  We investigate the reliability of transition strengths computed in the
random-phase approximation (RPA), comparing with exact results from
diagonalization in full $0\hbar\omega$ shell-model spaces. The RPA and
shell-model results are in reasonable agreement for most transitions; however
some very low-lying collective transitions, such as isoscalar quadrupole, are
in serious disagreement. We suggest the failure lies with incomplete
restoration of broken symmetries in the RPA. Furthermore we prove, analytically
and numerically, that standard statements regarding the energy-weighted sum
rule in the RPA do not hold if an exact symmetry is broken.
