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.

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