Taking a Certification Exam

After you've prepared for your exam, you need to register with a testing center. Each computer-based MCP exam costs $125, and if you don't pass, you can retest for an additional $125 for each additional try. In the United States and Canada, tests are administered by Prometric and by VUE. Here's how you can contact them:

• VUE ” You can sign up for a test or get the phone numbers for local testing centers through the Web at www.vue.com/ms.

• Prometric ” You can sign up for a test through the company's Web site, at www.prometric.com. Within the United States and Canada, you can register by phone at 800-755-3926. If you live outside this region, you should check the Prometric Web site for the appropriate phone number.

To sign up for a test, you must possess a valid credit card or contact either VUE or Prometric for mailing instructions to send a check (in the United States). Only after payment is verified or your check has cleared can you actually register for the test.

To schedule an exam, you need to call the number or visit either of the Web pages at least one day in advance. To cancel or reschedule an exam, you must call before 7 p.m. Pacific standard time the day before the scheduled test time (or you might be charged, even if you don't show up to take the test). When you want to schedule a test, you should have the following information ready:

• Your name , organization, and mailing address.

• Your Microsoft test ID. Inside the United States, this usually means your Social Security number; citizens of other nations should call ahead to find out what type of identification number is required to register for a test.

• The name and number of the exam you want to take.

• A method of payment. As mentioned previously, a credit card is the most convenient method, but alternate means can be arranged in advance, if necessary.

Microsoft Certified Trainers (holders of an active current MCT certification) should remember to ask for the MCT discount during registration, and be prepared to provide their MCP ID number.

After you sign up for a test, you're told when and where the test is scheduled. You should try to arrive at least 15 minutes early. You must supply two forms of identification ”one of which must be a photo ID ”and sign a nondisclosure agreement to be admitted into the testing room.

All Microsoft exams are completely closed book. In fact, you are not permitted to take anything with you into the testing area, including pagers , cell phones, notes, calculators , or any other objects that the testing center deems necessary to exclude from the testing room. You'll be given a blank sheet of paper and a pen (or in some cases an erasable plastic sheet and an erasable pen) for personal notes during the exam. This note page must be left with the testing center after completing the Microsoft exam.

We suggest that you immediately write down, on the provided paper, any specific details that you might have memorized before starting your exam. In Exam Cram 2 books, this information appears on a tear-out sheet inside the front cover of each book. You are given some time to compose yourself, record this information, and take a sample orientation exam before you begin the real thing. I suggest that you take the orientation test before taking your first Microsoft exam, but because all the certification exams are more or less identical in layout, behavior, and controls, you probably don't need to do this more than once.

When you complete a Microsoft certification exam, the software will tell you immediately whether you've passed or failed, but does not provide a detailed scoring of your exam. If you need to retake an exam, you have to schedule a new test with Prometric or VUE and pay another $125.

The first time you fail a test, you can retake the test as soon as you can schedule the next exam. If you fail the exam a second time, you must wait 14 days before re-taking that test again. This waiting period between re-takes remains in effect for all future re-takes of the same exam.