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!

 

[SimonDavies]

I have to add that passing with 900 means you had questions in the exam that you knew the answers to and that you were lucky that time. Sure a pass is a pass but I have taken exams (for example 290) where I took it 4 times (don't ask).. of those 4 times I would say that I had 60% of the same questions all along. Each time I took the exam I failed by one or two questions.. on the last attempt not only did I pass but I got over 800.

I have done exams in the past where I have missed the top score by 1 or 2 questions (NT4 WS I got something like 970 out of 1000). My Sec+ I missed the top score by 2 questions, all this is well and good but at the end of the day your employers will only know that you have passed the exams and achieved the certification, they won't know how well you did or didn't do.

One final thing to note, there is no point in working out how well you did in the exam, all you need to remember is that you knew enough to pass, now you need to remember to know enough to continue being good at your job. The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.


SimonD.
MCSE NT4, 2003, 2003:Security, CNA, CNE, CCNA and Sec+

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[tuliphead]

SimonDavies wrote:
>Sure a pass is a pass but I have taken exams
>(for example 290) where I took it 4 times
>(don't ask).. of those 4 times I would say
>that I had 60% of the same questions all
>along.

Sorry to say it, but that is a result of bad preparation. Everyone can have a bad day at work, but 3 bad days in a row is nothing else than bad preparation.

It is essential to hit a reasonable date for the certification test. You have to feel ready. If you fail three times in a row, and felt ready for it each time, then there is a mismatch between your feeling of readiness and the actual level of knowledge needed for passing the exam.

I never decide the certification date any earlier than a week before I am to take them. At that point I´ve read through the stuff, spent hours in my improvised test-lab, done multiple preparation tests and so on. When I decide to hit the testing center, I *know* I am as ready as I can be.

This approach has not failed me to this date

 

[aftertaf]

on 294 i got 944 i think...
and on 218 i got 924

Aftertaf
We shall prevail, and they shall not

 

[SimonDavies]

Tuliphead, I agree with you.. but some of the others here (Wish, AfterTaf) may remember my story.

I was in India doing my MCSE, I passed the 270 exam easily, I felt that I could pass the 290 exam just as easily.... but by the time I tried to retake the exams I was onto my next module (291, 294 etc) so I would then have to spend my time trying to revise 290 and other exams.. in the end tho I called a halt to the training method and took it slowly.. out of all of the exams I think I failed both 290 and 291, I failed 291 due to bad prep (I didn't study RAS) and sods law my exam had loads of RAS, the rest of the scoring was up there. Out of the remaining exams, when I decided to purely concentrate on those exams I passed them all first time with decent scores.

I would also like to add that when I first started doing the training the books I had to use were the MOC books, great for actual hands on training but useless for exams. It was only after failing the exam for the third time that I spoke to the training company and went with the MS Press MCSE Prep books instead... once I did that I was ok.

One word of advice, don't use the MOC books for test prep.

SimonD.

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[4theU]

I looked into this with Microsoft and the answer I received was every test has a different max score. Each question has a varying point value depending on the "difficulty" of the question, and to make it even more confusing Microsoft throws some questions into the test that aren't worth anything, to determine if they want to put the question in tests in the future. That is why people have varying scores, to get an extremely high score you would have to get alot of "difficult" questions and get them right. I failed the 70-291 with a 591 and three out of 5 of the sections I got perfect, while the other two looked like about 40%. On the retake I scored an 856. I was happy, but a pass is simply a pass.

 

[Spirit]

I just sat the 70-294 exam (and I am glad to say got my first EVER MCP) I got a 868 if that means anything to anyone?

The point of my post is that in this exam I got a break down of sections and how I did in each in terms of a filled in black bar (think blue bar and how long to completion of the install!)

so it said the sections were;
Planning & Impl AD Infra
Mamaging and Maintain AD
Planning & Impl User, Computer & Group Strategies
Planning & Impl GP
Managing and Maintaining GP

I got 100% filled black bars in all sections except the Plan & Impl GP section which was... well slightly more than 50% filled which means I SUCK at that which I am fully aware of and am study more about it to understand it fully.

My point is that this is constructive critism which was something lacking in School from my teachers. Know that I got something wrong isn't good enough, being told that I suck at something lets me hit the books and understand it more.... Much better than the Wow you Suck/Rock* of the 2000 MCP exams.

*Delete as applicable

Good job MS!

Just my two pence worth.

Iain

 

[supadupaduck]

70-270 - 905
70-290 - 844
70-291 - 899
70-293 - 750
70-294 - 799
70-298 - 911
70-299 - 957

 

[IT4EVR]

Maybe I'm missing something but what's the big deal about posting your score? Is there a Microsoft Certified Dean's List?



The wisest people are those who are smart enough to realize they don't know it all.

 

[IT4EVR]

Although I think it's great people are passing these Microsoft exams, I think it's more humble to just say...I passed the exam.

Telling a prospective employer that I got a 966 on the last such and such test would seem a bit pompous to me.

The wisest people are those who are smart enough to realize they don't know it all.

 

[Wishdiak]

Telling a prospective employer that I got a 966 on the last such and such test would seem a bit pompous to me.

...and foolish. There is no record anywhere (AFAIK) that could be accessed by a third party that would show an exact score, except for the test report that you recieve at the testing center. This score report could be faked so easily, that it's not worth bringing it up. If you're going to brag about great scores, you might as well bring score reports showing a perfect 1000 on every exam to your next job interview.


On the other hand, this thread was more about bragging amongst ourselves. I know I scored 919 on one of those exams last year.

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003

http://www.wishdiak.com

 

[Narizz28]

My 291 score was a 933.

 

[fanstey]

Hi,

I just joined this forum. I am not sure about the other scores but Ladato must be wrong about the 70-290 exam maximum score. I just scored a 790 on it and I did well on four of the five objectives but I only scored half on the Disaster Recovery portion. From what I can see is that I got 11 of the 42 questions wrong. Using straight math would put the maximum score at 1070. However, different questions are worth different values so it may be difficult to tell.