Exam Development and Release – FAQ

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At the heart of the Microsoft Certified Professional program are carefully developed, computer-administered exams that measure your ability to perform a specific job function or set of tasks in the real world.

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Microsoft Learning continually introduces innovative testing technologies to measure candidate skills. The testing technology and questions change periodically, and the exam format is not identified when you register. Both practices help protect exam security and the value of Microsoft Certification. To prepare for the exam, refer to the "Skills measured" section in the exam preparation guide.

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During exam development, we ensure its validity by tying every step of exam development to the critical skills (also known as "objectives") identified by experts early on. Item writers provide rationales that describe how each question aligns with the intended objective, and this information is verified by a different set of subject-matter experts during the technical review that occurs before the exam is published.

We measure the exam's psychometric performance at least annually, customer satisfaction results quarterly, and other exam issues on an ongoing basis to ensure that the exam continues to be a valid measure of skill domain. We remove poorly performing content and create new content as needed.

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Microsoft Learning invites select candidates to review questions before the exam becomes available to the public. During the beta process, candidates respond to the questions in an exam-like environment. Microsoft uses the information obtained during this process to evaluate the quality of the items before publication and remove those that are flawed in some way.

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Beta exams are by invitation only. Invitations are primarily sent by e-mail to qualified candidates who subscribe to the MCP Flash newsletter, but opportunities are also sometimes announced in Microsoft newsgroups and certification-related blogs. The invitation includes a registration code that will enable you to register for the specific beta exam.

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To identify an item for review while taking the test, select the check box in the upper left corner of the screen. After you complete all sections of the exam, you will see a Review Screen that lists the item numbers; the items you have identified will be highlighted. In the comment period at the end of the exam, these items remain highlighted. By clicking on any item, highlighted or not, you can review it and provide comments. You will not be able to change your answer while viewing that item.

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Beta exams are restricted in some countries and regions in an effort to reduce piracy and maintain the integrity of your certifications. The final version of the exam will be available in all countries and regions, even if the beta exam was restricted.

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Beta exam have a "71" prefix rather than "70", which is the prefix for released exams. (For example, a beta exam might be 71-333, whereas the final version would be 70-333.) If you cannot find the exam, the beta period may have ended or you may be in a country or region that has restrictions.

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The invitation to take a beta exam includes a registration code. You must register with this code in order to take the beta exam for free at your local Prometric center.

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In most cases, you will have access to a preparation guide. Although we try to make preparation guides and learning material available as early as possible, there may not be material ready in time to support a beta exam. Generally, people who are interested in beta exams are self-motivated and experienced with the technology or work with the beta product. We recommend that you consult your peers, community resources for the product group, and early-adopter articles to learn more.

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If you pass the beta exam, you earn credit for that exam and any resulting certification; you do not need to retake the exam in its final version.

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No, you cannot retake a beta exam. There are a limited number of seats available, and it is important to allow a variety of candidates to participate. Beta exams should not be used as practice tests.

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Yes. You can take the exam in its final version at the specified cost.

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Generally, you receive your exam score when the final version of the exam becomes available—this may be 16 to 20 weeks after you take the exam. The longer timeframe is due to the comprehensive process that we need to evaluate the beta exam results. If you believe your score should be available and it is not, first check whether Prometric has posted your score. If not, contact Prometric. If Prometric has posted a score but you do not see the score on your Microsoft transcript, contact your Microsoft Regional Service Center.

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The Microsoft Learning Web site lists the exams that were released in the last three months.

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To receive news about exams as they become available, subscribe to the MCP Flash newsletter.

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The primary reason is to help ensure that Microsoft Certification is an indicator of up-to-date, relevant skills on current Microsoft technologies. Hiring managers must have confidence that someone who holds a Microsoft Certification is current and engaged with Microsoft technologies.

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No. The new retirement policy applies only to the MCTS, MCITP, and MCPD credentials. Currently, there are no plans to retire any of our legacy credentials.

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In our initial communications about the Professional Series certifications, we announced that a "refresh" or recertification of the MCITP and MCPD credentials would be required within three years. This policy has changed. To address the needs of our worldwide customer base, the updated policy is to retire a certification when mainstream support for the related technology retires. There is no action required from you if you earned a Professional Series certification before the policy change; the updated policy applies to your certification, which will be valid until mainstream support for the related technology retires.

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An exam that will no longer be offered after a specified date is considered "discontinued". An exam is usually discontinued when two newer versions of the product are available, markets around the world are no longer using that version of the product, and few people are taking that version of the exam.

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Yes. Your transcript continues to represent your total exam history even if an exam is discontinued.

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You can find your exam history on your official Microsoft transcript.

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You can complete a credential as long as exams are available to fulfill all of your credential requirements.

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For our newest credentials, such as Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD), the credential retires along with the product support for the technology being tested. The credential will still appear on your transcript but will be listed as retired. In most cases, an upgrade path (usually one exam) will be available for individuals who have that credential so that they can demonstrate their skills on the newest version of the technology without completing all exams associated with the new credential.

The legacy Microsoft credentials (such as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator [MCSA]) do not expire, but as Microsoft releases new versions of the associated technology, these credentials are likely to be valued less by the industry.

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We recommend that you pursue certification related to the technology you work with today or will work with in the near future. If you work with a previous release and are able to complete the related certification requirements before the core exams are discontinued, you might consider doing so. Frequently, an upgrade path is available to help you achieve certification on the most current release. Note that you will not receive partial credit on your transcript for an unfinished certification. If you are currently focused on the most current release, it might be more efficient to you to begin fresh and work toward certification on a more recent version of the technology, for which shorter, more specific paths are now available.

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To stay informed about which exams are scheduled for discontinuation, subscribe to the MCP Flash newsletter.