Back in December 2011 I took the SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) certification exam. Prior to that I attended a 12 week prep course. I’m not writing this because I didn’t pass, I’m not a sore loser, but because I am concerned about the integrity of the exam process.
I did a bit of research and found that those at HRCI and contributing members of SHRM have wonderful credentials and letters but I failed to find anyone with a background in instructional design. I couldn’t find anyone who had work in the trenches.
I am also concerned over the 50% pass rate. No where have I ever read that this reflects a success for an exam. SHRM and HRCI show this off as some sign of the integrity of the test, only a true HR professional can pass. I disagree, 50% means you need to re-evaluate the exam and the process. It’s done on college entrance applications and some comprehensive graduate exams, may be there needs to be an essay question.
The exam is described to be experiential. You will come down to 2 good answers but one is the best. As I practiced before the exam I found myself coming to 2 good answers. However my choice which matches my experience was usually wrong. The correct answer I found reflected an ideal situation or what I call SHRMthink. (I’ll probably end up on the same list the folks from Fist Full of Talent (FOT) are on after this post.) Finding the correct answer in the books on some of the strategic questions was also not clear.
Finally, if you are taking a prep course for an exam you have the fair expectation that you will be prepared for the exam. The SHRM practice test is much different than those found on the test. HRCP however has practice test that resemble much more what an actual question will be like. Oh, did I mention that the authors for the products on HRCP once were on the board at HRCI. In my research it was beginning to look like one big money circle.
Certification is important. Very important. We need to as a profession validate our knowledge and expertise. However, this exam process needs to be fixed.