Review of Amateur Radio Exam Questions
/As
a result of its response to a Request for Proposals from Industry
Canada, Radio Amateurs of Canada has been awarded a $20,000 contract by
Industry Canada to review the questions used for examinations to qualify
radio amateurs in Canada.
The work began on 28 January 2013 and the final product will be delivered to Industry Canada on 17 April 2013. Radio Amateurs du Quebec Inc. (RAQI) is working with RAC on the French language component.
More
than 3000 questions are being reviewed: 965 questions in English and in
French for the Basic qualification and 545 in English and in French for
the Advanced qualification. Some current questions were revised in 2007
but many questions date from much earlier. The present work will be the
first comprehensive review in more than a decade.
The
objective of the review is to identify questions and answers no longer
relevant as well as those requiring modifications to correct grammatical
errors or improve clarity. The review should also lead to new questions
on aspects of amateur radio that have changed in recent years. The
curriculum for the qualifications (Basic and Advanced) is not changing
so while individual questions may be changed the main areas of knowledge
required for certification will not change.
Both
RAC and Industry Canada have recognized for some time that a thorough
review of the questions was required. Last summer a RAC bulletin invited
radio amateurs to provide comments and suggestions on the current
questions by the end of August. Responses highlighted some incorrect
questions and pointed out several others that were vague or confusing.
These comments provided a good starting point for the current review.
RAC
is pleased to have RAQI working on this project. The team conducting
the review has experience not only in conducting amateur radio exams but
also in designing and delivering amateur radio courses in both official
languages. It is well qualified to deal with technical issues and
assess clarity and grammar of the questions inboth official languages.
Industry
Canada is responsible for the amateur radio certification and will make
the final decision changes to the questions. The project led by Radio
Amateurs of Canada with the assistance of RAQI will ensure that the
experience of active radio amateurs will guide recommendations to
improve the questions that will be used for amateur radio certification
in the future.
For more information contact Glenn MacDonell, Project Manager, Question Bank Update Project and Deputy Director Ontario North East, (ve3xra@rac.ca).