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Hi,

I've just sent the email below to my MCP test provider describing what
I think may be a problem with the software that scores the MCP exam I
took today. Any thoughts?




I've just taken exam 70-228 and failed it with a mark of 553 out of
700.
On the printout there are seven bars showing my performance in each of
7 areas:

Installing and Configuring SQL Server
Creating SQL Server Databases
Managaing, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting SQL Server 2000 Databases
Extracting and Transforming Data with SQL Server 2000
Managing and Monitoring SQL Server 2000 Security
Managing, Monitoring and Troubleshooting SQL Server 2000
Survey

It is this last one that concerns me. The bar is empty implying that I
have failed all the questions in this section. Yet the item "Survey" is
not present in the list of exam objectives on Microsoft's web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ex...228.asp#SKILLS

I think this item "survey" is a bug and should not have been there.

The printout does not mark each item, but it is clear by measuring each
of the seven items that the total score of 553 has been generated by
adding up each item and dividing by 7 (expressed as a percentage).
I think my correct score should have been generated by dividing by 6,
which would give around 630. Still a fail, but much closer to the pass
mark of 700.

May 4, 2006

Hi Neil... I once had an empty bar in a section and called the MCP phone
number... and they said it probably was because there was only one question
under that category and I got it wrong. . . . this is also listed in the
FAQs on the MCP web site.

Hope this helps!

--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional -- DPM

Web Site/Blog: http://CactiDevelopers.ResDev.Net/

<> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> I've just sent the email below to my MCP test provider describing what
> I think may be a problem with the software that scores the MCP exam I
> took today. Any thoughts?
>
>
>
>
> I've just taken exam 70-228 and failed it with a mark of 553 out of
> 700.
> On the printout there are seven bars showing my performance in each of
> 7 areas:
>
> Installing and Configuring SQL Server
> Creating SQL Server Databases
> Managaing, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting SQL Server 2000 Databases
> Extracting and Transforming Data with SQL Server 2000
> Managing and Monitoring SQL Server 2000 Security
> Managing, Monitoring and Troubleshooting SQL Server 2000
> Survey
>
> It is this last one that concerns me. The bar is empty implying that I
> have failed all the questions in this section. Yet the item "Survey" is
> not present in the list of exam objectives on Microsoft's web site:
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ex...228.asp#SKILLS
>
> I think this item "survey" is a bug and should not have been there.
>
> The printout does not mark each item, but it is clear by measuring each
> of the seven items that the total score of 553 has been generated by
> adding up each item and dividing by 7 (expressed as a percentage).
> I think my correct score should have been generated by dividing by 6,
> which would give around 630. Still a fail, but much closer to the pass
> mark of 700.
>

Having given some MCP exams, I usually found a brief survey about MS at
the end of each exam. But you can be rest assured that the survey
questions are *not* part of the exam, and are not scored. In none of my
score reports was the "Survey" bar present.

So, definitely looks like a bug to me.

**'s** the one who fcukin said it
<<-------------------------------->>

> It is this last one that concerns me. The bar is empty implying that I
> have failed all the questions in this section. Yet the item "Survey"
> is not present in the list of exam objectives on Microsoft's web site:
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ex...228.asp#SKILLS
>
> I think this item "survey" is a bug and should not have been there.
>
You are kidding, right? Please tell me you're just a troll looking for
attention. Imagine that MS making sure that we know how to take a survey.
BWAHAHAH!!!! That's rich!!!

Do you not know what a survey is? That line is there to prove that MS offered
you the opportunity to complete the Exam Survey. You didn't have to take it,
and it in no way is a skills measurement objective.

OMFG!!!! This guy CAN'T be the *future* of MS?!?!?!

It's people like this that should automatically have their certs yanked on
principal alone.

--
Bigus Di©kus
MCNGP 00110011
--I like that, kinda has a ring to it!

Bigus Di©kus wrote:

> You are kidding, right? Please tell me you're just a troll looking for
> attention. Imagine that MS making sure that we know how to take a survey.
> BWAHAHAH!!!! That's rich!!!

I'm not a troll.
I said in my original post that the score appears to be made up by
calculating the lengths of the lines on all 7 rows, not all 6. Also the
"survey" line, with score zero is also marked from "needs development"
to "strong".

I've uploaded a photo of the certificate to my web site (with personal
information blanked out) to show you:

http://dohat.com/mcpbug.jpg

The paper report may have been buggy, but based on your bars you still
failed.

--
..rev.mct.mcngp.44

It is the mark of an educated man to be able to entertain a thought without
accepting it.
~Aristotle
..
<> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
Bigus Di©kus wrote:

> You are kidding, right? Please tell me you're just a troll looking for
> attention. Imagine that MS making sure that we know how to take a survey.
> BWAHAHAH!!!! That's rich!!!

I'm not a troll.
I said in my original post that the score appears to be made up by
calculating the lengths of the lines on all 7 rows, not all 6. Also the
"survey" line, with score zero is also marked from "needs development"
to "strong".

I've uploaded a photo of the certificate to my web site (with personal
information blanked out) to show you:

http://dohat.com/mcpbug.jpg

As once said in microsoft.public.cert.exam.mcse

OMG! You failed the Survey?

Geez man, that's the easiest part!

You better hit the books.

did you hear "Bigus Di©kus" <BigusDi©kus@127.0.0.1> say in
news::

> OMFG!!!! This guy CAN'T be the *future* of MS?!?!?!

prayer, the last vestage of teh scoundle

--
The InterNeil MCNGP Triple X

- Windows for Workgroups: Why crash just 1 window when you can crash 6?

OK I'll post my calculations:

There are 7 rows. I used a ruler to measure the lengths of these, and
they came to the following:

6.9
5.5
6.1
13.7
12.2
13.7
0

Add these up to get 58.1
The total length of the rows is 15.2
So a common sense way to turn this into a score is to multiply by 1000,
divide by 7, and divide by 15.2
This gives 546
This is very close to the actual score of 553 (well within the margin
of error of my ruler).

What happens if you calculate it with 6 rows instead (i.e. not counting
the survey). You get 637. Although yes this is
still a fail (and I don't dispute this) it is much closer to a pass
(700). The key is that if I read some more so I
would pass the test, with this bug I would still fail, which is unfair.

As once said in microsoft.public.cert.exam.mcse


I think it's a strech to measure bar lengths and then try to
determine the score from that.

I do however give you an 870 for creativity.