Need update on current status of ACE certification

[kasra_yousefi]

Hi There,

Do ACE specialist/associate and master certification programs still exist?

By specialist/master I mean, it used to be something like -for example- applicant had to pass 3 exams for Illustrator, Indesign and Acrobat, and get an ACE print expert certification.

Currently, on Adobe ACE website, there's no mention of ACE expert/master/associate certification groups, only single-product exams. Also, the list of CC exams are very limited and !Acrobat - a key product in print group- is not listed. Also, there's no mention of how to bundle the tests toward a particular ACE concentration, and how many tests should be passed.

Are those expert and master certifications terminated, and the only option is single product certifications?

Thank you very much in advance,

Kasra

[Barb Binder]

I'm not sure that anyone on this forum can give you the information you are looking for—we are all users like you. I'm part of the program, but it's very hard to get information on the direction these days, and most of the tests have not been updated, including Acrobat. If I were you I'd reach out through the Contact Us page on the ACE page. Here is the link: Contact us | Adobe Digital Learning Services to see what you can find out.

~Barb

[kasra_yousefi]

Thanks Barb for the advice,

Actually, I contacted them using the same form before posting to the forum. The result was a template response remotely relevant to my questions from an address in pearson.com, referring me to the same Adobe training site!

... and I can confidently say Adobe training and certification website is not a helpful website. A bunch of advertising slogans and not much real information. No news/blog section that tells announce the current status of things, that submission form, which upon submission, show you an email address and suggest that you can use that to contact. (Why? they are not confident their form works or someone check it regularly?)

That makes me question myself why I'm insisting on getting a certificate that even the issuer doesn't care about it.

Kind regards,

Kasra

[chanaart]

  The program still exists. The ACA exam are being re written now to make it up to date.

As for the ACE they retired the recertification! I know that as an ACE I am not going to do again the complete test unless they bring back the recertification!

Hope this helps!

Chana

[kasra_yousefi]

Hi Chana,

Thank you very much for your advice,

Since I can't wait for the Adobe to update its website, do you suggest me to take InDesign and Illustrator now, and then wait for new Acrobat test to arrive, so at the end, I become an ACE print specialist?

And if so, what is your suggestion for a test preparation material? (I've been a heavy ID/AI user for the past decade and just need to practice tests before sitting the actual exam).

Many thanks again,

Kasra

[Barb Binder]

what is your suggestion for a test preparation material?

The exam guides are your best bet for test preparation. If a topic is on an exam guide, it is fair game for the test. If it is not on the exam guide, it will not be on the test. Being a long-time user is typically not sufficient to pass these tests. They aim to separate advanced users from those who are truly experts in their fields. You do have to study the topics on the guide, because they will hit areas that you might not encounter in your daily work, Data Merge for example. And remember that the current exams are on CC 2015—that's the version you will need to study. Not 2017 or 2018. Good luck!

Illustrator:

https://training.adobe.com/certification/exams/adobe_illustrator_cc_2015/_jcr_content/sampleExam

InDesign:

https://training.adobe.com/certification/exams/indesign_cc_2015/_jcr_content/sampleExam

~Barb

[kasra_yousefi]

Thank you very much for the very helpful advice, Barb!

Kind regards,

Kasra

[angelword88]

Hi,
I think I'm going to try the ACE exam remotely, somewhere on the internet I read that, in addition to multiple-choice questions, the exam includes a sort of InDesign simulation where you need to do some small tasks, but the posted exam guide you posted only says multiple-choice questions. Do you have any information about it?

Thanks a lot!

[Barb Binder]

Hi Angelworld:

I believe the ACA (Adobe Certified Associate ) exams are hands-on, and the more rigorous ACE (Adobe Certified Expert) exams are still multiple choice.  The current ones certainly are, anyway. AFAIK, none of us have seen the latest ACE exams yet.

~Barb

[chanaart]

there is also a site examaid.com that will give you 400 questions or somthing like it and it is actually great for prep.

The classroom in a book is a good one since they take questions from there s well.

Chana

[kasra_yousefi]

Hi Chana,

Thank you very much for the advice!

That's the thing I really need. because it helps quickly find my weak spots and only read those parts.

Kind Regards,

Kasra

P.S. Just for the sake making life easier for others who might view this thread, the correct URL of the site Chana mentioned is: http://www.examaids.com (with "s")

[Dinesh_Rajan]

Hi Kasra

Hope you are aware that Adobe exams are moved from Pearson to PSI.

We wrote to PSI checking about Acrobat exam, but still they are not authorized to conduct the Acrobat exam and we sent another mail to Adobe, waiting for their reply.

Meanwhile, finished my indesign and Illustrator exams and got my ACE certification.

Will post you once we get any feedback.

Best Regards

Dinesh

[chanaart]

Yes. It was not a good marriage. I hope the new exams will be better and feature more of the knowledge and the workflow experience than just remembering shortcuts and panels.

I am updated with AI PS INDD CC .

Hoping for great tests in the future!

[jane-e]

Kasra,

Just curious—do you have any of the ACE certifications now?

~Jane

[kasra_yousefi]

Hi Jane,

No. I'm just checking to see what my options are.

Kind regards,

-K

[chanaart]

The ACA is available for the following programs: Illustrator, Indesign , Photoshop, Premiere, Aftereffect, Animate and Dreamweaver.

I suggest to start with Photoshop which is a new exam - Live in the App.

The plan is to make all of them Live in the app by fall 2019.

Illustrator will be available in a month.

Adobe in planning to update the ACE exam in the future.