ISTQB Advanced Level Test Analyst (CTAL) Exam Study Guide

To take the ISTQB Advanced Level exam, you require a Foundation Level Certificate. ISTQB also recommends practical experience before taking the exam.

Study of the advance level and its certification is to enhance knowledge and awareness and most importantly implement the learning to improve the quality of day to day work, which will eventually return good career growth.

In this tutorial, you will learn-

• Applying for CTAL certification Exam
• CTAL Exam Pattern
• Tips to Prepare and Clear ISTQB CTAL Certification Exam

Applying for CTAL certification Exam

There are three different exam and certification modules under the generic name CTAL (Certified Tester Advanced Level)

• Test Manager
• Test Analyst
• Technical Test Analyst

Enrollment Procedure

The enrollment is same as that for the foundation level while enrolling you have to upload the following three documents

• scorecard for foundation level,
• Experience certificate
• Educational certificate.

Once you have uploaded your documents and enrolled yourself, you need to send the DD and documents hard copies. documents. The payment process may vary slightly by country.

The details about the DD are mentioned in the site as well as you will be getting mail with the details after you enroll. You will get the confirmation on your mail once the DD is received.

Exam Fees

Public (Individual) Exam – 4000/- + 580/- service tax = 4580/-

Corporate Exam – 3500/- + 507.50/- service tax = 4007.50/-

CTAL Exam Pattern

• The very first thing is to get familiar with the information from ISTQB pages: http://www.istqb.org/.
• It will provide some useful information regarding examination form and show guidelines which will help you to pass.
• The number of questions and exam timing for each module is mentioned in below table.

At least 65% score is a must to pass Advanced Level exam. For each question, you can score 1, 2 or 3 points, depending on the level of difficulty.

Each question is classified according to the cognitive level, the K-level (also known as level of knowledge).

The Advanced exams cover 3 different K-levels: Understand (K2), Apply (K3) and Analyze (K4). During the exam, only plain paper and simple non-programmable calculators are allowed.

ISTQB Advance Level exam is intended to check your knowledge of the entire discipline of software testing in Foundation and Advance level syllabus. When you start preparing for ISTQB Test Manager, your mindset should be as Manager, think and learn from the perspective of a manager, in short, put yourself in the shoe of the manager. Same applies for test analyst and technical test analyst.

Brush up foundation level learning from ISTQB Exam Study Material

K (Knowledge) – Levels & Associated levels of difficulty

Advanced level covers 4 different k-levels (K1 to K4), it identifies the level of understanding being tested, not the difficulty of questions.

• K1 (Remember) = Remember and recognize a term or a concept.
• K2 (Understand) = Select an explanation for a statement related to the question topic.
• K3 (Apply) = Select the correct application of a concept or technique and apply it to a given context.
• K4 (Analyze) = For better understanding candidate can separate information related to a procedure or technique into its constituents parts and can distinguish between facts and inferences.

In Test Analyst/ Technical Test Analyst/Test Manager exams all parts of the ISTQB Advanced Level syllabus are examinable at a K1 level as well.

Where can I study from?

You can go through our Test Management Tutorial which will aid you in your CTAL (Advanced Level) studies.

Good luck!

This article is contributed by Sundip Nag.

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