| After you've completed your in-depth studies, it's time to take the test. Here are some hints you might find helpful while taking a Novell certification exam: Show up early and bring two appropriate forms of ID (one must have a picture and one must have a signature). Leave everything else in your car trunk or at home. (You are not allowed to bring study materials into the exam room.) When you sit down at the computer, take a deep breath and try to relax. Try not to "hyperventilate." (It will only make you dizzy.) The good news is that you'll probably find that taking exams usually tends to get a bit less nerve-wracking after you've taken several of them. If this is your first certification exam, you may want to take the (sample) orientation exam before you take the real one, to get a general feel for how the exam process works. (On the sample exam, don't worry about getting the answers right just concentrate on understanding the exam process itself.) Before you begin the actual exam, reconfirm the time limit, total number of questions, and whether questions must be answered sequentially, or if you can skip around and go back to previous questions. Also, make sure that the information on the opening screen is correct (such as your name, your testing ID, the exam title, and the exam number). If any of the information is incorrect do not begin the exam! (Instead, discuss the matter with the exam administrator.) Keep track of the time. Don't be concerned, however, if a particularly complex question takes 5 minutes, because you will probably be able to answer other questions in 30 seconds or less. Don't panic if most of the early questions seem to be long and complex. If so, the later questions will, hopefully, be shorter and simpler. You'll be given something to write on during the exam (such as a pencil and paper, dry-erase board and marker, laminated paper and grease pencil, and so on). Although you will not be able to leave the building with it, you may find that it comes in quite handy during the exam. As soon as you begin the exam, you may want to take a moment and write down those things you have memorized that you don't want to forget. Also, during the exam, you may want to write down anything important you see in an exam question that you think might help you later on. Read each question carefully. Don't glance at key words in a question and assume that you understand the question. (This is a very common mistake.) For example, some questions may ask you to indicate which statements are not correct. Remember that exam questions may be presented in a variety of different formats, including single-answer multiple choice, multiple-answer multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and drag-and-drop. You may also get a number of simulation (performance-based) questions and exhibit-related questions. In simulation situations, you may be asked to perform several sequential tasks. In most form exams, you're not allowed to skip ahead or go back, so be sure of your answer before you move on. If you simply do not know the correct answer, start by eliminating the answers that appear to be the most unlikely. Then, review each remaining answer to see if you can find anything subtle that would make it incorrect. Do not simply pick the answer that leaps out as the obvious correct answer it might be a trick! In questions that require multiple answers, be sure that you select the correct number of choices. In any situation in which multiple screens are involved (such as simulations and those that include exhibits), use Alt+Tab to toggle between the screens and/or tile the windows to see more information onscreen at one time. Be careful about typographical errors. Don't waste mouse clicks on simulator questions. Plan ahead. These exams were developed by Novell Education. Therefore, it's generally best to give the answer found in the courseware, rather than, for example, relying on information found in some obscure Technical Information Document (TID) you found on the Web. When you finish the exam, be sure that you obtain the exam results printout from the exam administrator. It will list information such as the passing exam score required, your score, whether you passed, and any topics that you missed questions on. It will not, however, tell you which questions you missed.
If you fail the exam, take heart. You can take it again. In fact, you can take it again as many times as it takes to pass the exam (or until your checkbook runs dry, whichever comes first). Be aware that there may be a mandatory waiting period imposed between each exam attempt. (Check with the testing center that you registered with for further details.) Because of the way the exam is designed, questions are drawn from a large database. Therefore, you may not get the same exam questions twice, no matter how often you take the exam. |
