terms, there's striking out, there's getting a walk, a single, a double, and a home run. Batting average does not factor in walks, which are factored in on-base percentage, and slugging percentage will point out a player's ability to get extra base hits--but it won't necessarily show how often he (or she) gets on base.
The point is, if the designers of exams are going to give multiple "right" answers, but only one best answer, then I believe the other decent answers should not immediately be counted as wrong--because it dismisses the abilities of the test-taker. "Oh, he didn't hit a home run--he just got a double. It's still not good enough."
I just wish that the GRE would weigh the values of each answer. "That one is the best, so it's a whole point. That one is good, but not the best. It shows he/she has a clue, so it's a half point. Those two are pretty bad, actually, so they are not worth anything."
That said, the ACA's certified exam is designed similar to the GRE. It's about the best answer and, again, there are multiple right responses. Looking at blogs and study guides and feedback from other past participants, that seems to be the leading cause of frustration. A question will be difficult and the answer may be ambiguous at best. In a world of gray, creating a sense of black and white (or this is right and that is wrong) when both answers could either be right or wrong is something I question. I am unsure as to what kind of lesson it teaches.
Still, I have faith in the designers of the exam--that the questions are based on scenarios and points (which are addressed in the study guide) that serve as models for how an archivist should respond or react if placed in a similar situation.
That said, times are changing. The profession changes because the material placed in the care of archivists is increasingly switching to digital records. I would imagine that future tests would have to increasingly adapt more questions focusing on electronic records management to ensure that future members of the ACA are adequately prepared for the challenges their profession faces. Naturally, all of this makes me increasingly nervous as the test nears, but this is something to cover in another entry.
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