RE: Re: Assessing Perl skill level (Brainbench plug)

I just took the Perl test (and am now officially certified as a Master), however I'm not convinced this is the best way to gauge ability.

The test took me 15 minutes, without consulting any documentation, and there were a number of questions I found misleading... with more than one correct answer. These were largely conceptual.

I'll take another test, and see if I can get up around the 4.8 level, but I think giving people a chance to explain their answers (in an interview setting) is more valuable than the ability to pick one answer out of five, especially when the terminology's not what I'm used to from the Camel or perldoc.

Still, it's nice to be recognized as a master, better than 90-something percent of everyone else who's taken the test. :)

Comment on RE: Re: Assessing Perl skill level (Brainbench plug)

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RE:(3) (Brainbench test) by Russ (Deacon) on Aug 16, 2000 at 06:30 UTC
I have not yet heard back from Brainbench about the status of the latest test question changes. The problems will only be found by those who score the highest on the exam, because most of the problem questions deal with more difficult topics. If you remember any of the troublesome questions, feel free to let me know about them. I suspect they have not yet corrected the questions (since we only discussed them last week). You are, of course, correct that a test like this cannot be a completely adequate judge of ability. However, remember that you fall well outside the normal curve. You should rank as a guru in nearly any ability measure, so a general test such as this will be less precise in your case. Of course, if the interviewer is very Perl-knowledgeable, sample code and test problems will always be better. But, for any interviewer who may be less technically qualified than the interviewee, another tool is necessary. I think Brainbench makes a good tool in that case. Russ Brainbench 'Most Valuable Professional' for Perl	[reply]

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RE:(3) (Brainbench test)
by Russ (Deacon) on Aug 16, 2000 at 06:30 UTC

The problems will only be found by those who score the highest on the exam, because most of the problem questions deal with more difficult topics.

If you remember any of the troublesome questions, feel free to let me know about them. I suspect they have not yet corrected the questions (since we only discussed them last week).

You are, of course, correct that a test like this cannot be a completely adequate judge of ability. However, remember that you fall well outside the normal curve. You should rank as a guru in nearly any ability measure, so a general test such as this will be less precise in your case.

Of course, if the interviewer is very Perl-knowledgeable, sample code and test problems will always be better. But, for any interviewer who may be less technically qualified than the interviewee, another tool is necessary. I think Brainbench makes a good tool in that case.

Russ
Brainbench 'Most Valuable Professional' for Perl

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