As of today, 10/9/2012, the new versions of the CompTIA A+ exams have arrived and are available at Pearson Vue testing centers. They are known as the 220-801 and 220-802.
There are some new items on the 800 series exams including:
– Mobile devices (focusing on Android and iOS)
– Virtualization (virtual machines, hypervisors, how to secure virtual environments)
– Increased amount of, and difficulty of, troubleshooting questions
As far as PC operating systems, Windows 7, Vista, and XP are still covered, but Windows 2000 has been dropped from the exams.
For the A+ 220-801 and 220-802 exams, CompTIA has implemented performance-based questions in addition to multiple choice questions. These performance-based questions require the test taker to solve problems and perform tasks in a simulated computer environment. For example, setting a file to read-only in the Command Prompt using the attrib command. These questions are supposed to make up about 5 to 10% of the exam. I will be posting more information about this in the near future after I take the new exams. For now, CompTIA has an example on their website: http://certification.comptia.org/news/12-10-09/What_Is_A_Performance-Based_Question.aspx. These performance-based questions will also be added to the Network+ and Security+ exams in the coming months.
I discuss the new A+ exams in detail at this page: http://www.davidlprowse.com/comptia-a-plus-220-801-220-802.php
Again, I’ll be posting more details soon once I complete the new exams.
David P.
