Certification has long been used in other fields and is fast becoming typical in the computing field. Commercial educational programs typically do not include any rigorous testing.
Certification is the missing evaluation component.
Formal higher education involves evaluations for pass or fail. However, it tends to be more broad and much less specialized than is required to satisfy quickly fluctuating industry demands. The best and most effective certifications programs are those specified by the people who practice in that field. That is not sufficient motivation alone. The industry demand for system administrators has been growing for many years.