Question-Handling Strategies

Based on the tests we've taken, a couple of interesting trends in the answers have become apparent. For those questions that take only a single answer, usually two or three of the answers are obviously incorrect, and two of the answers are plausible. Of course, only one can be correct. Unless the answer leaps out at you (and if it does, reread the question to look for a trick; sometimes they are the ones you're most likely to get wrong), begin the process of answering by eliminating answers that are obviously wrong.

Things to look for in the "obviously wrong" category include spurious command choices or filenames, nonexistent software or command options, and terminology you've never seen before. If you've done your homework for a test, no valid information should be completely new to you. In that case, unfamiliar or bizarre terminology probably indicates a totally bogus answer. As long as you're sure what's right, it's easy to eliminate what's wrong.

Numerous questions assume that the default behavior of a particular Cisco command is in effect. It's essential to know and understand the default settings for the various commands. If you know the defaults and understand what they mean, this knowledge will help you cut through many Gordian knots.

Likewise, when dealing with questions requiring multiple answers, you must know and select all the correct options to get credit. This style, too, qualifies as an example of why careful reading is so important.

As you work your way through the test, another counter the exam provides will come in handy: the number of questions completed and questions outstanding. Budget your time by making sure you've completed one fourth of the questions one quarter of the way through the test period. Check again three quarters of the way through. Most Cisco exams have approximately 65 questions, other than CCIE written or beta exams; you won't see an exam with too many more or less. Keeping to a pace of a question per minute will make sure you have the necessary time to deal with the couple of complex scenario questions that will crop up.

Cisco Exam Scoring

Most Cisco exams are scored from 300 to 1000 with a passing mark that has varied from as low as 580 to as high as the low 900s. Something that often confuses people is what percentage of correct questions the passing score is. A passing score of 800 is not 80%.

A range of 300 to 1000 is a range of 700 so 300 to 1000 is the same as 1 to 700 or 500 to 1200. Some of these ranges have "bonus" points that you get just for knowing your testing ID number, but they are all ranges of 700 points. The first step to figuring out the percentage is to figure out how many bonus points are being awarded. With a range of 300 to 1000, 300 bonus points are being awarded.

Using a passing score of 800 as an example, we need to remove the bonus points to get an accurate percentage. Subtracting 300 from 800 leaves 500 earned points to pass the exam, out of 700 total earned points. To get the passing score percentage, dividing 700 into 500 gives us a passing score of 71.4%.

Once you realize you can earn only 700 points, you see that 70 points is 10%. If the passing score is 930, the passing percentage is 90%. If the passing score is 895, the passing percentage is 85%.


If you're not through after 80 minutes, use the last 10 minutes to guess your way through the remaining questions. Remember, guesses are more valuable than blank answers because blanks are always wrong, but a guess might turn out to be right. If you haven't a clue about any of the remaining questions, pick answers at random or choose all As, Bs, and so on. The important thing is to submit a test for scoring that has an answer for every question.



CCNP BCRAN Remote Access Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 640 - XXX)
CCNP BCRAN Remote Access Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 640 - XXX)
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2003
Pages: 183

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