Chapter 1: The 2012 A+ Exams

In This Chapter

Understanding A+ Certification and its benefits

Looking at the exams and their objectives

Preparing for the exams

Arranging to take the exams

Test day

So, you are interested in taking the CompTIA A+ Certification exams? This chapter introduces you to the exams and gives you a good idea of what you can expect when you go to take them. Knowing what to expect in regard to the exam procedures and format will remove that uncertainty, which can weigh on your mind. Read through the procedures here; then you will be able to focus on the exam facts, which will help you breeze through the exam.

I hope that this chapter helps remove some of that normal fear of the unknown by giving you information about the actual test-taking process. This chapter will also help you develop good test-taking skills.

CompTIA A+ Certification and Why You Need It

The benefit of the CompTIA A+ Certification is that it is proof that you know and have validated the hardware and software knowledge necessary to troubleshoot and repair computers. The CompTIA A+ Certification can be presented to employers and clients alike as proof of your competency and skill in this area. This certification is valid for three years from the day that you attain the certification, after which time you must renew by taking the newest version of the exam.

Formed in 1982, CompTIA was originally named the Association of Better Computer Dealers. It is a company focused on providing research, networking, and partnering opportunities to its 19,000 members in 100 countries. In 1993, in response to the need for vendor-neutral, entry-level PC certification, the company created the A+ Certification.

Prior to CompTIA creating the A+ Certification, there were many places where a person could get hardware and software certifications. However, such training was often very expensive, difficult to get, and not designed for accessibility for most people. Microsoft, Novell, IBM, and other software companies offered software certifications, but these were specifically focused on teaching high-level support skills for these products, were difficult for average users or support people to attain, and lacked relevance for most day-to-day work.

IBM, HP, Compaq, SUN, and other hardware companies offered hardware repair and maintenance certifications, but again, these were specifically focused on their hardware — and more on the peculiarities of their own platforms, and not always covering the basics of configuration and maintenance. CompTIA stepped in to fill the gap that a majority of users fell into, which is a hardware and software neutral certification that covered all the basics required by a support person. This certification can then be followed by vendor-based certifications, if desired, but the A+ Certification by itself proves a firm grasp of the basics.

An A+ Certification gives employers confidence that existing employees or new recruits have a level of knowledge with which they can do their jobs efficiently. It also gives employers a yardstick against which recruits and employees can be measured. And an A+ Certification also allows clients to rest assured that the person they hire to fix their computers has the knowledge to do so without blowing up equipment or deleting valuable data. This provides clients with peace of mind and increases repeat business. In the end, with the CompTIA A+ Certification on your side, you have more opportunities open to you in your career path.

Checking Out the Exams and Their Objectives

You have to take two exams to get your CompTIA A+ Certification. Both exams are required. The first required exam is the CompTIA A+ Exam (220-801), which focuses on the hardware aspects of computer repair. The second required exam is the CompTIA A+ Exam (220-802), which focuses on configuring and troubleshooting the software aspects of a system in a corporate network environment.

Revised exams for CompTIA A+ were released in 2012. You have 90 minutes to complete each exam; Table 1-1 contains the number of questions and passing score for each exam. CompTIA is releasing the exams as linear format exams — standard timed exams — taken on a computer. After CompTIA gathers grading statistics, it might re-release the exams as adaptive exams (what CompTIA has done in the past), but there are no current plans by CompTIA to do so. If the exam you take is adaptive, these limits will change. In this adaptive exam, you will be asked a minimal number of questions (usually about 15), and then asked additional questions based on any incorrect answers. The exam adapts to your wrong answers by choosing additional questions for you from the area where you are weaker.

Table 1-1 A+ Exam Information

Exam	Number of Questions	Minimum Passing Score
A+ Exam (220-801)	100	675
A+ Exam (220-802)	90	700

If you are taking an adaptive exam, you will pass or fail based on the number of wrong answers you get. For instance, if on a standard, timed exam, you are asked 50 questions and you need a score of 75% to pass, you need 38 correct answers. For the same exam in an adaptive form, however, you would fail if you get 13 questions wrong. As soon as you get to that level, your test would be over, even if you were asked only 13 questions because after that point, it is then statistically impossible for you to pass. After an initial set of questions, if you have few enough wrong answers, you will pass.

The CompTIA A+ Exam 220-801

The CompTIA A+ Exam (220-801) covers the basics of computer hardware, network hardware, and security topics. Table 1-2 provides a breakdown of the exam areas that are covered on the CompTIA A+ 220-801 Exam. This exam puts heavy emphasis on personal computer components and hardware.

Table 1-2 CompTIA A+ Essentials Exam (220-801)

Domain	Percentage of Examination
1.0 PC Hardware	40%
2.0 Networking	27%
3.0 Laptops	11%
4.0 Printers	11%
5.0 Operational Procedure	11%

The CompTIA A+ Exam 220-802

In addition to the CompTIA A+ Exam 220-801, you have to take a second exam. This exam is the CompTIA A+ Exam 220-802, which is designed to measure skills required to maintain and troubleshoot operating systems and mobile devices. The breakdown of the exam components is covered in Table 1-3. Based on the domain breakdown, this exam has the widest breadth of topics for a well-rounded IT.

Table 1-3 CompTIA A+ Exam (220-802)

Domain	Percentage of Examination
1.0 Operating Systems	33%
2.0 Security	22%
3.0 Mobile Devices	9%
4.0 Troubleshooting	36%

Using This Book to Prepare for the Exams

Exams are stressful events for most people, but if you are well prepared, your stress level should be much lower. If you read and understand the material in this book, you should have no problem with any of the exams. The review questions, sample exams, and exam test engine on the companion CD are all designed to prepare you for what lies ahead. This book takes a holistic approach to studying for the exams. Review all the material found here, and then you will be prepared to go and take either of your exams you choose because they can be taken in either order. I recommend taking both of your exams in a short timeframe to avoid forgetting the information you have learned.

Examine the objectives for each chapter before diving into the content so that you can use them as a guide to which sections you might need to focus on. After thoroughly reading the content of the chapter, attempt the Prep Test section at the end of the chapter. If you do poorly on the Prep Test, go back to the objectives to see where you need more effort. When you re-read the chapter sections, try to examine the content from another viewpoint to help you associate the information with the questions and the objectives. For example, a differing viewpoint might be that of a computer user, a help desk employee, or a desktop support technician. After you can complete the Prep Test in each chapter with an 85% or better score, move on to attempt the exams on the companion website. If you are unable to achieve a mark of 85% or better, you should continue to review the areas in which you are weak.

Making Arrangements to Take the Exams

The A+ Certification exams can be scheduled at Pearson VUE or Prometric testing centers. For more information about scheduling your exam, check the CompTIA A+ Certification page on CompTIA’s Web site at

http://certification.comptia.org/a/default.aspx

The cost to take the A+ exams is $168 (US) per exam while CompTIA members will receive a discount. To become a CompTIA member, you must hold a valid CompTIA certification and pay a membership fee. If you are reading this book, you probably do not have your A+ Certification, but you might hold a Network+, Linux+, or some other CompTIA certification. If so, you can become a CompTIA member. Details on this process can be found on CompTIA’s IT Pro Web site at

http://itpro.comptia.org/default.aspx

The Day the Earth Stood Still: Exam Day

Knowing what to expect on the day of the exam can take some of the pressure off of you. The following sections look at the testing process.

Arriving at the exam location

Get to the exam location early on the day of the exam. You should arrive at the testing center 15 to 30 minutes before the exam starts. This keeps you from being rushed and gives you some temporal elbow room in case there are any delays. It is also not so long that you will have time to sit and stew about the exam. Get there, get into a relaxed frame of mind, and get into the exam.

When you get to the test site, before you sign in, take a few minutes to get accustomed to the testing center. Get a small drink of water. Use the restroom if you need to. The test will be 90 minutes, so you should be able to last that long before another break. You might want to check the center’s policy for bringing a beverage with you; some centers will allow it, and others will not.

Now relax. Getting to the exam site early gives you this privilege. You didn’t show up early just to stew and make yourself more nervous.

If you feel prepared and are ready to go, you might want to see whether you can start the test early. As long as a testing seat is available, this is usually not a problem. When signing in, you will usually need two pieces of ID, with at least one of them being a photo ID. After signing in, you are taken to the testing room.

You will not be able to take anything into the testing room. You will not be allowed electronics, paper, and so on. They will provide you with something to write with and to write on, which they will take back at the end of test.

Taking the exam

In the testing room, and depending on the size of the testing center, there will usually be as many as eight computers set up. Each computer represents a testing seat.

Because the exam consists of multiple-choice questions, take it slow — or at least pace yourself. Trying to complete the questions too quickly will no doubt lead you to errors. When you are about to start the exam, you will see onscreen how many questions there will be, and how long you have to complete the exam. Be sure to read the onscreen exam instructions at the start of the exam; they do change from time to time.

Based on the number of questions and your exam time, figure out how long you can spend on each question. On average, you have slightly more than one minute per question. Take your time, but be aware of your time for the exam overall. Think of it this way: When you have completed 25% of the exam, you should have used only 25% of your allotted time.

Read the entire question and try to decide what the answer should be before looking at the answer choices. In most cases, you will find a few key words that are designed to remove any ambiguity in the question, as well as a few distracters and useless information designed to throw you off. If you do not notice these key words, the question will seem vague. If this is the case, re-read the question and look for the key words. Exam questions are written by many authors, so the style of writing for each question could differ.

Don’t overcomplicate the questions by reading too much into them. Besides the key words and the distracters, the question should be straightforward. In some cases, the question might ask for the best choice, and more than one answer might seem correct. Choose the one that is best — the quickest, most likely to succeed, least likely to cause other problems — whatever the question calls for. The best choice is always the right choice.

After identifying the key words and distracters, follow these additional steps:

1. Eliminate choices that are obviously wrong.

Most questions will ask you to choose one of four answers. Some questions will ask you to choose all that apply and have as many as eight choices. You should be able to immediately eliminate at least one choice — perhaps two. Now the odds of choosing the right answer have gotten substantially better. Re-read the question and the remaining choices carefully, and you should be able to locate the correct answer.

2. If you don’t have a clue which of the remaining choices is correct, mark an answer.

On a standard timed exam, you can review your answers. Not answering a question is automatically wrong, so if you at least have an answer, it might be right. You might also find information on other questions in the exam that triggers the correct answers for questions you were not sure of.

3. Make your choice and leave it.

Unless you have information that proves your choice is wrong, your first instinct is usually correct.

The adaptive exam delivers a series of questions to you. If you answer a question incorrectly, you get additional questions in that category. You can’t review or change your answers on the adaptive exams like you can with standard timed exams. Because skipped questions are automatically wrong, with no ability to change them, you must provide an answer to the question before moving to the next question. You are allowed to attempt to answer a finite number of questions (known only by CompTIA) before the test “decides” that you really don’t know what you need to know to pass the test. If you exceed the allowed number of wrong answers (again, known only by CompTIA), the exam ends; you fail. (But that won’t happen to you because you bought this wonderful book!) Currently the A+ Certification exams are not adaptive.

If you get all the initial category questions correct, you can pass the exam in relatively few questions. If you get an initial category question wrong in a category in which you are weak, though, you will find the adaptive format very difficult. You won’t know exactly how many questions you have to answer to complete the exam, so the end of an adaptive exam will always come as a surprise — hopefully, a good one.

If you are taking the nonadaptive exam, you are allowed to mark questions and come back to them later. However, I recommend selecting an answer for every question, even if you are unsure about it, because you might run out of time before you can review previous questions.

Your first choice is usually correct — don’t second-guess your first choice! Change your answer only if you’re absolutely positive it should be changed.

Regardless of which type of exam CompTIA has available for you when you take your exam (adaptive or standard timed), you are given a Pass/Fail mark right on the spot after completing the exam. In addition, you get a report listing how well you did in each domain. If you don’t pass (or even if you do), you can use this report to review the material on which you are still weak.

How does CompTIA set the pass level?

CompTIA uses a scale score to determine the total number of points that each question on the exam will be calculated from. Your final score will be between 100 and 900. In any case, the passing score (not a percentage, due to the scale) varies from one exam to the others. The scale score system allows the number of points assigned to questions to vary between each copy of the exam, which makes it harder for test candidates to compare scores across exams.

CompTIA has a retake policy. If you do not pass on the first attempt, you can take the exam again at any time, but you have to wait at least 30 days before your third or subsequent attempts.