This is what bugs me about most tests.

I recently took the CompTIA A+ exam which is essentially the most basic certification in the IT field. I’ve been doing IT related tasks for 10 years without the certification but most of what I do in the field has been done through Google. When I went to take the exam, they make you remove everything from your pockets. The exams are on a computer that doesn’t allow access to the internet. I’m not the only person who has done this when doing various tasks to work on computers. Many of us as beginners rely on the internet to diagnose and troubleshoot issues. I suppose this wouldn’t work if we were in an area without internet access, which is becoming more and more rare as time goes on due to mobile hotspots and a greater coverage of cell towers. That’s the only way I can justify a no “open book” policy, but even then it has holes.