ASQ is Transitioning to Computer Based Exams

As a local section certification chair I received an email this morning stating that starting with the October 2016 exams, ASQ will transition certification exams from paper & pencil to computer based testing (CBT).

See the attachment for details.

I've taken a couple ASQ exams over the years with pencil and scan-tron form and it's always a bit of a throw back to going to school. This might be a good change, especially for me taking the CMQ/OE with its "essay" responses, perhaps it will help with my handwriting and spelling.

David

How will they ensure someone does not pay someone else to take the course and exam for him/her? Or is it not internet based? Never mind - I just read the .pdf.

I am planning on taking an ASQ CBT exam in September. I have seen the their video as to the process at the exam site. I am curious to see how it is implemented for the ASQ Exams, since they are open book. From the information they have provided, it appears that there will be less opportunity for the few individuals that appear to have received assistance when taking exams at some specific exam sites in the past. The exam fees increased about $75 for most certifications, I assume to pay the additional administration costs. I expect some modifications will be needed after this first round of CBT testing, but hopefully this will lead to an improved ASQ exam process.

Hi everyone,

I have signed up for ASQ CSSBB exam in mid-October. I wanted to check if anyone here has giving one of this Computer Based Exam and know how does exam format look in it? I mean if you skip few questions which you are not sure about initially, How do you go back to it? Can you go back and change response of any questions?

I just want to get a feel of what to expect during the exam, as I havent given any Computer Based Exam for ASQ? Also, is there a way you can give similar practice exam online somewhere?

Thanks,
Swapnil

shahswap said:

Hi everyone,

I have signed up for ASQ CSSBB exam in mid-October. I wanted to check if anyone here has giving one of this Computer Based Exam and know how does exam format look in it? I mean if you skip few questions which you are not sure about initially, How do you go back to it? Can you go back and change response of any questions?

I just want to get a feel of what to expect during the exam, as I havent given any Computer Based Exam for ASQ? Also, is there a way you can give similar practice exam online somewhere?

Thanks,
Swapnil

Click to expand...

My understanding is that October will be the first time for CBT. Unless someone was involved with ASQ in the development of the new test methods it's unlikely anyone here will have experience with it yet.

Ok Thanks for your reply.

I picked October 15th which was last possible date on schedule, so if any of you experience it during first week of October, do share with me.

I just looked at the ASQ website and learned that they now have "testing windows" as you implied. This is news to me. It's possible that someone may have already experienced the CBT as the first window started 9/1/16.

I will take the CBA Exam this Friday and it is CBT. So I will update my experience when I back. Hopefully, it works well for my exam.

I am back and I passed the exam. It is my first ASQ Certificate exam.

The overall experience is OK. The good thing was I had the result immediately after the exam. There were 145 questions for 4 hours and 10 minutes. 10 questions are not scored and will be used in the future exam, but I could not identify those testing questions.

If you will take the CBT at a testing center, please be there as early as possible. My exam was scheduled at 12:30pm, and I arrived the testing center around 11:50am. And the registration took over 30 minutes, because the lady was unfamiliar with the open book policy with ASQ. So I went through the requirement word by word with her. She even mentioned that the QCI CBA Primer was not a binded material for her. But I insisted that the binder was allowed for the previous exams and finally, she agreed with me. She checked all the pages of my reference material to ensure there was no loose page, which took about 15 minutes.

After the registration, I entered a waiting room for in-person check, which took about another 10 minutes. Because there were some students waiting for the GRE exam too. So I have to wait. Finally, I got my spot at 12:40pm. The another good thing of CBT was even though I was late, I could still have 4 hours that will only start counting after click "Start Exam".

The exam interface was simple and easy to use. The system also provided functions such as flag and strike-through answers. It also provided the calculator on the page, so you don't have to bring your own calculator.

The only thing I could bring into the exam room was the reference material. Water, snacks, or even pens had to be locked in the locker. When I need to take a break, I made a break record at the registration desk and repeated the in-person check when came back. For a short break, such as using the restroom, it took me 6-7 minutes. And the exam clock was counting all the time.

Conclusively, the experience was OK for me. I did not take any paper ASQ Exam before, so I cannot provide more comments about the difference. And if you have any comments or concerns, please let me know.