questions on 70-271 or mcdst exam in general

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Hi all,

Im thinking of taking the 70-271 exam in mid-june but I have a few questions that i would like to just clear up. I would be most grateful if those that have taken the exams could shed some light

1) How many questions are there? I heard it was 49?
2) Are all the questions multiple choice or are there interactive questions ie virtual desktop that you control
3) I have the self paced training book (2nd edition) for 271. How comprehnsivly does this cover the exam?
4) How long does the exam last?
5) if you fail, how many chances do you get to take it and does it show up on your certification if you failed it once.
6) Is it just a pass or fail, or do you get merit, distinction etc. And does anyone know the approximate pass mark as a percentage eg 80% correct to pass

Sorry i know thats a lot of questions for only my second post.

 

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1. you never know how many questions its random... they pick from a large pool.. i hope you are aware it computer based testing... like most IT cert exams are..

2. as far as i am aware yes they are all multiple choice or choose all that apply... drag and drops...

3. yes that seems to be the best book

4. i think like most ms exams you have to finish in 2 1/2 hours... you will have plenty of time dont worry!

5. people never see failures on your certificate only that you have passed then exam.. when you have! you can take the exam the next day after a failure then 14 days after the second failure.. (hey you not going to fail!!!!! relax you going to pass.. stick around CF and ask questions!)

6. you need 700 to pass.. again we dont know how much each question is worth or such.. no difference between 700 and 1000 (the maximum) a pass is a pass is pass!

are you getting hands on experience too?

 

Hello!

Somewhere between 40 and 60. It varies and as MS don't publish the number until you're sat taking the test its hard to say.

When I sat the exams they were all Multiple choice, I don't believe that they have implemented Sims on these exams just yet.

That depends on your existing skills. No single resource will cover everything that is on an exam, that is where the use of Google, Technet and other non certification books will come in.

About 90 minutes I think.

You can take it as many times as you like, and no only exams that you pass show up in your profile.

You either Pass, or you Fail. Pass with 100% = same result as Pass with 70%.

Good luck with your studies!

 

cheers guys that was most helpful

I do have alot of hands on experience but its just the little features in office, outlook etc that seem to catch me out. Plus I work for a large investment bank so were less concerned with small networking features and alot of the administration side is covered by a 3rd line team

 

ah so you have a great working area... have you considered other certs?

 

like Simon says use other recources to back up the knowledge in the self paced books. Also Transcenders are a great build up utility for the exam as they are modelled on the actual exam
(not the questions) and if i'm right in saying are endorsed by microsoft. The measure up questions that are supplied with the self paced books were more difficult compared to the exam questions. so if you crack them then your on your way.

 

Great I have some transcender exams and will try those out a week before the exam, might try the measure up too

Kinda using MCDST as foundation then i'll try and tackle the MCSE\A

 

I had my exam on Friday and it was 61 questions. I think I remember someone else on this board saying they had the same amount.

No virtual desktops in the MCDST exams. The closest you get is a picture of a dialog box and you just have to click the correct setting or tab.

I passed using the first edition of that book which didn't include anything on SP2, so that book should do you fine. One thing to bear in mind though is the readiness review suite you get with it isn't anything like the exam you'll take, as in the way the questions are presented to you. So don't worry if you're not passing the mock tests all the time.

Both exam were around 2 hours each, but I finished them in around 30-40 mins, so you have plenty of time!

It might be worth using Microsoft's 2nd chance offer, just in case you do fail (but you probably won't), as you get another crack at the exam for free.

 

monkey_wrench you used the first edition books and had no problems?

 

Nope. Didn't get a single question wrong on the 70-272 exam and got 899/1000 on 70-271 Having hands on experience with SP2 anything the exam threw at me I either knew outright or at least take an educated guess.

 

so judging from what you seen on the exam you say i could use the 1st editons okay? i mean you can get them off ebay for a lot less!

 

Yeah, as long as you have a bit of SP2 knowledge you'd probably be fine. The 70-272 book had a bit in the back about SP2, so that one isn't too bad, but there's no mention of SP2 in the 70-271 book at all.

With the amount of SP2 specific questions the exam throws at you (I think I got about 10 in each exam), even if you just get a few right on top of the normal questions you'd still get a pass Though I guess it's the luck of the draw.

 

Hate to disagree with you here Si but they do show up in your profile. Of course you only get a certificate for the ones you pass but if you log into your test provider (at least with VUE) you will see the history/profile of what you've done and what you've passed or failed.

Saying this, I don't expect interviewers to ask you to show them your profile.

 

I was referring to your MS profile! Not the Prometric / VUE one!