Kelly,

I think your point about "it depends" underscores for many the feeling 
that this exam is more than dispensable.   In the end I don't think 
being "certified" means anything beyond that you can identify yourself 
as someone who has paid money to take an exam and every couple of years 
pays more money (or however it works--I admit I've long forgotten the 
drill).  I know great archivists who have great instincts, knowledge, 
and experience and haven't passed the exam (and wouldn't take it again 
for the observations you cited).  Likewise I've met a number of 
"certified" archivists who couldn't think their way out of a wet paper 
bag with a hole started.

I hope you passed for your own sense of purpose and achievement.  But if 
you didn't, do not to lose sleep over it.  Only the experience you gain 
from working in the field and with your colleagues is going to make you 
a good archivist.  Keeping up with trends, being professionally active, 
being open to new ideas and technologies--this is the stuff that matters.

I've always felt that the exam is complete humbug--notwithstanding the 
efforts of many fine people who have worked to proliferate it over the 
years.

My three (and not meant to be too incendiary) cents,
Susan

Susan G. Hamson
University Archivist | Columbia University Archives
535 West 116th Street, MC 4316 | Low Memorial Library 
New York, NY 10027 | Voice: 212.854.1331 | Fax: 212.854.7320



Kelly B. Farner wrote:
>
> Hello
>
> I have to agree with your assessment that the questions did not 
> necessarily apply to "real" job scenarios.  In working with a small 
> museum archive, I felt very few of the questions really applied to my 
> daily work life.  Additionally, at my library school the archive's 
> principle mantra was "it depends."  Much of archival work is 
> situational and cannot have a definite answer.  Therefore, I agree 
> that the exam left me feeling very upset.  I do not know if it was the 
> exam and the manner it was set-up or this was the lack of knowledge 
> given at my library school or my own lack of knowledge.  Furthermore, 
> I agree that there should be a way to defend or define why a person 
> answered a question in the method (purpose, approach) he or she did.
>
> Thanks for letting me vent.
>
> Kelly
>
>  
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> *On Behalf Of *[log in to unmask]
> *Sent:* Saturday, August 05, 2006 6:21 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* CA Exam
>
>  
>
> Dear List,
>
>     
>
>     This past week I took the certified archivists exam and wanted to 
> share my experience and generate feedback from others, especially from 
> those who took it as well.  My honest opinion was that the exam was 
> not a great tool to assess our professional archival skills, or to put 
> it another way, I thought the exam was awful.  I felt many of the 
> questions were poorly written and poorly worded.  There were other 
> questions that I felt were very obscure and not necessarily something 
> most archivists have to deal with on a daily basis, or ever for that 
> matter.  Some questions asked were of the "what should you do in this 
> situation" type question.  The problem with these type of questions is 
> that they do not account for other factors.  While the literature 
> says, or suggests what should be done, this can only be applied under 
> exact or similar situations provided in the literature.  Other 
> circumstances sometimes dictate that an archivist needs to make a 
> different decision.  Therefore, a question like this does not have a 
> right or wrong answer unless the exact details of the situation are 
> known.  Also, there were some questions that I felt were really 
> irrelevant in determining whether or not we are capable archivists. 
>
>     Now, again, this is just my opinion.  Maybe some felt it was a 
> good exam.  However, I am not one of them and I have the feeling there 
> were other individuals who took the exam who were not happy with it 
> either.  While I understand that all the questions are taken from the 
> literature, this does not mean these answers are best, or even the 
> correct.  The literature is written by human beings and no human is 
> perfect.  In fact, I am the first to say I have many flaws and far 
> from being perfect.  It also needs to be considered that the 
> literature reflects the opinions and beliefs of that given author, 
> which is most likely formed due to their experience.  However, 
> another person may have a different answer opinion based on their 
> experience, which may have differed from the other individual.  
> Nevertheless, I felt that asking questions that came only 
> from literature is an inaccurate way to measure the capabilities, 
> experience, and knowledge of an archivist.  Memorizing facts is a true 
> way to assess someone's merit as an archivist.  What would be an 
> accurate method for this?  I am not sure there is a method that is 
> 100% accurate.  However, adding a component to the exam, like an 
> essay/short answer type question, that allows for subjectivity and 
> flexibility for questions where other circumstances can dictate how 
> and why an archivist comes to the decision that he/she makes should 
> perhaps be added to the exam (or at least considered).
>
>     Again though, this is just my personal opinion.  Feel free to 
> disagree if you do not share this same opinion.  The purpose of this 
> message is just to generate a friendly discussion about the exam and 
> to see if other individuals felt similar about the exam as I do, or if 
> I am the only one who had difficulty with it.  I look forward to 
> reading the responses to this message.
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by 
> the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms 
> of participation, please refer to 
> http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp.
>
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> Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]> A 
> posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the 
> Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of 
> participation, please refer to 
> http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp.
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> Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at 
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>
> Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org.
For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask]

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>