Re: 70-291 test center shenanigans

From: Alice Ciccu \(MS\) (alicec_at_online.microsoft.com)
Date: 07/30/04 

Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 12:40:23 -0700

"Iram Hernandez" <Iram Hernandez@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9D34F82F-A179-4900-8D8D-32519162EFA1@microsoft.com...
> I'm so angry right now about stupid MCSE certifications...
>
> I've been working toward getting and MCSE 2003 certification for the last
couple of months and I'm so damn tired. I'm learning how to do things 'the
microsoft way' just so that I can get a certification and improve my chances
of landing a good job. It's been going OK until yesterdays experience at
Unitek Information Systems in Fremont, CA. I had chosen the Unitek site as
my testing center because they gave Pearson VUE tests, an VUE has a deal
right now that if you take a certification test and fail it, they will let
you retest for free.
>
> Here the deal. I was taking the 70-291, "Windows Server 2003 Network
Infrastructure Implementation, Management, and Maintainance" test for the
second time. I had failed the test with a 693/700 a week prior and I'd
spend the week preparing and practacing and I felt pretty confident. I
don't understan how they grade these tests and everyone who asks is told
that it is a Microsoft secret. Sheesh. But I digress.
>
> I showed up at this Pearson VUE testing center and the staff was pretty
confused. Aparently the are a 'career training' center and are not used to
people just studying at home and taking the tests instead of giving them
thousands of dollars for training. After they finally figure it out they
take me to testing room with about twelve stations and nobody else taking
tests besides me and they sit me in front of a computer. Except that it
doesn't work. After trying all the workstations the test 'proctor' gets one
of the tech support guys to jump start one of the computers and I am left in
the room by myself to take the test.
>
> As I click through the initial screen with the NDA and test rules I notice
that one of the screens mentions something about beta questions. I didn't
give it much thought at the time but I did notice that it said that ungraded
questions would be inserted randomly with the regular questions. I
proceeded to take the test and since I am given a whole notepad instead of a
dry 6 inch by 6 inch dry erase board that I'd been given at the Prometric
testing center where I had taken the previous tests, I made sure that I made
little notes for myself on each quesion, in case I had to go back and
recheck my answers. I was also using it to keep pace since I had not had
not found the question number in the right top portion of the screen like my
previous exams. And so I went along merrily on my way and then I noticed
that I was on question 30 of the 35 that I expected and I had not yet seen
any questions about DNS, unlike my first time. I continued answering the
questions until I got to question 35. As soon as I clicked the button to
confirm my last answers I leaned back after a long grueling ordeal.... Exept
that I was presented with another question. At that point I thought that
maybe I had miscounted the questions and so I answerd question number 36.
And then I was presented with another question. When I got to question
number 38 I began to realize that it was not my inability to count that was
the problem, but that something else was going on. I scanned the screen
carefully until I found at the bottem left corner in small type: 38 of 55
questions answerd. Holy ***. 38 of 55 questions and only 20 minutes left
to go. I sped through the rest of the exam and wound up taking the last
five minutes to randomly choose the answers for the last five of six
questions, I barely had enough time to read the answers, let alone the
questions and so I was sure that I had missed many of the last questions.
When I finally 'completed' the exam I was confronted with a score of 612 out
of 700. I got up from the my chair and walked up the hall to the front
desk.
>
> When I got to the desk I had to flag somebody down because the lady who
was supposed to be my 'proctor' was no where in sight. I told them that I
had just completed the test. The lady walked up to the printer and said,
"Oh, he failed" to somebody else in the office. She handed me the paper and
sent me on my way. I went to my truck and sat ther fuming and just punched
the dashboard and grunted and cursed. What the hell had just happend.
>
> As I drove back to my home I had plent of time to think about it. I kept
wondering, why did I get 55 questions instead of 35? Why did I get beta
questions? Why was I not at least warned that this was going on? Why,
after preparing better for this test than any other test, was I done in not
by the content of the questions, but by the delivery of the test?
>
> When I got home I jumped on my computer and searched the web for "MCSE
beta exam". On the microsoft website I found that beta exams were given
free of charge to specific certified professionals so that Microsoft could
take tweak their tests. More questions popped into my mind. Why did I get
a beta exam anyway? Why did they charge me for it? What the hell just
happened to me?
>
> I decided to confront the Microsoft's MCP department and Pearson VUE but I
had to wait until the next day because their offices were closed.
>
> The next morning I called 1-800-636-7544, the MCP Program Info line. I
told the guy my story and he listened respectfully and talked to his manager
a couple of times as I told him my story. He asked me if the questions were
appropriate to the test, and wether or not I thought any of the questions
were too hard. I answered his question and consulted his manager again. He
told me that there was nothing he could do, that they would investigate the
incident, but that I was pretty much on my own because the test that I had
taken was the right test. He told me that they offer three different tests.
A 'standard' test. A 'long' test. And an 'adaptive' test. He told me that
the test itself would have anywhere from 30 to 70 questions. That was not
what I expected to hear. I asked him if it was standard practive to give
regular MCP candidates beta questions and he conceeded that it was not.
Armed with the information I decided to confront VUE next.
>
> I called VUE and the guy was pretty attentive and receptive to my
situation. That's one thing I can say both the Microsoft guy and the
Pearson VUE guy were very good at handing the situation. I've been on the
other end of the Customer Support line and I know how hard it can be to
handle irate customers. And I was irate. After I expained the situation
to the VUE customer support representative, he informed me that he was going
to pass the information to his manger for her review. He said that he was
going to recommend that I get to take the test again for free. He told me
that they were going to pull my test and review it and that I would be
called back within a week. Now I wait.
>
> After I hung up I reviewed my exam report. I compared it with my previous
exam report and I noticed something else that shocked me. The objectives
were different on each report. Both reports had the objectives:
>
> Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining IP Addressing
>
> Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining Name Resolutions
>
> Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining Network Security
>
> Maintaining a Network Infrastructure
>
> The 35 question version had Implementing, Managing, and Maitaning Routing
and Remote Access, and the 55 question version had Managing and Maintaining
Physical and Logical Devices.
>
> So what was going on? Had the Microsoft objectives changed in the last
two weeks. And if so, why did my books not list the 'Managing and
Maintaining Physical and Logical Devices' objective and why had Microsoft
not updated it website?
>
> Obviously, I had been screwed of my time and my money. If it wasn't for
the fact that 50% of the sys admin out there wont even look at your resume
without MCSE certification and that I need to find a good job soon, I would
give up on this quest for MCSE certs.
>
> And so now I wait patiently, but still angry. I don't expect to hear back
from Microsoft but I will keep on Pearson VUE so that the very least they
let me take the test again soon. Hopefully they can get it right next time.
>

Iram,

I am very sorry to hear about your experience with the exam. I'm glad you
called VUE to let them know. I have confirmed the mis-labeled section, and
it is just that -- a mis-labeling. The content of exam 70-291 did not change
and I'm confident that you received questions on Routing and Remote Access
and none on Logical Devices.

I have asked VUE to republish the exam with the correct section labels.

For future reference, the first screen of the exam tells you exactly how
many questions are on the exam and how much time will be allotted. Having
just taken the exam a week prior, I'm sure you weren't expecting there to be
a change in the number of questions, but there was. We continually add new
content to our exams
so you can never be sure from week to week if the number of questions has
changed or not. We always add additional time, though, if we have added
additional questions.

I would also like to clarify a few things the MCP representative told you.
It sounds like he told you there were three types of exams for 70-291. That
is not correct. On any given day, all candidates get the exact same format
of the exam, not the same questions, but the same format. Our exams do vary
in length between 30 and 70 questions, but all of the 70-291 exams offered
today are 55 questions long. This will change as we add and delete content
to keep the exam current.

Also, it is common pratice to give MCP candidates beta questions. We have
done this for years. This is how we test new questions that we want to add
to the exam pool. This is a very common practice throughout the testing
industry. 

-- 
Alice Ciccu
Assessments and Certification Exams
Microsoft Learning
"This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties and confers no rights."
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