Flash Card and Practice Test Accuracy A+
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@Adam-Ivory , this is a great observation, and is one that has come up over the years. The pool of questions that independent practice exam providers give can be vast. The CompTIA question pool could be hundreds of questions. These question pools are generated by subject matter experts in those companies and are meant as a way to show exam candidates where to focus their studies on the domains they are weaker in. To provide a comprehensive course for all of the hundreds of questions that could potentially be on an exam would make a course hundreds of hours long. We take the core objectives and teach to those concepts. If you find a question that asks you a topic that you are unsure of, this is an opportunity to research that topic to bring up your chances of passing. If a candidate memorizes only the questions, they have received in a practice test, this can give them a false sense of security. All that would have to be done is reword the question or ask about it from slightly different angle and the question would be missed. The purpose of all practice tests is to gauge an exam candidates' base knowledge, point those candidates to the resources to study those topics. This is the advice we have given to students to help them pass the exam on the first try. If you miss topics, this does not mean you haven't studied or put in the work, it is a chance to round off your training before taking the actual exam. We greatly appreciate the feedback and will always use it as a way to improve the ACI Learning platform.
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@wes-bryan, It's true that you would be unable to teach us on every question variation that exists. That would definitely be an unrealistic expectation.
However, I do have an expectation that words and phrases that are on the flash cards and practice tests, that I paid extra for, should exist in the modules taught.
I chose this service in hopes that I don't have to start teaching myself. You say, "If you find a question that asks you a topic that you are unsure of, this is an opportunity to research that topic". I've gathered all the transcripts for mobile devices section into a single document, and then I searched for the word "push". Not a single time was the word push used. "pull" was found 4 times, but only in the Laptop Hardware and Components lesson that was not related to the term "pull synchronization".
Where am I supposed to research this? Outside of ITProTV? Because you certainly didn't teach it. If the expectation is that I pay you to teach me and then you tell me to go learn from someone else, then what am I paying you for?The terms "pull synchronization" and "push synchronization" are terms that have direct explanations to them. They are just like battery term "memory effects" (which you did teach). If you did not say what memory effects are, then I wouldn't be able to know what that means. Thus the need for more information then was taught. The flash cards, you provided, are telling me phrases and concepts I wasn't taught. The flash cards also only give you the short answer and no depth of what Pull Synchronization is. So now have to go outside of ITProTV, but I shouldn't have to turn to the almighty Google when it's something that should have been taught.
I understand reaching out to different sources if you don't understand a way a person teaches. I got a little lost with Ports and Protocols, so I did go to other sources to try to find alternative ways of explaining ports and protocols. But that's because I knew that was my own shortcomings and after learning I revisited that lesson and was then able to understand.
However, if you were to have never mentioned the words ports or protocols in your lessons, and it showed up on the flash cards. The problem lays with you: the teacher.I understand that you did not create these flash cards (I believe Kaplan did), but this just confirms that outside sources are giving me more information than this course.
If I wanted partial information, I would watch the free A+ videos on YouTube. Professor Messer offers the entire course for free. Because they are free, I cannot have the expectation to get me to certification status without potentially verifying their information and checking multiple sources. I didn't want that. So I went with ITProTV, but don't tell me that I need to do the same thing I could do for free, without you.
So,
What are you going to do about the missing information that is not being taught? -
Adam,
I understand your frustration, but there are limits to what we can achieve in a video series unless we want it to be 100+ hours long. Our trainers identify the most important topics and cover them in our video content and lab exercises. There are some smaller topics that are left out due to them being less likely to be on the exam. Wes, in particular, has done a phenomenal job of assembling an A+ training program that prepares students for the exam and it shows. Thousands of candidates have passed the exam using his content.
All that being said, if you are unhappy with the product, please reach out to customer support and we will gladly issue you a refund.
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@Don-Pezet
There are definitely limitations. If you extend too much in depth, important concepts are drowned out by the nitty gritty. You do have engaging Edutainers who explain concepts well.I guess I'm just looking for guidance on what I need to know. Are the video/practice modules enough on their own? (Obviously studying and reviewing them is necessary)
If the videos are not enough, is there perhaps a list of things we should know? A list would be great because that way we can review that list and be able to research outside of your organization. The current model of going to the 600+ flash cards and writing down the large amounts of questions that were not covered in the course is taking a grueling amount of time. (And the flash cards unfortunately do not have a way to see all of them as a whole, just looking over each one individually). I also wonder how well I need to know every flash card and a list would help me narrow what concepts are important and will show up on the test.
Is this something you would be willing to create? It would take less time than doing more recordings, but gives us students more guidance on what information we need to know.
I can't speak for everyone, but the reason this question is often asked is because we feel overwhelmed and aren't given a clear structure forward once the videos are done.
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@Don-Pezet
Dear Don,
in his message, Adam has an important point.
If you can add your comments on the exams (not just A+ ) topics it will give our independent research more value.
please consider that
Thank you in advance -
@Adam-Ivory @yahav-haim wouldn't the Comptia exam objectives, which do get mentioned regularly during the courses, be almost the same as what you describe here?
https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/comptia-a-220-1101-exam-objectives-(3-0)
https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/comptia-a-220-1102-exam-objectives-(3-0)
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Those are definitely helpful, but they don't always address certain terms like the one described in my original post.
The exam objectives also shallow and don't give us terms that are important. For instance, in the objectives it just says,
"Given a scenario, install and configure laptop hardware and components:
• Hardware/device replacement- Battery"
There are loads of terms that we need to know that broadly fall under the concept "battery", such as "memory effect" which is not listed in the objectives.
- Battery"
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@Adam-Ivory Hey Adam.
I'm a bit newer to this platform and IT learning in general, and I have noticed similar issues to what you are experiencing. The lecture material almost seems completely desynchronized from the additional materials offered in some respects. To look at it from a more positive stance, encountering new material that hasn't been covered is an excellent opportunity to seek out additional sources that cover those topics in detail, however, I don't think that is acceptable as an official stance. Being told "We can't cover everything, look elsewhere." is not much help when you're already paying $60 per month for full access. It can start to feel like all you're paying for is the opportunity to get lost in the weeds.
I think this platform still offers great value and a wealth of information, with excellent educators who have my gratitude and respect, but it still has plenty of room to grow into a more cohesive whole.
For the time being, I'd suggest seeking out additional sources that also cover the A+ exam using CompTIAs exam objectives lists. The obvious go-to for this supplemental education is Professor Messer, as he also labels his videos with the numbering scheme used for the A+ exam objectives, making it easy to cross-reference an IT Pro video with a corresponding video of his. I always feel as if I have a firmer grasp of a given topic when I watch a video from both sources.
All in all, it is extremely difficult for a single source to provide a 100% comprehensive curriculum, even a pay-to-access source like this one. I hope I've been of some help to you.
Best of luck with your continued education.
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Hello Adam, I know this will not help you, but I want to express how you need more than one source of study to achieve your goal, even if you are right.
I have the A+ book, I watch Professor Messer, some A+ free courses on YouTube, and I have ITproTV for the labs and future certifications I'm interested in. Can I tell you something else, even if you do not believe me, I currently work as an IT help desk (thanks to a friend) for a growing MSP. The A+ and N+ would not prepare you enough for this ever-growing ecosystem; There are many things that you would have to learn on the Job and re-research to refresh your memory.Best of luck in your future endeavors.
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I agree with Pablo, I have multiple sources of study material. The course on this site is useful and there are other resources like labs available. I haven't gotten so far yet in my studies but, I feel that if there are questions in the practice exams and flash cards that are not covered in the lecture series then it gives a good opportunity to learn as many concepts as you can using all the materials at your disposal. I work professionally in automation and also administrate over an industrial control network (A.K.A. OT), and one thing I have found is that there is never one source for information when troubleshooting problems in the field. Having a diverse set of resources and tools for troubleshooting is necessary. Likewise, when studying, a diverse range of study material and learning how to find the information that is relevant to you quickly will only benefit you. So when you find a question that you don't know that is on the exam ask in here, or look up a youtube video, or read a book on it. Also, chatGPT can be used as a learning resource, drilling down into concepts till you understand.
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Reading these comments I am truly astonised at the expectation from certain individuals. If this platform provided the entire exam's content, what would be the point of the exam? The point of any qualification is to provide a certification that validates your core understanding of a topic and I think the team has done an excellent job at that. Comptia A+ is a fundamental certificate for IT and if you looking for a memo or platform that will have everything, goodluck to you! The A+ exam is so broad that if there were video tutorials for it all, it would be well over 100 hours as previously mentioned. ITPro has good content and it will teach you new things that you might not have known before. Study harder and listen to what @wes-bryan said. I have personally managed to pass the Comptia A+ Core 1 exam using just the material provided by this platform. Thank you ITPro!
