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Subject:Re: Certification: Ernest and Scribbler From:Milan Davidović <milan -dot- lists -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Steven Jong <stevefjong -at- comcast -dot- net> Date:Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:47:06 -0400
On Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 2:21 PM, Steven Jong <stevefjong -at- comcast -dot- net> wrote:
> We selected performance-based (packet) assessment rather than knowledge-based (test) examination for a number of reasons, none having to do with attributes. Performance-based assessment involves something like a portfolio, which experienced practitioners already have, rather than passing a test, which favors recent graduates (and which experienced people seem to hate and fear); it doesn't require a body of knowledge, which isn't fleshed out yet;Âit is already validated through our publications competitions, wheras validating an exam takes time and money; and fees can be shared withÂevaluators (us) rather than a third-party testing agency.
No doubt we could get a few interesting lines of discussion from this,
but I'll focus on one in particular.
In the STC competition, we evaluate entries according to sets of
criteria. It doesn't matter whether a given entry was made by one
person or many, or whether it was made by a technical communicator or
someone else. The product is what matters. The certification scheme,
however, is concerned with evaluating and making claims about the
expertise of individual practitioners. I think one big challenge will
therefore be in setting the requirements for the "portfolios and work
artifacts" such that the efforts of one individual can be clearly
discerned from those of other participants.
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