CompTIA A+ Test Structure

CompTIA announced that the new test will be a standard, multiple-choice exam. Most questions will have only a single correct answer, while others will have multiple correct answers, in which case, the question will include a note such as “select two”. An interesting and useful characteristic of the standard test is that questions may be marked and returned to later. This helps you manage your time while taking the test so that you don't spend too much time on any one question.

Question Types

The A+ exams consist entirely of multiple-choice questions, but the computer may present the test questions on the examination in a number of ways, as discussed here. We Provide this information primarily for reference. CompTIA states that the current exam is multiple-choice based.

True/False

Everyone is familiar with True/False type questions, but due to the inherent 50 percent chance of guessing the right answer, you will not see any of these on the A+ exam.

Multiple Choice

A+ exam questions are of the multiple-choice variety. Below each question is a list of four or five possible answers. Use the available radio buttons to select the correct answer from the given choices. Some questions will have more than one correct answer, in which case, the number of correct answers required is clearly stated.

Graphical Questions

There are two types of graphical questions. The first type incorporates a graphical element to the question in the form of an exhibit to provide a visual representation of the problem or present the question itself. These questions are easy to identify because they refer to the exhibit button on the bottom of the question windows. An example of a graphical question might be to identify a component on a drawing of a motherboard.

They call the second type of graphical question a hot spot, and it actually incorporates graphics as part of the answer. These types of questions ask the examine to click a location or graphical element to answer the question. Instead of selecting A, B, C, or D as your answer, you simply click the portion of the motherboard drawing where the component exists.

Free Response Questions

A test can present another type of question that requires a free response, or type-in answer. This is a fill-in-the-blank-type question where a list of possible choices is not given. You will not see this type of question on the A+ exams.