Re: PostgreSQL Certification

Hi,

Thank you for taking the test and giving comments.

> I just took the test. It did for me what I thought it would do, it
> made me read the docs from cover to cover (very quickly, and not the
> appendices) with a firm deadline. If I hadn't scheduled the test, I
> would not have done that. I learned some things.
>
> Here are my comments on the test as an evaluation of someone's
> knowledge of PostgreSQL:
>
> 1. The bar is set a little low at 64%. I would think the passing
> score ought to be a bit higher.

Setting the height of the bar is a difficult problem. We have already
gotten lots of comments both "too high" and "too low":-)

> 2. The coverage of tasks and knowledge as advertised was pretty appropriate.
>
> 3. There were too many typographical errors. However, I was able to
> reason through them, to the extent that the typo would have meant no
> answer was correct, and at least one answer had to be. For example,
> two tables are shown with their data. One has a field "t1" and the
> other has a field "ti". The answers would all have been wrong had
> they not both been t1.

Sorry for this. We will fix them as soon as possible.

> 4. There is too much improper grammar and misuse of terms. This test
> was obviously translated. A native English speaker should have been
> able to clean it up pretty easily, but I assume there is a huge
> question bank, so a few slipped through. What is the feedback loop
> for this? I wish I could have left comments for each question
> indicating how it could have been written better. It didn't bother me
> that much, because I could usually deduce the meaning, but there were
> a couple that it really made difficult. A person who is impatient
> with imprecise grammar might have gotten upset.

Yes, the test was developed in Japanese first, then was translated to
English. If you don't mind, could you please send your comments on the
grammatical problems to pg-certify(at)osb(dot)sra(dot)co(dot)jp so that we could
improve the test?

Also we are looking forward to do double checking the test by a native
English speaker.

> On the issue of "What is certification worth?" I don't have a
> technical degree. All I can put on my resume is what I have
> accomplished on the job, which prospective employers know is not an
> impartial evaluation of my skills. They can call references, but
> again, they may just be trying to get rid of me. The only unequivocal
> assessment of someone's knowledge (at a point in time, anyway) is a
> degree or certification. By themselves they don't say much, but I
> think in conjunction with experience they are seen as a good thing by
> PHBs.
>
> Thanks to SRA for making this happen!

Thank you!
--
Tatsuo Ishii