Highest Scores - Poll 6

[eb24]

I just finished taking my last exam (70-300) for the MCSD.NET cert and it was very arduous with a huge time constraint. I ended up with a PASS score which was satisfactory for me.

This was my first MS test in which I did not receive a detailed breakdown of my performance and score. I would like to know what others are experiencing and also to decipher how MS grades, I would like to know what others are scoring. Is 1000 really the max score?

Here are my results:
70-229 :: 823
70-300 :: PASS
70-305 :: 891
70-306 :: 867
70-310 :: 885

Hope to hear from you!

 

[Nzarth]

Yes 1000 is really a max score.

Also I think MS is moving away from giving specific scores out to maybe combat braindumpers.

If you just get a pass mark then you do not know how well or badly you passed the exam.

A pass is a pass

Nzarth

MCSA/MCSE (W2K), CCA

Working on CCNA

 

[GlenJohnson]

Yes, MS has moved to a pass/fail scoring method. If you pass, feel pleased. If you fail, it's a bear because you don't know where the weakness is. Been there, done that. Good luck.

Glen A. Johnson
If you're from Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin check out Tek-Tips in Chicago, Illinois Forum.

TTinChicago

http://www.johnsoncomputers.us

 

[ladato]

I have to disagree with Nzath. 1000 is not always (ever?) the max score. On one exam (70-293) I got a 1049.

According to the instructor:

70-270 Passing 700, Max score 937 (we found this out from a student in our last class who had scored perfect on each subject)

70-290 Passing 700, Max score 755
70-291 Passing 700, Max score 800 (we have never seen higher than a 745)
70-227 Passing 700, Max score 900 (we hae never seen a higher score than 899)
70-293 Passing 700, there are 2 versions of this test. One you can get a max score of 800, the other 1100.
70-294, Passing 700, Max score of 755
70-297, Passing 700, Max score unknown. Highest we have seen is 838

Leon

Leon Adato (adatole@yahoo.com)
Measure what is measurable,
And make measurable what is not so.
- Galileo

 

[setnaffa]

I've always figured that a pass was a pass... getting jollies out of high scores might be something to avoid... too much other stuff to do!!

;-)

Of course, if I ever got a 1000, I'd trumpet it from the rooftops... and I don't believe I've ever gotten an adaptive test or "just enough" on any test... usually a "comfortable margin" on the scored tests...

Setnaffa is an MCP-W2K (working on MCSE-W2K) with a few other certs, too...

 

[ladato]

My issue isn't with tracking high scores. It's with the margin of error that you have to pass.

In the case of 293, I had a 400 point "buffer" that other people taking the test at the same time didn't have.

On an 800-limit test, each question is worth about 22 points and you need at least 30 correct to pass.

On a 1100-limit test, each questions is worth 31 points, but you only need 22 of them to hit the 700-point mark.

I realize I'm dividing out the total points by the total questions, which isn't how it really works (simulators always count for A LOT more than other questions), but you get the idea.

Leon

Leon Adato (adatole@yahoo.com)
Measure what is measurable,
And make measurable what is not so.
- Galileo

 

[jtb]

You know it's a game the test-makers play to give the test-takers a "run for their money"...

No one just stops and says "ok, I'm sure I got 700 points (or 800 or whatever), I'll end the exam now... ;-)

But I do see your point...


JTB
Have Certs, Will Travel
"A knight without armour in a [cyber] land."

 

[CharlieJax]

Hell... some of the questions don't even have a score associated with them

CJ

Don't drink and post, save that for driving home!

 

[ladato]

I didn't realize that the M$ tests did that. I know that Cisco does. The most off the wall questions are usually "freebies" that they put there to see how they do (or to spook you, or maybe both).

Leon

Leon Adato (adatole@yahoo.com)
Measure what is measurable,
And make measurable what is not so.
- Galileo

 

[CharlieJax]

My bet is that all the tests are that way. I know Cisco is, but its more than likely community wide. Not that it matters, since people are going to try to answer all of the questions on the test correctly anyway.

CJ

Don't drink and post, save that for driving home!

 

[cope21]

ladato-
70-294 has a higher max score than you list. I got a 933 on it. The other ones seem about right, though.

 

[Terpsfan]

Publishing and bragging about your own test scores is a bit tacky and also unprofessional. It's like bragging to people at work that you got a 3.7 GPA in college. Just be thankful you passed the test and leave it at that. Plus no one thinks that just because you scored 50 points better than someone else, that they are somehow less knowledgeable than you are. I find that the best people in any particular field are able to do so without bragging.

 

[ladato]

Once again, the point of the thread (based on posts that supplied actual information versus opinion) isn't so much bragging as to find out the high-low values.

How else would you find out that there are two versions of the 294 exam out there, one with a 400 point buffer?

Yes, we are all thankful we passed the exam, and the guy who passed with all 700's is still called MCSE (to paraphrase the joke).

But as a community of professionals we need to be aware of the fact that "normalized" exams still do not exist, that 700 isn't always the low mark and 1000 isn't always the high mark, and that two people didn't take the same test on an even playing field.

Does that change your view of someone with an MCSE? That's for you to decide. Does the knowledge we gather from people's responses here allow us to go back to M$ and say "what gives?!?", absolutely.

As a person dedicated not only to gaining real-world experience but also keeping professional certs up to date (as any lawyer, doctor, etc would), I want those certs to have real-world meaning. I don't like fluff tests meant to confound without any real application; I don't like exams that test my ability to take exams; and I don't like a testing system that creates an unlevel playing field.

</rant>
Leon


Leon Adato (adatole@yahoo.com)
Measure what is measurable,
And make measurable what is not so.
- Galileo

 

[jtb]

Leon,

The point of the MCSE is either

(a) get a job,
(b) keep a job,
(c) get a better job, or
(d) show off.

Scores don't really matter to the first three.

Likewise with "normalized exams", as passing the tests only indicate you know enough to satisfy Microsoft--not that you are any good at being a systems administrator or other job...

In a cynical way, the tests are truly only as _valuable_ as what someone is willing to pay you after taking them...

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my MCSE 2000 and will be upgrading to 2003 as soon as I get a chance to study a bit more...

But let's not get too hung up on the scores because, as you pointed out, a 700 for one might be as good as an 800 or a 900 for another!!

JTB
Have Certs, Will Travel
&quot;A knight without armour in a [cyber] land.&quot;

 

[MCSE2003]

On my 70-296 the second time around, I scored a 700 and I needed a 700 to pass.. hummmmmmm .. lots of test takers who are taking this exam is scourcing between a 700 to 750.. know one that I spoke with recieved a higher score for this exam?
but a pass is a pass...

 

[UKHicks]

do employers even have the right to know our scores if we do?

 

[NickFerrar]

I don't think you'll ever gain much trying to decipher the MS exam scoring. It's too variable IMO and you're never going to get official confirmation on it. Personally I think in the current tests the questions have variable scores and the maximum score on some exams is certianly well below 1000.

Trying to 'play the test' by knowing which questions give more points or how many questions you can afford to fail really isn't going to help you actually pass it.

 

[tuliphead]

ladato wrote:
>70-294, Passing 700, Max score of 755
>70-297, Passing 700, Max score unknown. Highest we have seen is 838

This is wrong:
I have taken both exams a while ago, and scored high 800 something on the 70-294, while I was far over 900 on the 70-297 test.

I think the 700 mark passing score is the same for all M$-tests. I even think the 1000 max score probably is the same for all the M$-tests. What can differ from one person to another? Well, they sometimes throw beta-questions into the exam. Those questions will not be scored and counted to your final score. The difficulty level from one exam to another is also different even if the pass/max pointlevel is the same. I guess they simply scores some of the tests tougher than the rest. The 70-270 exam is easy, while the 70-291 test is harder.

 

[ras1040]

It's not just Microsoft that creates an uneven playing field in testing. I'm also a licensed engineer. The PE exam has a variety of questions from the different fields of engineering. Even though you may be a civil engineer you specialize in water resources, well if you don't get some questions from the water resources area you are out of luck and have to hope that you studied enough of the various other types of questions to pass. I'm meet and worked with engineers that passed the PE with flying colors and are the worst engineers. It's not the grades that count - after getting the piece of paper, it's how you use your knowledge. I've been asked what I passed the PE with just that I have one. Hoping to say the same about MCSE soon too. Wish me luck.

 

[chriscj21]

My MCSE was really hit and miss:

When i took the 210 and 215 exams it was a simple "PASS" or "Fail"...

After this MS started handing out scores.

Was fortunate enough not to fail any one the way but my marks were so up and down....

Is a real personal preference thing because some of the exams people say are "terrible" i breezed and then others (70-224, exchange)I found reasonably difficult.

End of day a pass is a pass and a fail is a fail.


Chris


ChrisCj21
MCSE, A+, N+