ISA exam Tree ID

1st I will say the test was fairly easy but without a forestry degree background, it would have been difficult for me. The test is very worthy, it would be nice if they up the standards but you can always take the board certified master arborist exam to challenge yourself, I hear that is difficult. ISA needs as many members as possible to fund the good fight and I think the dues are very reasonable. I make more money for being a C.A. than the cost.

Boston Bull, your lucky you live in a state that recognizes arborists as true professionals and even has a state exam, I'm jealous. Every state should have this and they ISA is the force to push for such actions.

Boreality, ya I could make more money in the short run too if I topped trees, but then I wouldn't sleep at night. + if I really wanted to make a fortune, I sure the hell wouldn't be in tree care. We'll out last the hacks that do anything for a buck and I think it will pay off finacially in the long run.

As for the C.A. I.D. exam, like I said earlier, they had a picture of an ash samara cluster and had both green and white ash as a choice, along with maples. So it can be tricky depending on where you take it I guess.

Ash leaf scar, white man rides in the saddle, green man rides on top.
 
Here is what happened: the ash listed as a possible answer was "F. pennsylvanica - Green Ash" while the sample was clearly Red ash.
Am I splitting hairs? (No pun intended!) Maybe. But to me this is a distinction worth making at a certification level. I simply pointed out to the guy that the correct answer was wrong: yes the sample is F. pennsylvanica but "Green Ash" is Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. subintegerrima.
What if I had been given a sample of Acer nigrum and the only available "right" answer was A. saccharum?
 
No, your right thats messed up, big difference. I wasn't knocking you. It just happened to be that they used ash in my exam and I was just stating that the multiple choice answers can be tricky.
 
Tests are composed by people, and are thus given to error. This is why sample tests of proposed new questions are offered, to be taken after the certification test, to help work out the bugs and make sure that the questions and answers make sense.

In every test I've either taken, or helped to proctor, there was a voiced concern when test protocol was being discussed prior to the start, that any ambiguous question, or answer be brought to the attention of the the proctor, and/or the test committee at ISA. By all means, bring your concern about the tree ID question, to the attention of the test/certification committee in your chapter, as well as Champlain. I'm sure attention will be given to correcting it.
 
Thanks everyone for your help and input. Regardless of how the system is set up I am trying to better myself and increase my knowledge and profeciency in my craft. The ISA exam is the best and most widely recognized way of doing this, as I see it right now,. I am not naive enough to say the becoming a cert holder will make me the worlds foremost expert. But it is a step in the right direction for me to grow for myself and my clients.
 
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Thanks everyone for your help and input. Regardless of how the system is set up I am trying to better myself and increase my knowledge and profeciency in my craft. The ISA exam is the best and most widely recognized way of doing this, as I see it right now,. I am not naive enough to say the becoming a cert holder will make me the worlds foremost expert. But it is a step in the right direction for me to grow for myself and my clients.

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Very well said! Any certification you obtain is one more feather in your knowledge cap! Good on you for going after them. alot of guys think its a waste of time and therefore wont take the exam.
 
yes i must say thank you also, all of this helps, and like treeswinger i appreciate any type of knowledge that will help me to grow mine. i will be proud to say that i am a certified arborist and i passed the exam. i will also keep right on learning as much as i can even if the system is not perfect.
 
Excellent, Starlet.

The CA was a jumping off point for me to really pursue formal education. I have worked in this industry for a long time, but it had always been more as a "helper" than a knowledgeable contributor. Feeling I was "too old" to pursue certification, I put it off a long time. Then simply decided that as I wasn't dead yet, why not go for it.

I have never regretted it. No it isn't perfect, no system is. But it gave me the impetous I needed. I am now going for the Urban Forestry Management Diploma through Dakota College, with Prof Bob Underwood. I will continue to take as many courses as I can find and study as much as possible.

A small point...if you don't pass a domain, you now have to retake the whole test. No retaking of just one section.

Sylvia
 
yes that is what i understood it to be also, had to pass each domain,i have the outline of the exam throughisa, and i have read everything i can and taken the tests after each chapter in the arborist cert. study guide, i also took arboriculture in college, along with millions of refresher courses, books.etc. i think my eyes have started to cross from reading. i believe i have made 5 notebooks of notes. read and re-read. nice to have advice though. really appreciate everybody's input. it is a big help. any books you think i should be looking at throw them out there, i may not have read that one. enjoy
 
sylvia
you have to log on to the cornellforestry site they have alot of free webinars with great info on them. it would be right up your alley. let me know if you cant find site but i am sure you can get to it by logging in cornell forestry
 
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It seems to me that this thread MAY be in violation of the NEW ISA code of ethics!

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grin.gif
OMG!!!

Starlet, I went on Cornell Forestry's website. I'm pretty sure I was in the right spot as they had webinars and such listed. It seemed to me, though, that the majority of the information was forestry-oriented rather than urban/residential. But perhaps I just happened onto a limited list.

In addition to the Arborist's Certification Study Guide, the book I found most helpful for that exam was Harris' "Arboriculture: Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Vines".

If you have taken a college-level course in arboriculture, you should be good to go.

Sylvia
 
you were on the right website. sign up and register because they do have urban forestry etc. also on the forestconnect part of it you will see other websites with webinars penn state is one of them. alot of different things but they will email you when new ones come on board. they usually last one hour. they have a couple on EAB. i do have that book you mentioned i am reading that one now. thank you
 
Sylvia said:
Discounting the unhelpful comments from the last two posters....

One of the best pieces of advice I got before sitting the CA exam was to call and ask how they would present the ID section. I was told "a combination" of photos and live samples.

The test was being held at an arboretum so I arrived a day before and spent several hours "brushing up" on what was in that locale. I live in Montana with a limited species selection but the test I took was Pacific Northwest...a much larger species selection. Many of the trees on the list are not found in my area. So this approach helped immensely.

Do know what your twigs, buds and seeds look like.

Do not let negative comments on the viability of this exam affect your desire to pursue it. We all start somewhere, let this be a good place.
Click to expand...

Discounting the unhelpful comments from the last poster....above.....

The test is a joke. As big of a joke as the ISA union is. Your going to be as good as YOU want to be. Study guides from them are a help but that's about it. They should not be the standard for the industry.
 
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