Difference between Beta exam and real exam.

[Ravi Nistala]

This Q is for people who have alreday this beta exam.
This would be my first beta exam. I want to know (as well as i beleive other first timers) how this exam is different than the real exam.
in terms of the process of the exam e.t.c.
for ex: Do we need to comment on every Q ? How does the comments appear ... will it be at the bottom of every Q?
IMHO this would help to plan for the exam.

[Nicholas Cheung]

how this exam is different than the real exam.
in terms of the process of the exam e.t.c.

Beta exams are exactly the same as offical exams. The only difference is beta exams have to be answered more questions. For example, SCJP Tiger beta required answering 166 Questions in 5 hours, while the offical exam required answering only 60+ questions with 2.5 hours.

Beta exams are used to determine the passing rate of offical exams, and thus, we have to wait for 6-8 weeks to receive the result.

Other than that, they are the same. And you will receive the certificate it you can pass the exam.

Do we need to comment on every Q ?

No, but if you find any problems, say typos, ambigous, you should give the comments so that SUN can improve the questions when they are offically released.

How does the comments appear ... will it be at the bottom of every Q?

There will be a comment button at the buttom. When you click the button, a textbox will appear for inputing comments.

Nick

[Ravi Nistala]

Thx Nick that was be helpful.

[Matt Kidd]

yes this is helpful. In the unfortunate circumstance I need to retake this when it goes live its good to know that the exam will be shorter than 3 hours...looking to be about half that.

[Alan Jump]

I took this today...it was 122 questions with a 3-hour time limit.

[Joe Borderi]

"I took this today...it was 122 questions with a 3-hour time limit."

That is less than 90 seconds per question.

I took the SCJP 5.0 Beta and barely finished. I did not, however, have any time left over for review and was exhausted after that 5 hour exam.

I am now even more puzzled by Sun's goals for this exam given such a short time to read, consider, answer, and perhaps comment on each question. Sun's prospecting for beta candidates on Java Ranch unearths experienced programmers to take an entry-level test. Calibrating test scores by experienced programmers for an entry-level test introduces some statistical noise. The statistical distortion becomes more pronounced by increasing the number of questions (and thus the fatigue factor on the test takers) while decreasing the alloted time per question (and thus the similarity between the beta and actual test questions).

[Deepa Korecherla]

Originally posted by J Borderi:
"I took this today...it was 122 questions with a 3-hour time limit."

That is less than 90 seconds per question.

I took the SCJP 5.0 Beta and barely finished. I did not, however, have any time left over for review and was exhausted after that 5 hour exam.

I am now even more puzzled by Sun's goals for this exam given such a short time to read, consider, answer, and perhaps comment on each question. Sun's prospecting for beta candidates on Java Ranch unearths experienced programmers to take an entry-level test. Calibrating test scores by experienced programmers for an entry-level test introduces some statistical noise. The statistical distortion becomes more pronounced by increasing the number of questions (and thus the fatigue factor on the test takers) while decreasing the alloted time per question (and thus the similarity between the beta and actual test questions).

Do we have to reply for every Q in this beta exam?? Or is it Optional?? What if we don't comment on any Q?? Or if we leave to comment later after answering all Q's...what if we dont get time to comment at all??

[Tony William]

Do we have to reply for every Q in this beta exam?? Or is it Optional?? What if we don't comment on any Q?? Or if we leave to comment later after answering all Q's...what if we dont get time to comment at all??

You have to complete the survey at least, which appears in the beginning of the test. Of course, if you found any problems in the questions, it is better to make some comments because the questions might be cancelled, which might affects your result.

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Hi Deepa,

Originally posted by Deepa Rao:
Do we have to reply for every Q in this beta exam?? Or is it Optional?? What if we don't comment on any Q?? Or if we leave to comment later after answering all Q's...what if we dont get time to comment at all??

Take a deep breath and relax!

As Nicholas mentioned earlier, commenting on questions is optional, although Sun would really like comments on faults / questions you believe are too easy / questions you believe are too difficult.

There is (usually) a way of marking a question for later review, so when you have finished all the questions you see a list of all the question numbers, with a tick next to those you have marked and a hyperlink to jump to that question. So you could just mark those questions you are either unsure of or would like to comment on, keep working, and when you have finished all the questions, go back and make your comments.

And if you run out of time and cannot make comments - no problems. The more comments the better, but just taking the exam will help Sun. If everybody gets a certain question wrong, Sun will probably realise that there is a problem with it, even if there are no comments on it .

Regards, Andrew

[Nicholas Cheung]

If everybody gets a certain question wrong, Sun will probably realise that there is a problem with it, even if there are no comments on it

People might get the correct answer even if the questions contain typo.

Nick

[Joe Borderi]

You are certainly not obligated to comment on any of the questions. I made comments for maybe a half-dozen of the questions or so. The comments I made regarded potential ambiguity in the questions.

At the end of the exam is a text box for general comments. Once again, there is no obligation. I used this space, however, to comment on the test's questions in general and what knowledge I think I would expect from a Java Associate.