Microsoft certifications - MCTS core exam 70-536 - Is the MeasureUp practice test easier or harder than the actual test?

Question

I'm a fairly experienced (about 4 years) asp.net developer.

I failed the MeasureUp practice test for Microsoft certification exam 70-536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 — Application Development Foundation. (That's the actual MeasureUp practice test purchased from their website - I've heard there is a different version of it on the CD that comes with the official book, the 'Self-Paced Training Kit', and that the questions are different).

I got 50% (80% is a pass).

I have heard the real test is not that hard, and one guy said there were only 40 questions and 180 mins (4.5mins/question). My practice test (in 'certification mode') was 50 questions in 90 minutes (1.8mins/question). I could have scored a few more points with more time.

I'd just keep studying until I pass a few times, but my time is running out fast (I need to pass so our company can keep its MS partner status).

So I'm wondering, for anyone who has done both, is the MeasureUp test for 70-536 harder or easier than the real exam?

(Maybe someone can even post their real score and their last MeasureUp practice score?)

Update Although no-one was able to answer the exact question, everyone provided useful information. I ended up awarding the bounty to the most upvoted answer. I guess I will post an actual answer myself after I do the test. Thanks to all who contributed.

Update 2 I am still intending to do this exam (circumstances changed, so haven't yet) and will post about it here...

Answer 1

I have no experience of MeasureUp practice tests, however I have used Transcender practice tests in the past, I have always found the Transcender questions to be harder then the real exam.

However, if you take the MeasureUp or Transcender practice test more then once you will tend to have studied items that match their questions, so your score the 2nd time will not be as good an indication of what you will get in the real exam.

The real exam questions tend to be a lot clearer then any practice questions, as any questions that “good candidates” get wrong often are removed from the exam by Microsoft. (Likewise any questions that “bad candidates” always get right are removed. Microsoft exams get a bad reparation for quality of questions mostly because people tend to look at sample questions and then not take the real exam. )

Transcender comes with 3 sample exams, the way I worked was.

1. Read up on the subject of the MCP exam (MSDN, book, etc). Trying to understand how it all fits together.
2. Take the first Transcender exam, making any questions I an not 100% confidant on (even if it get them right)
3. Read up on all questions I got wrong or were not confidant with (Mostly MSDN).
4. Repeat until I can pass the first exam with 100% while feeling confidant on all questions.
5. Do the same with the 2nd exam
6. Book the MCP exam for about 1 or 2 week’s time
7. Read an Exam Cram book, thinking about what questions could be asked on each item and checking I understand each item. (This books are no good for leaning, but they help you revising what you already understand)
8. About 2 days before the real exam, take the 3rd Transcender exam and do any last minute reading, focused on items I do understand but got wrong.

I have yet to fail a real MCP exam with the above.

However as you need to pass quickly, so that your company can keep its MS partner status. I think you should stop doing all other work to do the above. But also just book the exam to take it as soon as possible - as your are allowed to retake an MCP exam.

By taking the exam quickly you discoverer what the real exam is like even if you fail it. This should make it easier to direct your study. (You may even pass first time, but don’t plan for good lack)

Remember that the exams are mostly looking for understanding, not if you can remember al the parameters a given method takes. Knowing why you should use a class/methed is more inportant then know how to call the method.

See also "Is it worth it to get MS Certified?"

Answer 2

I took the MeasureUp test from the book, and yes; I found the mock test quite a bit more difficult than the actual test; but this may have been largely because (at the time):

• the book was horribly, horribly wrong in many places (including a few I spotted that never made it into the errata), so can be quiet confusing
• the book didn't actually cover the entire syllabus!

After failing the MeasureUp test; I first went to the skills measures list (second tab here), and went through it all to check I had no huge gaps. I then ran through all the exam questions on the CD and on the free official website/s (I didn't pay for any extra, though).

It didn't help that I'd only allowed myself a short amount of time to study for the exam, and I think I found the "oops there's syllabus gaps" issue on the Friday evening, with the exam on Monday morning. It all went fine, though.

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Aside: different people have different views of the MS exams. I quite liked the breadth (rather than depth) of 70-536, which exposed a few unusual corners of the BCL that you might not bump into normally, but are useful if you know about them.

Answer 3

Instead of comparing tests...assimilate the syllabi and its objectives.

MS actual exam is easier in the sense that it validates your fundamentals. Assuming, you are good there...it shouldn't be a problem.

Answer 4

If you have reasonable .NET experience, you can pass this exam without too much studying. Make sure you are familiar with all the required topics (some more obscure ones like encryption algorithms are frequent score-breakers) and just go for it. As stated above, you can easily and quickly retake an exam if needed.

Unlike other MCTS exams, this one covers a lot of ground but not too much detail (I would not give this advice for the WCF MCTS, for instance).

Answer 5

I am studying for the exam 70-536 too, and despite being an experienced .NET developer of many years, only scored 51% on the MeasureUp tests that come with the 70-536 official study guide. After paying for this study guide i am reluctant to spend any more money on more study guides, or register at websites offering further study guides.

I hope the actual exam questions are easier than the CD-ROM measure up tests, as this has completely destroyed my confidence on passing the exam now.