Assessing Exam Readiness

I strongly recommend that you read through and take the self-assessment included with this book. (It appears just before this chapter.) It helps you compare your knowledge base to the requirements for obtaining MCSA and MCSE certification on Windows Server 2003, and it also helps you identify parts of your background or experience that might be in need of improvement, enhancement, or further learning. If you get the right set of basics under your belt, obtaining Microsoft certification is that much easier.

After you've gone through the self-assessment, you can remedy those topical areas where your background or experience might not measure up to those of an ideal certification candidate. However, you can also tackle subject matter for individual tests at the same time, so you can continue making progress while you're catching up in some areas.

After you work through this Exam Cram 2 series book, read the supplementary materials, and take the practice tests, you'll have a clear idea of when you should be ready to take the real exam. Although I strongly recommend that you keep practicing until your scores top the 75% mark, 80% is a good goal to give yourself some margin for error in a real exam situation (where stress plays more of a role than when you practice). After you hit that point, you should be ready to go. If you get through the practice exam in this book without attaining that score, however, you should keep taking practice tests and studying the materials until you get there. You'll find more pointers on how to study and prepare in the self-assessment.

At this point, it's time to look at the exam itself.