If you trained for the CompTIA A+ 701 and 702 exam objectives, but haven't yet actually taken the exams, you need to register soon with Pearson VUE because CompTIA will retire the 700 series exams (in English) on Aug. 31. All other language versions will retire Dec. 31.
After that, students will only be able to become CompTIA A+ certified by taking the 800 series exams, which cover new technologies and include performance-based questions. You can compare the differences in the exams by downloading the exam objectives.
"If you've been studying toward the 700 series, you'll want to hurry and take it before Aug. 31," said Carol Balkcom, CompTIA director of product management.
Anyone taking the CompTIA A+ 700 series certification exams before Aug. 31 should start prepping now, trainers say. New Horizons CLC – Great Lakes held its last classes for the CompTIA A+ 701 and the 702 exams in October, transitioning quickly into the 800 series in November. But because the company is also an official Pearson VUE testing center, Career Services Coordinator Sue Ann Law expects some self-study candidates will come in to take the 700 series exams.
Law's test-prep rule of thumb is that students need a minimum of one month to prepare for an exam. "Given that there are two exams (the 701 and 702), June would definitely be my cut off for starting to prepare," she said.
CompTIA's authorized training partners will be reaching out to former CompTIA A+ 700 series students—via emails and webinars, for example—to remind candidates of the Aug. 31 deadline.
At New Horizons of Austin, a division of CompTIA partner 5 Point Enterprises, account executives are working with corporate and government customers to make sure former students take the 700 series exams before Aug. 31. "If necessary, a mentor will work one on one, in person or virtually with a student if they are struggling in a particular area," said James Cox, vice president of sales. "We'll do everything we can, down to meeting every single student one-on-one to make sure they are prepared to take that exam on time."
