Video Summary
Here are the key points from the video:
- Perform a system test on your device a few days before the exam to ensure everything works properly.
- Clear your desk and room of any papers, electronics, or other items within arm’s reach. Inform family or coworkers not to disturb you.
- Have your smartphone and ID ready for the check-in process. Close all unnecessary apps and services on your device.
- Consider using a simple setup, like a dining table, to minimize distractions. Ensure your laptop is plugged in or fully charged.
- Begin the online check-in and system check 30 minutes before the exam. Follow the instructions to connect with a proctor and start the exam from the Microsoft Learning Dashboard.
For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!
Video Transcript
Let’s start by learning how to register for the A900 certification exam. First things first, in order to register, you need to have a Microsoft account. It’s very important that if you have done a Microsoft certification before, make sure to use the same account all the time. If not, you’ll have two different MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) IDs, and your transcript will be split. To be honest, it’s a bit of a mess to merge them afterwards. It’s doable through support if it ever happens by accident, but let’s hope we don’t have to use the support. So, try to always use the same Microsoft account every single time. If this is your first ever Microsoft certification, make sure to choose a Microsoft account that you want to use for the long term, and you will create your certification profile. As a tip, make sure to enter your name exactly as it appears on your government-issued identification. For example, a lot of us have middle names or names we don’t use all the time, so make sure your certification profile matches exactly what you have on your ID.
There are two exam providers for the A900 exam. The first one is Pearson VUE, and the second one is Certiport, which is for students or instructors. Certiport is a Pearson VUE business, but it’s still shown as two different options on the site. Now, something that I would like to tell you is that even if you’re a student, unless you have a very specific reason to use Certiport, such as a class requirement, I would personally go with Pearson VUE. All of the other exams above the associate level (associate, expert, specialty) are only provided by Pearson VUE. This way, if you decide to pursue your certification journey further, you will already have experience with the certification provider, and it will be one less thing to worry about rather than switching providers between your fundamental exam and then your associate exams and higher.
To start the registration, you need to go to the exam page, which I also linked in the slides, and you will have the schedule exam option with either Pearson VUE or Certiport. So, let’s go through the process. The first thing it will ask you to do is sign in with your Microsoft account. If you have done certifications before, you will need to validate your certification profile. If this is your first certification, you’ll need to fill it out, but it should only take you 2 to 3 minutes. At the top right, you will see your email as well as your MCP ID, so you can make sure that you’re logged in with the right account. If you have participated in various Microsoft promotions or conferences, you might have a discount on your exam, which will be presented to you on the exam discounts tab on the left. After you validate your information and choose a discount if you have any, you need to choose where you will take the exam. The two choices are either at a test center or online at your home or office. Depending on what option you choose, you will be presented right away with some extra interesting information and links to resources. Remember that even if you take the exam at home, it’s still a proctored exam, so a proctor will be watching you on camera and hearing everything through your microphone. Whether you take it at a test center or your home or office, the same security standards apply.
The next step will be to select the exam language. As the A900 is a very popular exam, it exists in multiple languages, but not all Microsoft certifications have as many options. If you have selected to do it in person, the next step will be to choose the location where you want to do the exam. You will be presented with choices based on the address in your certification profile, and you can also choose multiple test centers if you want to compare availability. Next, you will need to select the date and time you want to do your exam. Make sure you check your calendar and block that time off. This way, nobody schedules meetings or anything during that time. I would block off extra time before and after because you don’t want anything, like a meeting or presentation, to stress you while you take the exam. Something to consider as you select your date and time: if you need accommodation, both Pearson VUE and Certiport can provide appropriate arrangements for individuals that demonstrate a documented need. It can be things such as extra testing time, a separate testing room, or even breaks. Special accommodations can take up to 10 business days to be approved, so if you need to request a special accommodation, try to schedule your exam a bit more in advance. This way, you can go through the request process without being stressed for time.
After you have selected everything, the next step is to review and confirm. It will show you the exam name, language, appointment location, and price. Finally, you have to put your credit card number in and pay for the exam. That’s it! After this, your exam registration is complete. Before we finish off the registration part of this module, I just want to share a quick reminder to verify the rescheduling and cancellation policies in case you need them. Traditionally, it has been six business days before the exam date to change or cancel without paying a fee. However, make sure to double-check it. This information will be available in the confirmation email as well as on Microsoft Docs. Add the link in the slides, and remember that for all of the links I will share throughout this course, you don’t have to pause the course and go type them in. On the course page, you can go to the tab called “Exercise Files,” and then you can download all of the slides and simply copy-paste the links, which will make it a lot easier to have access to those resources.
Now that we know what it’s like to take an exam at a testing center, what about taking an exam at home? First of all, a few days before the exam, I highly encourage you to perform a system test on the device you intend to take the exam with. I added a direct link to the slides. This way, if anything is not working, you have a few days to find another machine. Before you start the exam, you need to clean up your desk space and room. Make sure there are no papers, electronics, or anything within arm’s length of your device. Make sure that you tell your family or coworkers not to interrupt you during the exam. This is very important because if the proctor hears anything or sees anybody else in your camera, it’s an automatic failure. Something I didn’t realize the first time I took an exam at home: make sure you have your smartphone and a piece of ID nearby because you will need them during the check-in process. When I first did an exam online, I had my phone turned off and in another room. During the check-in process, it asked me to use my phone to submit a piece of my ID, so it took me extra time to go get the phone, turn it on, and everything. Make sure you have them by you. Also, make sure to close all of the apps and unnecessary services on your machine. The testing system will provide the proctor with a list of everything running, so try to close everything in advance. It makes the process a lot smoother. Last thing, if you’re doing the exam on a laptop, make sure to plug in your laptop or at least have a full battery.
To share with you what has worked for me personally, I actually prefer to do my exams on the dining table instead of in my office. I have too many gadgets in my office and things everywhere, so doing the exam at the dining table means there’s less for me to clean up. Also, I don’t have to worry about things such as the whiteboard or anything, as there’s a lot more space around me on the dining table, so really less for the proctor to check out before the exam. From a device perspective, I use an old laptop with a base Windows install. This way, there are fewer apps, notifications, services, and things to worry about during the exam. I know this is not possible for everyone, but I just wanted to share what has worked for me personally.
Now that we have our pre-exam preparations, you can actually begin online check-in and system check for the exam 30 minutes before the exam start time. This again gives you more time in case anything doesn’t work with your system and allows you to go through the process more calmly, knowing that you have the time. If everything goes smoothly, you’ll probably be able to start your exam even before the scheduled time. As soon as your system checks are ready, you’ll be put in a queue, and when a proctor is ready, you will be able to start the exam. But where do we start the exam from? You actually need to go to the Microsoft Learning Dashboard, and from there, you will see your appointments. If you have an online exam, you’ll have a button that says ‘Start the Online Exam’ right there. If we take a look at an overview of how it works, again at a very high-level view, you’ll first start the exam from the Learning Dashboard as we have talked about. Then it will ask you to download the OnVUE Proctor Exam app, in which you will first start by doing a system test. If everything goes well, you’ll provide your phone number and you will get a text message with a link where you can submit your information. You’ll be asked to take pictures of yourself, your ID, as well as your surroundings. After all of that is submitted, you’ll be connected with a proctor. Depending on the proctor you get, they might talk to you through the device speakers or they might write to you on the chat. Some of them are okay with only the pictures you provided; some of them might ask you to move your device camera around as they might want to see some more things in detail. After all of those checks by the proctor are good, you’re ready to take the exam. Remember, the proctor will always see you and hear everything through your device camera and microphone, and you are not allowed to mute it, stop it, or block the camera. If not, it’s an automatic disqualification. Pearson VUE also has their own nice preparation video on how to take an exam at home. It’s about 5 minutes long, so if you want to watch it, you have the link in the slides. It’s about in the middle of the page, and it’s a nice introduction video for the first time doing an exam at home.
