There are numerous
questions about the exams from those interested
to obtain one of these certifications. Sometimes
there are questions from the candidates who do
not make it through the examinations on the
legitimacy of the examinations. To be specific:
how these exams are developed, and how the
pass/fail point is determined. This article is
meant for all those who are interested to know
about the development and evaluation of ASQ
certification exams and how to increase your
success rate in any such certification
examination.
About ASQ certification
exams in general
ASQ certification examinations
are different from any typical university or
college examination on a subject. They are
designed to test an individual's knowledge of a
given body of knowledge to judge whether a
certificate could be awarded to that individual
in that specific category of certified quality
professionals. These exams are not all that
complex but are unique in the following:
a) The body of knowledge
for ASQ exams (like CQE) covers a wide
variety of topics that are drawn from several
text books, and there is no prescribed course,
even though there are many agencies that offer
courses.
In the case of a typical university subject exam,
the volume of topics covered is much more
focused, and there is a prescribed course at the
university with term exams, exercises, and
project work etc., that build clarity of concepts
and knowledge of applying those concepts through
problem solving exercises and discussions in the
class and among classmates. The fact that this
type of prescribed learning is typically not
available for ASQ examinations makes the
examinations a bit tough for many candidates.
b) Exam questions: The
questions in the CQE certification exam a re only
multiple choice questions and test mostly the
conceptual clarity and general applied knowledge
of various subjects in the body of knowledge. The
majority of these questions really do not require
detailed calculations. In fact over the years the
number of questions with very complex
calculations or time-intensive problem solving
has been reduced significantly for the CQE
certification exam. This change is largely the
result of technological innovation. Up to a few
years back the CQE exam was an all day test with
two exams of 3 hours each (forenoon and
afternoon) and candidates had to do complex
calculations.
c) The time factor: Many
candidates complain that the number of questions
in ASQ examinations and the time allowed to do
the exam limit the amount of time you can spend
on any question to less than two minutes. Perhaps
a better way to look at this challenge is to
realize that a quality practitioner is quite
experienced with a variety of quality tools and
techniques and is able to remember those quality
concepts including the nuances of applications of
these concepts and thus is able to answer many of
the certification examination questions in less
than a minute. Of course some of the more complex
questions may take as much as 5 minutes or more
to calculate or to make up your mind in choosing,
which of the options is the best fit when faced
with choices that are quite close. It is
important to remember that the calculated amount
of time per question is only a mean, and, as any
quality professional can tell you, that figure
doesn’t factor in the range or variation from
the mean.
d) Criteria for registering for an ASQ exam: A
candidate registering for any ASQ certification
exam is required to have a combination of
educational qualification and practical
experience in the field of quality.
What really works for a
candidate to ensure passing any ASQ certification
exam?
Please note that points described
below are my own personal recommendations on how
to prepare to take and pass an ASQ exam. This is
also based on my experience and the experience of
others who shared them with me.
a) Go through the body of
knowledge booklet for the exam and get an idea of
the topics.
b) Identify your strength and
weakness in terms of your depth of knowledge of
the topic areas and check how comfortable you are
answering some of the sample questions.
c) Prepare for the exam by using
a combination of the following (depending on your
background and knowledge comfort level):
(i) Self study using CQE primer,
reference books from the CQE bibliography etc.
The CQE primer developed by the Quality Council
of Indiana presents over 600 pages of subject
material collected from several books. This
primer also contains a collection of 600 sample
questions and answers that could be used as
practice exams. (Note that that these primers are
not developed by ASQ or in collaboration with
ASQ; but they published by private companies.)
Reference books from the Body of Knowledge (BOK)
booklet for each certification (or through
asq.org certification website) offer much more
in-depth review of specific subject areas. After
reviewing the body of knowledge booklet, the
candidate will know which areas of the BOK are
challenging. It is well worth the investment to
acquire specific textbooks for these areas,
because no primer or refresher course will give
the necessary depth of understanding possible
through these sources. A good reference book is
also a good investment.
(ii) Taking college/university
courses: For candidates who find complex some
topic areas (such as reliability engineering, or
design of experiments) too tough to understand by
self study, it is good to try some specific
courses on that topic. Community colleges do have
a number of such courses on many topics. The need
for such courses would depend on your background
and expertise. For candidates with good academic
background and familiarity with statistical
tools, this need would be very minimal. However,
keep in mind that by passing a set of these
college courses you cannot expect to just walk
through the ASQ certification exams. These
courses really help to a large extent. But
coursework alone is not sufficient.
(iii) Using Practice exams: Using
mock exams in the form of sample questions from
various sources (primers, ASQ information
bulletin, refresher course material, etc.) is a
good way of exercising your brain and making it
sharper for the actual the exam. Through several
such mock exams it is also possible to identify
common mistakes that you may make and develop
strategies to guard against them during the
actual exam.
(iv) Taking preparation courses:
There are a few refresher courses offered by
senior quality professionals or colleges. Once
you have completed the general preparation, it is
a good idea to join any of the refresher courses
to get a sound, overall review and opportunity
for discussion on some of the more typical
questions that are likely to show up on the exam.
Many of the refresher courses offer tips on
formulas, definitions, etc., and can be quite
helpful to increase your confidence on tools that
you don't use everyday in your work.
Ontario College of Technology has
been providing ASQ exam preparation courses for
many years. What it provides is more than just a
refresh course before the exam, but a
comprehensive and in-depth coverage of each and
every topic required by the Body of Knowledge.
The results, the exam passing rate and graduate
employment rate, are miracle. For more
information, please contact
Ontario College of
Technology
Phone: 416-332-8727
Email: info@ocot.ca
Website: www.ocot.ca |