Network Technology Academy

Avoid this testing center if possible. The receptionist at the front desk doesn’t seem capable of communicating beyond a series of crude grunts and gestures. He didn’t bother providing me with any set of directions and just ushered me into this dinky testing room with Apple II-​era computers and a heater/​AC unit that buzzes so loud you feel it re-​writing your DNA structure and keyboards so loud you’d swear someone was taking a jackhammer to a bank vault next door. Honestly, the whole experience put me in a bad mood before my exam. Highly unprofessional, just avoid unless you’re some sort of masochist.

I should have checked Unilocal first… I don’t have much to add to the previous reviews, but here is a quick summary of my experience:
1) Shockingly rude and unprofessional staff: They command you around like chattel and seem to feed off your nervousness. Chances are you’re probably fairly high-​strung when you enter there and they do not seem to have any understanding of the test taker’s mindset… Only ask questions if you don’t mind being spoken down to.
2) No interest in your comfort: They accused me of stalling because I wanted to adjust my seat before starting my exam… Seriously guys?
3) No climate control: Temperature ranged from freezing too balmy every 30 minutes. It was like having the flu for 4 hours; you’re either sweating or shivering but never comfortable.
4) Computers are really old: I’d frequently type and have to wait for my text to appear on the screen. This hasn’t happen to me since 1998.
5) Random interruptions during the test: You’re already being watched on camera, but they’d enter the room, open the shades on the window, close the shades, then leave. The cheap earplugs didn’t help at all either. Lots of loud, prolonged, random grinding noises came from the building, and the employees didn’t seem to understand the concept of an «inside voice».
6) Unclean facility: There is no trash bin for you, so people just used their potted plants to discard their empty cups, banana peels or whatever they walked in with. You can’t bring liquid/​food into the test area, so this junk has to go someplace. Strange they haven’t figured this is a problem yet.
Amazingly, the whiteboard booklets they give to have probably never been washed. They looked grimy and the stains on your skin afterwards affirm that. Besides this, it was cramped, crowded, and there were random wires and piles of paper lying around everywhere.
7) They lost their internet connection before my test, so I started my exam late. Ok, this one is probably Comcast’s fault, but it was the cherry on the top of the whole experience.
I left the exam not really sure what just happen. The facility felt like it existed adjacent to the world of Mad Max. Needless to say, I would not recommend this location to anyone and I will not take my other tests here. On the bright side, their lousy experience means you can usually get an easy reservation since no one wants to be there.

This place is absolutely awful. I took an MTEL here and had to circle around Malden to find paid parking. Once inside, the place was dingy and sweltering hot. The man working the registration counter was pleasant, but once inside the testing room, the stagnant air was even more noticeable. About a half hour into the test, the room next door broke out into loud yelling, laughing, and overall loudness to the point that I was sitting there with my fingers plugging my ears (no ear plugs). It was pretty much impossible to concentrate. This place should not be allowed to administer standardized tests if they are incapable of providing a comfortable testing environment. I was distracted by the constant noise and bustling of people in an out of the room.

If I could give this place 0 stars, I would. I took my MTEL there today and I recommend no one ever use this as a testing center. As other reviewers have stated, the administrators are very rude and the place itself is grimy. The carpets and chairs are stained, the rooms are tiny, and the temperature control didn’t work very well.
More problematically, the staff was in and out of the room the entire 3.5 hours I was taking my test. As someone else stated, one of the men interrupted my test-​taking a few times to tell me to put the cap on my pen. This is not a rule, and I am not allowed my own writing implement, yet they come in to monitor your pen use. I’m sure they can afford a new dry-​erase marker if it dries out. Additionally, they were in and out of the room the. entire. time. They were doing something on the computers, actually dismantled one of the computers (not something you could do when no one’s in the room? really?) and talked to each other. In the room, while people were taking tests. It was horrifically distracting, and I ended up spending a good 45 minutes sitting there fuming, instead of taking my test.
Please save yourself a few hundred dollars and take the test somewhere else, where you might focus and get a good score.

I would never return to this test center again. First of all, the test I signed up for allotted 4 hours for testing. There is no parking around the test center that allows that length of time! There are 2 hour meters out front and a lot in the back that has meters with a 3 hour limit. (luckily I finished my test in under 3 hours.)
The elevators to the building were broken so I had to take the stairs to the fourth floor.(not a huge deal because I’m completely capable of walking up the stairs… but what if I wasn’t?).
Obviously personal items are not allowed in the testing room, but other centers I have been to have individual lockers that you put your stuff in and then you hold onto the key. The guy at the desk put my bag in a drawer behind his desk. Super secure.
The center does not provide noise canceling headphones, however they do have disposable earplugs that do not actually block sound or fit in the average human ear.
In the middle of taking my test, the test proctor came in and disturbed me by telling me if I am not using the dry erase marker that I MUST put the cover back on because it will dry out. So he picked up my marker and made a scene in front of everyone in the room and made me lose my train of thought. Seriously distracting and unprofessional. I paid over $ 100 to take this test… it’s fine with me if I dry out your marker… you’ll be able to afford another one.
Additionally, there was an issue with temperature control in the room today. The AC would kick on and it would be FREEZING and then it would turn off and it would be a sauna. It is not an environment that is conducive to test taking.

horrible place, bad experience, unprofessional people there. I did TOEFL test in many places (more than 5) this one is the worst one ever.

You. Had. One. Job.
All you needed to do was to administer my previously scheduled test on my previously scheduled test date and time.
Why can’t you do that?
Why does Pearson even allow a testing center to continue operating if it can’t do that one job?
I came here for a 9:30am test. There were already a handful of folks waiting to take their 9:00am test. Bad sign. We were repeatedly given the explanation that, «There was an update from Pearson last night that didn’t work, but you can reschedule for another day if you want,» which in technical terms means, «I don’t know what’s going on, and it won’t be fixed today.»
I finally gave up and left at 10:30am. Did anyone else know that you can reschedule for another day if you’re unable to take the test after 45 minutes? I now do, thanks to Axell and Jonas, the friendly proctors at Network Technology Academy.
But I must admit that my day wasn’t a total waste. I can now appreciate what folks in third world countries need to endure for the promise of a better life. Here in America, there are so many amenities that I take for granted: clean water, paved roads, and functioning test centers.
Thanks, Network Technology Academy, for giving me a taste of the third world experience! I feel like a more compassionate individual now, and no amount of testing could have accomplished that.

This place is on the 4^th floor of an office building smack in the middle of Davis Square near the red line T station. It is a cramped location containing a small waiting area and 3 different test rooms. The staff is not very talkative, not as bad as other reviewers have stated but not the friendliest either. They are very quick and let you know what to expect and set you up for the test. The one thing about this place, it is filthy. The carpets are stained so bad it is nasty and the rooms are cluttered and small. The parking is only on the street and it is 2 hour minimum although the meters in Somerville do accept credit cards. Not a horrible experience but not great either.

Took two MTELs here this week. I didn’t think the place was godawful, but the experience was certainly meh. For one thing, public parking outside the building has a 3 hour max, so if you’re taking a 4-​hour test, you better plan on finishing early or taking the T. That’s not convenient for everyone, but it is what it is. Honestly, the parking/​getting there was the most difficult part as I’m not that close to the T. It’s right off the red line at Davis, so if you have access to the red line you don’t even need a car (and this is definitely preferable), but if you’re not close to the T, you’ve got some work to do. One solution might be parking at the huge garage at Alewife and taking the T one stop to Davis.
It is kind of small and cramped and there are distractions, like the door frequently being left open and the noise coming in from the reception area, so I suppose one would have to be prepared for that. Didn’t have too many problems checking in except being ignored for about 10 – 15 minutes the second time.
I scheduled here because it was the only place locally which offered tests five days a week, every week, but because of the difficulties I had in getting there each time I don’t think I’ll be returning (if I can avoid it, that is).

Absolutely abysmal testing conditions. I felt like I was in a 3^rd wolrd RMV. The proprieter — Jonas Silus, was so incredibly rude people thought it was a joke. I arrived at 9:45 for a 10 a.m. Pearson Vue Cisco test and there were people still waiting from 8 a.m. appointments. The reception area was about 75 square feet and packed with about 12 angry test takers when I arrived. If they asked him what the issue was he would ignore them (mind you this is literally face to face) and walk out of the room for 20 minutes. His behavior was irratic to the point that I honestly thought he might shred a bunch of documents and just flee out the building. It was that shady. When I finally got seated the «test center» was about 28 inches of desktop space crammed in with about 30 people taking a wide myriad of tests. A jar of earplugs was placed on my PC and I was left to my own devices after a bizarre login by Jonas to initiate the test. A few minutes into the test and another test taker starts reciting «Please describe the town of Newton.» over and over. I was beyond Irate. I tried to get the proctor’s attention to complain (a 17 year old kid from Mission Hill who overtly ignored me) and another person started doing the same thing. Then another. Then oral essays about whether or not you prefer to study in a group or independently. I was in a test room with a dozen people taking online oral exams. This went on for the entirety of my test. To top off the experience Jonas couldn’t print my results and «had to e-​mail them to me» which I haven’t received. And because of the long wait my meter ran out and I got a fucking ticket. If it were possible to give a knife in the eye instead of a star I would choose that option.

I am enrolled in the Network Administration Course at NTAI. So far, the school gave me the necessary tools to pass the MCSE certification, as well as the CCNA exam. Instructors are very knowledgable in their subject matter. For Money, you can’t really complain.