Oral exam for SSC Certification
There have recently been some questions on the new oral exam procedures. Since I just participated (with Nick Soleyn and John Petrizzo) in one of the first two such exams, I am able to provide some information and answer questions. Here's some info on the exam procedure:
- The oral exam is administered only to those candidates who pass the platform evaluation at the seminar.
- The examination panel consists of three Starting Strength coaches.
- The exam is scheduled in coordination with all attending parties, and is conducted over video conference. It takes between two and 2.5 hours.
- Prior to the oral exam, the candidate is provided with four examination prompts. These are broad questions that cover a range of material. The questions themselves will not necessarily appear as part of the exam, but a candidate that can answer them thoroughly should be well prepared for the exam. A successful candidate should be able to identify all the issues presented in these questions, discuss the basic scientific principles underlying each issue, provide clear analysis, and assert logical conclusions.
- The exam covers the entire Starting Strength method. The candidate should be prepared to discuss any aspect of it, in their own words, without resorting to memorization. We want to test your understanding, and ability to communicate.
- Each member of the examination panel selects or creates their own questions. Panel members coordinate so that their questions do not overlap substantially, and all questions taken together provide good coverage of the Starting Strength method. There are approximately six to nine questions per exam, and each question takes about 15 minutes to answer. Questions may lead to discussion and followup by any or all of the panel members.
- After the exam, each of the panel members submits a recommendation, which can range from an unequivocal pass to an unequivocal fail, with a couple of options in-between. If there is a unanimous pass or fail, then that becomes the exam outcome. In any other circumstance, the candidate gets a writing assignment based on the weak areas in their oral exam. The writing assignment is shorter than the previous written exam, although since this did not happen in the one exam I was part of, I am not exactly certain of the scope and length.
Hopefully this helps make the process a little clearer. I'm happy to answer questions based on my limited experience with the process.