Now, that I’m back, let’s talk about something that’s near and dear to your heart and mine—scoring. It is my mission to correct a common misperception about our scores…700 is not equal to 70%. Let me explain.

All MCP exam scores are scaled. This process converts the number of points that you earned on the exam—in most cases, this is equivalent to the number of questions that you answered correctly (this is called a “raw score”) to a common scale that in Microsoft’s case ranges from 0-1000. Scaling scores makes it easier to compare scores from one administration to the next. When we make changes to our exams, the raw cut score (and percent of items that you must answer correctly in order to pass) changes because the cut score is based on the difficulty of the content on the new version of the exam. With scaled scores, you can compare your performance across retakes; if we provided raw scores or percentages, it would be very difficult for you to know if your performance had improved from one attempt to the next if we had made a change to the exam between your attempts.

As an added benefit, scaling scores makes it much easier for us to communicate the passing score for our exams—a score of 700 is required to pass any MCP exam. I have to manage ~125 live exams, and if someone asks me what the passing score is for a particular exam, a common cut score across all our exams simplifies things. What’s the cut score for 298? 700. 350? 700. 640? 700. 680? 700. By the way, scaling scores is not unique to Microsoft; most certifying organizations provide scaled scores rather than raw scores for these reasons.

Here’s the key that bears repeating—700 is not equal to 70%. I hear this a lot… I need to answer 70% of the questions correctly to pass the exam. This is not true; in fact the actual percentage of items that you have to answer correctly varies for exam to exam and can range from roughly 50% to 85%. I can’t tell you what the range is exactly for our exams or what the cut score percentage is for a specific exam, but I can tell you that it varies—on some exams you need to answer a higher percentage of items correctly to pass than you need to on other exams. The cut score for a particular exam is based on input from SMEs, the minimum qualifications for competency, and the difficulty of the item pool. Carrying this one step further, this also means that the score that you see in the score report is not the percentage of items that you answered correctly (unless you answered all the questions correct (1000=100%) or incorrect (0=0%), but these are the only exceptions). It’s simply an indication of your performance in relation to the cut score.

Are you sensing that this is a pet peeve of mine? Why do I care so much? I care because Microsoft doesn’t arbitrarily decide what the cut score should be on an exam. We set the cut score based on input from SMEs who help us determine the point at which minimal competency is demonstrated given the target audience for the exam. Every step of the exam development process is driven by SME input; nothing is done arbitrarily, including setting the cut score.

Now, I’ll step off my soap box. What else do you want to know about how we set the cut score or report scores? Ask away. And, for those of you who recognize the movie quote from the first paragraph, you’ll earn my respect (which is actually a modified version of a line from a different movie).

Good Luck with your exam…

Happy Learning!

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Posted By: KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

Candidates looking to appear in this exam should have:

• Operating experience with System Center Data Protection Manager 2007
• At least one year of experience with data and system recoverability and data protection
• At least one year of experience with Windows Server administration and network infrastructure
• Production experience with at least one protected workload, plus working knowledge of the other protected workloads.

Related Certification:

After passing this exam 70-658 also known as System Center Data Protection Manager 2007, Configuring, you have qualified to get the following certification:

MCTS: (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) for System Center Data Protection Manager, Configuration

Skills Required to Pass 70-568 Exam

This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below.The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam.

• Installing Data Protection Manager (DPM) (16%)
• Managing Media and Agents (21%)
• Protecting Workloads (23%)
• Recovering Workloads (23%)
• Managing, Protecting, and Recovering the DPM Server (18%)

Preparation Material – How to Pass 70-568 Exam Easily ?

To help you prepare for this exam, Microsoft Learning recommends that you have hands-on experience with the product and that you use the following training resources. These training resources do not necessarily cover all of the topics listed in the “Skills Measured” tab.

Microsoft E-Learning

There is no Microsoft E-Learning training currently available on Microsoft official website which is quite helpful if you have enough time.

Microsoft Press Books

There are no Microsoft Press books currently available on this exam.

Practice Exams:

70-658 practice exam are available in pdf format with selftest engine tool to measure your preparation and judge yourself. Selftest engine is coming in two modes 1st Preparation Mode and 2^nd is Exam mode.

SelfTestEngine:

In my opinion Selftest engine is best training tool and its helps you to check yourself that how well you are prepared for this exam.

Certification Tutorials:

Certification Tutorials are always helpful and you can search for tutorials online.

Study Guides

Study guides help you to get in depth knowledge about this exam and helpful in preparation.

Good Luck with your exam…

Happy Learning!

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Posted By: KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

At long last, Exam 70-680 is available in Prometric testing centers. This is a Technical Specialist exam designed to assess candidates’ hands-on skills configuring Windows 7.

Candidates for this exam operate in computing environments that use Microsoft Windows 7 as a desktop operating system in an enterprise environment. Candidates should have at least one year of experience in the IT field, as well as experience implementing and administering any Windows client operating system in a networked environment.

Candidates should be able to install, deploy, and upgrade to Windows 7, including ensuring hardware and software compatibility. Additionally, candidates should be able to configure pre-installation and post-installation system settings, Windows security features, network connectivity applications included with Windows 7, and mobile computing. Candidates should also be able to maintain systems, including monitoring for and resolving performance and reliability issues. Candidates should have a basic understanding of  Windows PowerShell syntax.

When you pass Exam 70-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring, you complete the requirements for the following certification(s):

• MCTS: Windows 7, Configuration

Exam 70-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring: counts as credit toward the following certification(s):

• MCITP: Enterprise Administrator
• MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7
• MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7

For a list of the skills measured on this exam, check out the prep guide. To schedule your exam, visit Prometric’s Web site.

Happy Learning!

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Posted By: KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

The Microsoft Press E-Reference Libraries are a premium online collection of Microsoft Press books, along with a powerful search tool to quickly find the answer, code snippet, or troubleshooting tip that you need. Customize your library with your own bookmarks and notes, and download selected chapters for offline reading. All libraries are a 12-month subscription service.

There are four E-Reference Libraries:

• Complete Library   Content from Microsoft Press books across Microsoft products and technologies, as well as a wide variety of audiences and levels. More than 600 books are included. Promotional price: $187.50. Discount code: EREFCOMPLETEC

• IT Professional Library   Focused on network and system administration topics with over 100 books included. Leading series such as Resource Kit, Administrator’s Companion, Administrator’s Pocket Consultant, and more. Promotional price: $112.50. Discount code: EREFPROC

• Developer Library   Content from over 100 books on programming/software development, architecture, testing, security, and other topics. Also includes highly acclaimed expert authors such as Steve McConnell, Charles Petzold, Michael Howard, Dino Esposito, and others. Promotional price: $112.50. Discount code: EREFDEVC

• Desktop Library   Focused on topics for business and home users: Office applications, the Windows client operating system, and general business skills. Includes content from over 80 titles, and includes top series such as Step by Step, Inside Out, and Plain and Simple. Promotional price: $37.50. Discount code: EREFDESKC

Use the promotional codes above to receive your 25 percent discount when purchasing the library(ies) of your choice. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/learning/books/ereference to take advantage of this offer. And to learn more about what the E-Reference Library can do for you, check out the demo there (click “Watch an E-Reference Library demo video” in the right column).

This offer ends on Thursday, July 23, 2009!

Happy Learning!

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Posted By: KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

Got a mail from Microsoft that the Microsoft is going to create the Green Earth, so all the Microsoft exams written before June 30 2009 alone are eligible for certificates, after that

only E-Certificates will be provided. If you need paper certificate then you need to pay them in addition. This is really a sad news from Microsoft. Most of the FAQ are answered here.

Won’t it cost me a fortune to have the certificate mailed to my country? No—our number one requirement from the start was that our certificates—should you still choose to order them—be affordable to ship anywhere in the world. We’ll have our shipping costs published soon, but we don’t anticipate significantly higher shipping costs internationally. (We’re using a different vendor than our MCP E-Store (which I agree is way too exorbitant on shipping costs… we’re working on that).

We use A4 paper in my country, but your certificates are 8-1/2 x 11. How do I print my certificates correctly? We actually provide A4 versions of the digital certificates now—go check them out!

Why don’t I see my charter certificates? We don’t keep records of charter members—those charter certificates are simply the first x number of certificates that we mailed out to the people who earned those certifications. If you were to re-order one of those certificates today (or last week, or last month), you’d find that you’d get a “standard” certificate rather than a charter one (unless we still happened to have some charter certificates left), and the digital certificates work the same way.

Will you ever issue charter certificates again? Maybe. We decided that on a case-by-case basis. If we do, we’ll also make sure we take into account how digital fulfillment works in those cases.

Why didn’t you make welcome kits opt-in only, so that environmentally concerned customers could decided for themselves? We did—for the last few years! Almost everyone ordered certificates though (myself included), in part because they’re free. I find myself ordering things I probably wouldn’t otherwise when they’re free. With a modest shipping and handling fee, we expect that more folks will opt-out than before.

How is this environmentally friendly if all it means is that the MCP has to do the printing instead of Microsoft? See above—if everyone prints out their certificates, then yeah, there’s a good chance that overall we’re doing more harm than good to the environment. But we don’t believe that will happen. I don’t know what percentage of folks will print their certificates, but I think it will decline steadily over time.

Won’t this lead to fraudulent certificates? Don’t look now, but it’s actually not that hard to find places on the Internet who will send you authentic-looking but counterfeit certificates and wallet cards today. The fact is, you can’t trust a paper certificate, and frankly, I wouldn’t trust a digital one either. The only thing I’d trust is our launching-in-August virtual business cards, which authenticate your credentials against your transcript, making them pretty darn difficult to forge.

Are you going to lower the price for exams since you’re now saving money on the welcome kits? No, we won’t, but: remember that we haven’t raised our prices in eight years. Tell me another vendor whose exams are priced as low as we are and can say that. We could have simply raised our prices a bit, but then everyone would be paying extra, not just the people who want paper certificates. This way seems more equitable to us: if you’re satisfied with digital credentials, your exams cost the same; if you want a paper certificate, you’ll pay a modest shipping and handling fee.

How would you feel if your college or university told you that after four years, you had to pay an extra fee to get your diploma? I’d be pretty ticked off, because I probably just spent up to $200,000 USD and invested 4 full-time years of my life studying. I’d probably also question the rationale, since my college only issues about 400 diplomas a year, and they’re handed out in person rather than packaged in cardboard and shipped on airplanes and trucks around the world. I understand the analogy many of you are trying to draw, but in fairness I don’t think that many of you are spending that kind of money and time earning our certifications. I love that you take such pride in your accomplishments—and I share it as an MCP/MCT many times over since 1993—but with all due respect and IMHO, we’re talking about different levels of investment here.

Frequently Leveled Accusations

Microsoft isn’t concerned about the environment—this is just a cost-cutting measure in disguise. This is what’s known as a false choice: that something must be either one thing or another, and not both. This is absolutely a way for us to save on our costs (without raising our prices)—no doubt about that. But it’s also and primarily a way for us to cut down on our environmental footprint. I realize some of you won’t believe that no matter what we say… so it’s probably not a productive use of any of our time trying to persuade each other. (Ditto for those of you arguing that global warming is a hoax.)

You don’t really care about the environment—or you wouldn’t have done that bus tour! See above, plus: there’s no doubt we’re not 100% green, and we won’t be any time soon either. But we’re making strides where we can. (I wish we could have found an electric bus!) BTW, you can take out the words “the environment” above and substitute “cutting costs” and the argument works just as well.

One final note (for now): I understand why the discussion is focused on certificates now, but the upcoming virtual business cards are going to be pretty sweet. For the first time, we’ll truly have a visual symbol of your credential that really, truly proves your accomplishments. I think you guys will dig it and appreciate the benefits it provides over paper and plastic.

Posted By: R.v.KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Professional

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