LEESBURG, VA (July 10, 2006) - The non-profit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has developed and launched a new series of four online self-assessment quizzes to help individuals evaluate their automotive technical knowledge. The new product, called TechQuiz, is quick, realistic, convenient and useful for both new and experienced technicians. TechQuiz is the result of the ASE collaborating with a number of industry stakeholders, especially the feedback from technicians in the trenches, subject matter experts and educators. The quizzes can be accessed either at
www.asecampus.com, or alternately by going to the ASE website at
www.ase.com and clicking on the ASE Campus tab. Once there, simply create a profile and immediate access to the TechQuiz self-assessments is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each quiz costs $12.50. A conversation with Tony Molla, ASE's vice president of Communications, highlighted a number of user-friendly features and benefits.
Meaningful assessment: The TechQuiz series enables individuals to prepare for the ASE certification tests, as well as help technicians and employers identify specific areas needing improvement through targeted training. The series covers basic knowledge of four topics: Gasoline Engines; Drivetrains; Undercar; and Electrical/Electronic Systems and heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC). "Getting a benchmark on an individual's basic technical knowledge has relevance," It is important to identify areas of competence, he adds, as well as gaps, in determining individual training pathways, so that technicians and/or employers focus their training time and dollars where specific needs exist.
Authentic assessment: For each quiz, a total of 40 questions measure technical knowledge in three areas - fundamentals, maintenance and diagnosis/repair. Each area has a mix of 10 to 15 questions chosen at random. The quizzes are not a certification, nor are they pass/fail tests. Rather, they provide test participants with a scored report and details on how they did in each area, as well as direction where they need to seek more knowledge.
Realistic ASE-style questions: ASE developed the quiz questions using the same process, rigor, quality and format as for questions used in certification tests. Molla notes this was significant in its value to users. For many technicians, the style and format of practice test questions faced in education programs elsewhere was often very different from those on the actual ASE certification tests. One of the most frequent requests that ASE hears in talking to educators is that technicians want more questions in the ASE style. "Fear is one of the biggest factors in the pass/fail rate for certifications," says Molla. "By beginning at the quiz level and using questions written by ASE, rather than other technical editors, we believe we can reduce the level of fear and ultimately, increase pass rates."
Repeat and interim assessments: Quizzes can be taken multiple times. While each individual quiz has 40 questions, as noted above, those questions are drawn from a much larger bank of possible ASE-style questions. This allows technicians to take quizzes more than once to gauge their progress in acquiring knowledge. Additionally, the quizzes can be taken in the privacy of one's own home, if desired. The results can also be stored for later reference and easily retrieved or kept in a personal portfolio. Training for certification should be about acquiring the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to affect quality, reliable service and repairs. The path to learning those should not be eroded or blocked by counterproductive hurdles - hard to comprehend wording of questions, weighting in areas that don't reflect the real-world faced by today's technicians, the mode of testing, or even fear. With the TechQuiz program and its other initiatives, the ASE is striving to help tune learning experiences, assessments and certifications to make them authentic, accessible, convenient and meaningful. More importantly, the program is just another step to making certification more than just a piece of paper on the wall.
(Source: ASE)
