Assessing Exam-Readiness

I strongly recommend that you read through and take the self-assessment included with this book (it appears after the Introduction). It will help you compare your knowledge base to the requirements for obtaining an MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) or MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), and it will also help you identify parts of your background or experience that might need improvement or enhancement as well as where you need further learning. If you get the right set of basics under your belt, obtaining Microsoft certification will be that much easier.

After you've gone through the self-assessment, you can focus your studies on those topical areas in which your background or experience might be lacking. 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've worked through an Exam Cram 2 , have read the supplementary materials, and have taken the practice test, you'll have a pretty 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 better goal because it gives some margin for error when you're in an actual, stressful exam situation. Keep taking practice tests and studying the materials until you attain that score. You'll find more pointers on how to study and prepare in the self-assessment.