«

While employed for a computer learning center in my past, I witnessed an
unfortunate incident where an examinee braindumped after his exam. He
then gave it to his friend who was do to take the test in an hour. Our
test administrator witnessed this incident first hand with another
student present. She contacted all the managers in the facility (which
included myself) and advised us of the situation. We contacted the test
provider and Microsoft and informed them of the situation. The proctor
and witness of the event were contacted and "debriefed" as to what they
witnessed. The evidence, "dump sheet", was recovered by us when the
individual exited the testing center. According to the representative we
spoke with after the event, both were found in violation of the NDA,
banned from future testing, and decertified.

Although many of you new to taking Microsoft exams, you have to
understand that those who have tested are bound by the NDA (Non
Disclosure Agreement). We CANNOT disclose ANYTHING concerning the exams
we took. Opinions are welcome, and encouraged; but specific details that
are not publically disclosed by Microsoft concerning exams are not to be
divulged by those who sat the exam. You may think your question is
innocent enough: "How many questions?", "Were there any questions on
Group Policies?", etc.. However innocent you think your question is, it
is probably not. So please understand that many of us do want to help
you succeed, we can and will only go so far.

Here is a statement directly from Microsoft concerning my rant:

Since February 1998, Microsoft has required all certification candidates
to accept the terms of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before taking
certification exams. One way we enforce the NDA is to closely monitor
Web sites suspected of publishing exam material and regularly perform
searches for MCP exam content. We also follow up on leads provided by
MCPs and candidates. As a result of these investigations, owners of
seven Web sites were found to be in violation of the non-disclosure
agreement by publishing questions from certification exams. The site
owners-all certified individuals in Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, and
Texas-were immediately decertified and are now permanently ineligible
for any Microsoft certification. In addition, as of September 2000,
Microsoft has decertified a dozen individuals who had posted information
in violation of the NDA on various Web sites. Microsoft can take
whatever legal action is justified by the facts of a case and reserves
the right to revoke any certifications at its sole discretion.

--
Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCDST, MCP, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW Assoc.,
CIW Certified Instructor

"Michael D. Alligood" <> wrote in message
news:...
> While employed for a computer learning center in my past, I witnessed an
> unfortunate incident where an examinee braindumped after his exam. He then
> gave it to his friend who was do to take the test in an hour. Our test
> administrator witnessed this incident first hand with another student
> present. She contacted all the managers in the facility (which included
> myself) and advised us of the situation. We contacted the test provider
> and Microsoft and informed them of the situation. The proctor and witness
> of the event were contacted and "debriefed" as to what they witnessed. The
> evidence, "dump sheet", was recovered by us when the individual exited the
> testing center. According to the representative we spoke with after the
> event, both were found in violation of the NDA, banned from future
> testing, and decertified.
>
> Although many of you new to taking Microsoft exams, you have to understand
> that those who have tested are bound by the NDA (Non Disclosure
> Agreement). We CANNOT disclose ANYTHING concerning the exams we took.
> Opinions are welcome, and encouraged; but specific details that are not
> publically disclosed by Microsoft concerning exams are not to be divulged
> by those who sat the exam. You may think your question is innocent enough:
> "How many questions?", "Were there any questions on Group Policies?",
> etc.. However innocent you think your question is, it is probably not. So
> please understand that many of us do want to help you succeed, we can and
> will only go so far.
>
> Here is a statement directly from Microsoft concerning my rant:
>
> Since February 1998, Microsoft has required all certification candidates
> to accept the terms of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before taking
> certification exams. One way we enforce the NDA is to closely monitor Web
> sites suspected of publishing exam material and regularly perform searches
> for MCP exam content. We also follow up on leads provided by MCPs and
> candidates. As a result of these investigations, owners of seven Web sites
> were found to be in violation of the non-disclosure agreement by
> publishing questions from certification exams. The site owners-all
> certified individuals in Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Texas-were
> immediately decertified and are now permanently ineligible for any
> Microsoft certification. In addition, as of September 2000, Microsoft has
> decertified a dozen individuals who had posted information in violation of
> the NDA on various Web sites. Microsoft can take whatever legal action is
> justified by the facts of a case and reserves the right to revoke any
> certifications at its sole discretion.

Great post. Keep up the good work.

Just looking out for my peeps!

--
Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCDST, MCP, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW Assoc.,
CIW Certified Instructor



"Briscobar" <> wrote in message
news::

> "Michael D. Alligood" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > While employed for a computer learning center in my past, I witnessed an
> > unfortunate incident where an examinee braindumped after his exam. He then
> > gave it to his friend who was do to take the test in an hour. Our test
> > administrator witnessed this incident first hand with another student
> > present. She contacted all the managers in the facility (which included
> > myself) and advised us of the situation. We contacted the test provider
> > and Microsoft and informed them of the situation. The proctor and witness
> > of the event were contacted and "debriefed" as to what they witnessed. The
> > evidence, "dump sheet", was recovered by us when the individual exited the
> > testing center. According to the representative we spoke with after the
> > event, both were found in violation of the NDA, banned from future
> > testing, and decertified.
> >
> > Although many of you new to taking Microsoft exams, you have to understand
> > that those who have tested are bound by the NDA (Non Disclosure
> > Agreement). We CANNOT disclose ANYTHING concerning the exams we took.
> > Opinions are welcome, and encouraged; but specific details that are not
> > publically disclosed by Microsoft concerning exams are not to be divulged
> > by those who sat the exam. You may think your question is innocent enough:
> > "How many questions?", "Were there any questions on Group Policies?",
> > etc.. However innocent you think your question is, it is probably not. So
> > please understand that many of us do want to help you succeed, we can and
> > will only go so far.
> >
> > Here is a statement directly from Microsoft concerning my rant:
> >
> > Since February 1998, Microsoft has required all certification candidates
> > to accept the terms of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before taking
> > certification exams. One way we enforce the NDA is to closely monitor Web
> > sites suspected of publishing exam material and regularly perform searches
> > for MCP exam content. We also follow up on leads provided by MCPs and
> > candidates. As a result of these investigations, owners of seven Web sites
> > were found to be in violation of the non-disclosure agreement by
> > publishing questions from certification exams. The site owners-all
> > certified individuals in Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Texas-were
> > immediately decertified and are now permanently ineligible for any
> > Microsoft certification. In addition, as of September 2000, Microsoft has
> > decertified a dozen individuals who had posted information in violation of
> > the NDA on various Web sites. Microsoft can take whatever legal action is
> > justified by the facts of a case and reserves the right to revoke any
> > certifications at its sole discretion.
>
> Great post. Keep up the good work.

If I have ever violated the NDA, even unintentionally, I apologize.
Obviously, we are not to give out the exact questions or answers, but there
is a fine line here. Can we say "This exam emphasizes such-and-such" or
"Even though this topic wasn't in the 'skills being measured,' it was on the
exam in at least six questions."?
The latter burns me up because I failed an exam because of it.
I am glad that Microsoft is finally putting in the percentages that each
section of the exam covers - I hope they will make it retroactive to the
older exams as well.
Is it violating the NDA to say "this exam had 41 questions and 125 minutes"?
Is just the number of questions part of the 'content' we are not to
disclose? I don't recall the NDA saying "you can't reveal the number of
questions."
It would be nice if Microsoft would be more specific so that we don't
innocently violate anything. Perhaps if one of the monitors (Howard, Trika,
etc.) would say "this is OK to say" and "this isn't" and if they can remove
the offending posts, it would help.
--
Larry J. West, MCSD, MCPD, MCTS:SQL Server 2005, MOUS, FLMI, ACS


"Michael D. Alligood" wrote:

> While employed for a computer learning center in my past, I witnessed an
> unfortunate incident where an examinee braindumped after his exam. He
> then gave it to his friend who was do to take the test in an hour. Our
> test administrator witnessed this incident first hand with another
> student present. She contacted all the managers in the facility (which
> included myself) and advised us of the situation. We contacted the test
> provider and Microsoft and informed them of the situation. The proctor
> and witness of the event were contacted and "debriefed" as to what they
> witnessed. The evidence, "dump sheet", was recovered by us when the
> individual exited the testing center. According to the representative we
> spoke with after the event, both were found in violation of the NDA,
> banned from future testing, and decertified.
>
> Although many of you new to taking Microsoft exams, you have to
> understand that those who have tested are bound by the NDA (Non
> Disclosure Agreement). We CANNOT disclose ANYTHING concerning the exams
> we took. Opinions are welcome, and encouraged; but specific details that
> are not publically disclosed by Microsoft concerning exams are not to be
> divulged by those who sat the exam. You may think your question is
> innocent enough: "How many questions?", "Were there any questions on
> Group Policies?", etc.. However innocent you think your question is, it
> is probably not. So please understand that many of us do want to help
> you succeed, we can and will only go so far.
>
> Here is a statement directly from Microsoft concerning my rant:
>
> Since February 1998, Microsoft has required all certification candidates
> to accept the terms of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before taking
> certification exams. One way we enforce the NDA is to closely monitor
> Web sites suspected of publishing exam material and regularly perform
> searches for MCP exam content. We also follow up on leads provided by
> MCPs and candidates. As a result of these investigations, owners of
> seven Web sites were found to be in violation of the non-disclosure
> agreement by publishing questions from certification exams. The site
> owners-all certified individuals in Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, and
> Texas-were immediately decertified and are now permanently ineligible
> for any Microsoft certification. In addition, as of September 2000,
> Microsoft has decertified a dozen individuals who had posted information
> in violation of the NDA on various Web sites. Microsoft can take
> whatever legal action is justified by the facts of a case and reserves
> the right to revoke any certifications at its sole discretion.
>
> --
> Michael D. Alligood
> MCSA, MCDST, MCP, A+,
> Network+, i-Net+, CIW Assoc.,
> CIW Certified Instructor
>
>
>

=?Utf-8?B?TGFycnlXZXN0TUNTRA==?= <LarryWest-at-hotmail-dot-com> wrote in
news:49782A52-9DD8-4277-BAEE-:

> Subject: RE: OT: Just a reminder...
> From: =?Utf-8?B?TGFycnlXZXN0TUNTRA==?= <LarryWest-at-hotmail-dot-com>
> Newsgroups:
> microsoft.public.cert.exam.mcsa,microsoft.public.c ert.exam.mcdst,micro
s
> oft.public.cert.itpro.mcitp
>
> If I have ever violated the NDA, even unintentionally, I apologize.
> Obviously, we are not to give out the exact questions or answers, but
> there is a fine line here. Can we say "This exam emphasizes
> such-and-such" or "Even though this topic wasn't in the 'skills being
> measured,' it was on the exam in at least six questions."?
> The latter burns me up because I failed an exam because of it.
> I am glad that Microsoft is finally putting in the percentages that
> each section of the exam covers - I hope they will make it retroactive
> to the older exams as well.
> Is it violating the NDA to say "this exam had 41 questions and 125
> minutes"? Is just the number of questions part of the 'content' we are
> not to disclose? I don't recall the NDA saying "you can't reveal the
> number of questions."
> It would be nice if Microsoft would be more specific so that we don't
> innocently violate anything. Perhaps if one of the monitors (Howard,
> Trika, etc.) would say "this is OK to say" and "this isn't" and if
> they can remove the offending posts, it would help.

Honestly, if you were to just ask the MCNGP.com or CertGuard.com what
sites are braindump sites, they'd be honest and tell you without flaming
you in any way. But, exception being, I'd do it at one of the sites and
not on the UseNet.

--
Lasher
MCNGP #50
www.mcngp.com > all
MCNGP: Leading the world to better training, better computer skills,
and taking out the lowdes of the world with fervor beyond anyone's
belief.
www.turkreno.com/forum/

=?Utf-8?B?TGFycnlXZXN0TUNTRA==?= <LarryWest-at-hotmail-dot-com> wrote in
news:49782A52-9DD8-4277-BAEE-:

> Is it violating the NDA to say "this exam had 41 questions and 125
> minutes"?

Yes.

Here's why:

Non-Disclosure Agreement and General Terms of Use
For Exams Developed for the Microsoft Certified Professional Program

This exam is Microsoft confidential and is protected by trade secret
law. It is made available to you, the examinee, solely for the purpose
of becoming certified in the technical area referenced in the title of
this exam. ***You are expressly prohibited from ***disclosing***,
publishing, reproducing, or transmitting ***this exam***, ***in whole or
in part, in any form or by any means***, verbal or written, electronic
or mechanical, ***for any purpose, without the prior express written
permission of Microsoft Corporation***.

Click the Yes button to symbolize your signature and to accept these
terms. Click the No button if you do not accept these terms. You must
click Yes to continue with the exam.


Click the Yes button to symbolize your signature and to accept these
terms.

Click the No button if you do not accept these terms. (You must click
the Yes button to continue with the exam.)

++
That's any information. If I could underline here, I would.

--
Lasher
MCNGP #50
www.mcngp.com > all
MCNGP: Leading the world to better training, better computer skills,
and taking out the lowdes of the world with fervor beyond anyone's
belief.
www.turkreno.com/forum/

A good rule of thumb to avoid violation is this: If it is not listed,
posted, talked about, or otherwise covered on the Microsoft Learning
site; I would not disclose it. I think if Microsoft wanted you to know
the number of questions and time allotted (however innocent the
question), they would have listed it under the exam details page. And
the answer to those above questions are moot if you get a adaptive exam;
which Microsoft has published that there are 2 different formats of
exams.

So remember the good rule of thumb; If you do not see Microsoft talking
about it; you should not talk about it.

--
Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCDST, MCP, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW Assoc.,
CIW Certified Instructor



"LarryWestMCSD" <LarryWest-at-hotmail-dot-com> wrote in message
news:49782A52-9DD8-4277-BAEE-:

> If I have ever violated the NDA, even unintentionally, I apologize.
> Obviously, we are not to give out the exact questions or answers, but there
> is a fine line here. Can we say "This exam emphasizes such-and-such" or
> "Even though this topic wasn't in the 'skills being measured,' it was on the
> exam in at least six questions."?
> The latter burns me up because I failed an exam because of it.
> I am glad that Microsoft is finally putting in the percentages that each
> section of the exam covers - I hope they will make it retroactive to the
> older exams as well.
> Is it violating the NDA to say "this exam had 41 questions and 125 minutes"?
> Is just the number of questions part of the 'content' we are not to
> disclose? I don't recall the NDA saying "you can't reveal the number of
> questions."
> It would be nice if Microsoft would be more specific so that we don't
> innocently violate anything. Perhaps if one of the monitors (Howard, Trika,
> etc.) would say "this is OK to say" and "this isn't" and if they can remove
> the offending posts, it would help.
> --
> Larry J. West, MCSD, MCPD, MCTS:SQL Server 2005, MOUS, FLMI, ACS
>
>
> "Michael D. Alligood" wrote:
>
> > While employed for a computer learning center in my past, I witnessed an
> > unfortunate incident where an examinee braindumped after his exam. He
> > then gave it to his friend who was do to take the test in an hour. Our
> > test administrator witnessed this incident first hand with another
> > student present. She contacted all the managers in the facility (which
> > included myself) and advised us of the situation. We contacted the test
> > provider and Microsoft and informed them of the situation. The proctor
> > and witness of the event were contacted and "debriefed" as to what they
> > witnessed. The evidence, "dump sheet", was recovered by us when the
> > individual exited the testing center. According to the representative we
> > spoke with after the event, both were found in violation of the NDA,
> > banned from future testing, and decertified.
> >
> > Although many of you new to taking Microsoft exams, you have to
> > understand that those who have tested are bound by the NDA (Non
> > Disclosure Agreement). We CANNOT disclose ANYTHING concerning the exams
> > we took. Opinions are welcome, and encouraged; but specific details that
> > are not publically disclosed by Microsoft concerning exams are not to be
> > divulged by those who sat the exam. You may think your question is
> > innocent enough: "How many questions?", "Were there any questions on
> > Group Policies?", etc.. However innocent you think your question is, it
> > is probably not. So please understand that many of us do want to help
> > you succeed, we can and will only go so far.
> >
> > Here is a statement directly from Microsoft concerning my rant:
> >
> > Since February 1998, Microsoft has required all certification candidates
> > to accept the terms of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before taking
> > certification exams. One way we enforce the NDA is to closely monitor
> > Web sites suspected of publishing exam material and regularly perform
> > searches for MCP exam content. We also follow up on leads provided by
> > MCPs and candidates. As a result of these investigations, owners of
> > seven Web sites were found to be in violation of the non-disclosure
> > agreement by publishing questions from certification exams. The site
> > owners-all certified individuals in Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, and
> > Texas-were immediately decertified and are now permanently ineligible
> > for any Microsoft certification. In addition, as of September 2000,
> > Microsoft has decertified a dozen individuals who had posted information
> > in violation of the NDA on various Web sites. Microsoft can take
> > whatever legal action is justified by the facts of a case and reserves
> > the right to revoke any certifications at its sole discretion.
> >
> > --
> > Michael D. Alligood
> > MCSA, MCDST, MCP, A+,
> > Network+, i-Net+, CIW Assoc.,
> > CIW Certified Instructor
> >
> >
> >

Michael D. Alligood wrote:
> A good rule of thumb to avoid violation is this: If it is not listed,
> posted, talked about, or otherwise covered on the Microsoft Learning
> site; I would not disclose it. I think if Microsoft wanted you to know
> the number of questions and time allotted (however innocent the
> question), they would have listed it under the exam details page. And
> the answer to those above questions are moot if you get a adaptive exam;
> which Microsoft has published that there are 2 different formats of exams.
>
> So remember the good rule of thumb; If you do not see Microsoft talking
> about it; you should not talk about it.

I always wonder what people gain by knowing the number of questions. I
just cannot see what good it does anyone. If test 123 has 50 questions
or 60 questions, will I study less? No, of course not.

As far as time, I'm not sure how that helps either. I have only taken
one exam at this point and I had more than adequate time to complete the
questions (probably double the required time if I remember correctly).
I am quite certain that MS has a lot of smart people figuring out the
time required given the various folks that will encounter a certain exam.

Jonathan

It is psychology. People think the more questions they face, the harder
the test. As an example; if people knew there were only 30 questions,
they would be lured into a false sense of security by lack of questions.
It is the equivalent of thinking the fewer number of questions = the
less they can ask me! Same goes for the allotted amount of time. The
more time that is allowed = the more time you have to guess.

--
Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCDST, MCP, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW Assoc.,
CIW Certified Instructor

http://www.yetanotherblog.typepad.com/theclassroom



"Jonathan Roberts" <> wrote in message
news::

> Michael D. Alligood wrote:
> > A good rule of thumb to avoid violation is this: If it is not listed,
> > posted, talked about, or otherwise covered on the Microsoft Learning
> > site; I would not disclose it. I think if Microsoft wanted you to know
> > the number of questions and time allotted (however innocent the
> > question), they would have listed it under the exam details page. And
> > the answer to those above questions are moot if you get a adaptive exam;
> > which Microsoft has published that there are 2 different formats of exams.
> >
> > So remember the good rule of thumb; If you do not see Microsoft talking
> > about it; you should not talk about it.
>
> I always wonder what people gain by knowing the number of questions. I
> just cannot see what good it does anyone. If test 123 has 50 questions
> or 60 questions, will I study less? No, of course not.
>
> As far as time, I'm not sure how that helps either. I have only taken
> one exam at this point and I had more than adequate time to complete the
> questions (probably double the required time if I remember correctly).
> I am quite certain that MS has a lot of smart people figuring out the
> time required given the various folks that will encounter a certain exam.
>
> Jonathan

The amount of time allowed for each exam is not a secret. When you sign up
with a testing center to take an exam they tell you the duration of the
exam. For example the duration for Exam 70-290 is 240 minutes. The
duration for Exam 70-270 is 165 minutes.

That makes sense if you think about it. Candidates need to know how long a
test is going to take so they can plan accordingly. Am I going to be there
all day or just for a couple of hours? That is just common courtesy. The
testing center must know how long each test is going to take so that they
can schedule candidates and testing computers.

What does it all mean? It is subject to your interpretation. Generally
speaking the fewer the questions then each question is worh more points
which means that you cannot get as many wrong (or something like that).
Generally speaking the longer the duration either more questions or harder
questions. I am getting ready to take 70-290. I cannot imagine being in
there for four hours. Argh ...

Mark

"Jonathan Roberts" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Michael D. Alligood wrote:
>> A good rule of thumb to avoid violation is this: If it is not listed,
>> posted, talked about, or otherwise covered on the Microsoft Learning
>> site; I would not disclose it. I think if Microsoft wanted you to know
>> the number of questions and time allotted (however innocent the
>> question), they would have listed it under the exam details page. And the
>> answer to those above questions are moot if you get a adaptive exam;
>> which Microsoft has published that there are 2 different formats of
>> exams.
>>
>> So remember the good rule of thumb; If you do not see Microsoft talking
>> about it; you should not talk about it.
>
> I always wonder what people gain by knowing the number of questions. I
> just cannot see what good it does anyone. If test 123 has 50 questions or
> 60 questions, will I study less? No, of course not.
>
> As far as time, I'm not sure how that helps either. I have only taken one
> exam at this point and I had more than adequate time to complete the
> questions (probably double the required time if I remember correctly). I
> am quite certain that MS has a lot of smart people figuring out the time
> required given the various folks that will encounter a certain exam.
>
> Jonathan