This blog was written by Alejandra Amador-Garcia. She is currently out on maternity leave but wrote this just before she left. I hope it provides our test takers with further insights into our testing world.

The views expressed here are mine alone and have not been authorized by, and do not necessarily reflect the views of, Citrix.

As one of the senior exam developers for Citrix, I sometimes get contacted by exam candidates who want to know more about how their exam was scored or because they think their exam should be reviewed. It seems the scoring of Citrix exams is an accidentally kept secret. I hope that this post will divulge those secrets.

Currently, all Citrix exams are scored automatically by a computer, so you don't have to worry that your particular exam answers were incorrectly entered by some intern somewhere. Most Citrix exam questions are worth 1 point each. This includes questions that have multiple correct responses. In the case of multiple correct response questions, you will earn 1 point for selecting ALL the correct responses or 0 points for missing any or all of the correct responses.

In certain exams, such as the 456 and 614 exams, complex questions (like simulations) may be worth more than 1 point. If an exam contains these types of questions, the Exam Prep Guide will let you know how scoring for those questions works.

Sometimes, exams include questions that are not reflected in your score called un-scored questions. These questions are included on an exam to beta test them. If a question is deemed "good" it will be added to the exam as a regularly scored question in the future. A question is deemed to be "good" based on how it performs statistically. If an exam contains un-scored questions, the Exam Prep Guide will include a notice of this. The most important thing to note is these questions do not count against the final score a candidate receives on an exam.

Unlike many exams in the academic world, Citrix exams do NOT penalize you for guessing. An incorrect answer will NOT result in you getting points deducted (e.g. -1 for each incorrect answer); however, an incorrect response would not result in one gaining any points. So how does Citrix ensure that those who pass didn't just get lucky by guessing? The questions are written using a probability equation so that guessing on the entire exam would not score you enough points to pass.

Many candidates are confused about section weights and their relevance to their exam score - really, there is no reason to consider them when thinking about your score, but here is a quick explanation of their function just incase you don't believe me:

Section weights correlate directly to the number of questions on the exam. For example, if an exam has 60 questions, and section 1 is weighted as 50%, then section 1 will consist of 30 questions (60*50% = 30). Section weights are NOT used to calculate your exam score. Section weights are meant to indicate the percentage of the exam that covers certain content, for example, installation, configuration, etc.. Because some questions may have different point values assigned to them, section weights and exam scores do not always have a one to one correlation. For example, in the table below, two sections with questions that have different point values are shown.

As illustrated in the table above, getting a section weight of 5% could mean 4 points or 2 points. The total points you get is much more important than the percentage you get for a particular section. Your score is calculated using the points you get, NOT the section weights.

Another common request from exam candidates mystified by the exam scoring process here at Citrix is to have their exam re-scored. Most likely, your Citrix exam result would never need to be re-scored. Since exams are scored automatically based on a pre-defined answer key that undergoes a very thorough analysis, there is no human error that would accidently change your score. Essentially, each question on your exam is compared to the programmed answer key and awarded points accordingly. Requesting a re-score for such an exam result would be like asking that 1+1 be recalculated to ensure that it still equals 2.

In the past, some exams have had to be rescored due to very unique circumstances that resulted in odd errors during the exam administration. Most candidates that report issues of errors and lag times during an exam administration find that all their exam information was correctly logged. Citrix Exams are also tested to ensure that exam information is maintained in the event of a power outage or computer malfunction.

Another common request I get is to review the questions that a candidate got wrong on the exam revealing why they got specific questions wrong. The answer to this request is almost always, "No." To maintain the confidentiality of the questions on an exam, I can't discuss the questions of the exams or the results with candidates. This also ensures that I don't inadvertently reveal the answers to the exam.

I have now divulged all the scoring 'secrets' for Citrix exams. Hopefully this has given you the insight you need to understand your score or determine if you really need your last exam attempt reviewed for scoring.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact training@citrix.com or respond to this blog.

Do you have a CCA for XenApp 5? If the answer is yes, you are well-positioned to advance to a brand new level of Citrix certification!

The Citrix Certified Advanced Administrator™ (CCAA) for Citrix XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2008 is a new designation to recognize advanced administrator-level specialists who possess Citrix XenApp expertise. Because the CCAA builds upon the CCA for XenApp 5 foundation, current CCAs for XenApp 5 are only two requirements short of earning this credential.

The CCAA allows IT professionals to validate technical skills required for the implementation of advanced XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2008 features and perform additional functions including monitoring, optimizing and troubleshooting*.

To advance your CCA for XenApp 5 to a CCAA, follow the steps below:

Step 1 - Complete training course: CXA-300-1I Advanced Administration for Citrix XenApp 5.0 for Windows Server 2008

Step 2 - Pass certification Exam: A08 Advanced Administration for Citrix XenApp 5.0 for Windows Server 2008

If you have any questions, please visit www.citrixeducation.com or contact training@citrix.com.

*Note: Content in the CCAA for XenApp 5 certification training and exam is based on the Windows Server 2008 version of the product. Therefore, previous experience in and/or knowledge of Windows Server 2008 is highly recommended.

Citrix Education is looking for a team of Citrix Engineers to assist in developing questions for the upcoming exam required for Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer™ (CCEE) certification. This is a great opportunity for Citrix Engineers who implement XenApp, XenServer, XenDesktop or Provisioning Server as a virtual solution or for Subject Matter Expert s(SMEs) in Citrix virtualization technologies.

Seven (7) Citrix Engineers will be selected to attend a five-day onsite Item Development Workshop (IDW) at Citrix headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from Monday, April 20th through Friday, April 24th. During the IDW, participants will help develop questions and simulations to be included in the upcoming exam. Due to the nature of the workshop, participants must attend in person.

Participants will receive credit as a SME for the developed exam, free copies of related courseware and a voucher for this exam.

Participants in the workshop will:

• Receive training on how to write questions for certification exams

• Work alongside our Exam Developers to develop questions

• Work alongside other field experts to review, modify and finalize questions written by other participants of the workshop

No preparation is necessary; simply bring your expertise! If travel is an issue, Citrix Education is offering a limited number of travel scholarships available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Criteria for IDW participation
In order to be considered for participation, participants must:

• Have Windows Server 2008 and/or Linux operating system experience

• Have Active Directory knowledge

• Have advanced Citrix XenApp, XenServer, XenDesktop and Provisioning Server knowledge

• Have implemented a POC, pilot, lab or production environment that included XenApp, XenServer, Provisioning Server and/or XenDesktop

• Have advanced virtualization knowledge including in depth understanding of networking concepts such as VLANs and storage concepts surrounding SAN, NFS and LUNs

• Provide a reference to confirm your experience with the Citrix products in the virtualization line of sight (XenApp, XenServer, Provisioning Server and XenDesktop)

• Pass the exam development pre-screening by responding to a short survey
  • To participate in the survey, please follow this link: https://citrix.websurveyor.net/wsb.dll/s/92g629 You must complete the survey by Friday March 27th in order to be considered for the workshop. (The survey is 15 minutes long, but you do not have to complete the survey in one sitting).

• Participate and pass a phone interview conducted by a member of the Citrix Education team

• Be willing to commit to attending for the duration of the workshop

Once you complete the survey, please contact Kpayah Tamba at Kpayah.Tamba@citrix.com to notify him that you have completed the survey. Please include your phone number, along with the dates and times when it would be convenient for you to be contacted for a phone interview. The phone interview is the final stage of the enrollment process. All interviews must be completed by Wednesday April 1, 2009.

The views expressed here are mine alone and have not been authorized by, and do not necessarily reflect the views of, Citrix.

As the Manager of Exam Development in Citrix Education, I have also focused more on exam security. Beginning last year, I focused more than ever on security measures by working with industry peers, security consultants, and exam delivery providers (Prometric and VUE) to tackle the growing problem of cheating. I have to admit that when I first began this process it felt like an unrealistic goal to tackle.

The ever growing presence of brain dumps (those web sites that sell stolen exam content) is not easy to ignore. But to make matters worse, the attitudes of some towards the use of brain dumps and other forms of cheating just makes it that more difficult. In the last year I have had more opportunities than ever to meet and get to know Citrix certificants. What they have repeatedly stressed to me is how they want Citrix Education to do something about brain dumps; that they don't want just any Joe Administrator to get Citrix Certified; that they are sick and tired of meeting "paper certified" individuals who have no experience.

So how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time......

In 2007, Citrix Education started slowly by adopting a security plan. That security plan, addressed four areas:

Detection of test theft and fraud
Education of candidates to appropriate behavior
Development of comprehensive policies
Enforcement of policies

Citrix Education conducts web patrolling efforts 24 hours a day world wide to identify brain dumps as well as violators of our exam policies. Once a site is detected, staff members and security professionals purchase, analyze, and verify that advertised content or information is indeed the intellectual property of Citrix. Based on the information gathered, I have been able to serve legal take down notices to websites and cease and desist letters. In addition to brain dumps and auction sites, I have also discovered candidates "discussing" exam content and "sharing" answers...you know in the interest of "knowledge being FREE".

Candidates sharing exam content, is by the way, in direct violation to the NDA that all exam takers must accept before taking an exam. When initially kicking off the security initiative, I realized that many did NOT read this NDA before taking the exam. Kind of like a EULA, exam candidates see that NDA and simply scroll to the radio button marked "Yes, I agree." without ever considering what they have agreed to.....

So Citrix Education adopted a Candidate Conduct Policy that had been widely used by our IT Peers . This policy http://www.citrixtraining.com/content/index.cfm/cgroup_id:48 basically outlines everything that candidates have done in the past that is classified as illegal behavior. Additional Citrix Education policies include a retake, beta exam, and special needs testing policies: http://www.citrixtraining.com/content/index.cfm/cgroup_id:38.  A violation of any policy can result in a list of remedies including bans up to a year.

The newest addition to exam policies is that of classifying results as indeterminate. Basically based on data forensics, our security consultants identify suspicious results and depending on the strength of the data, say a 1 in 10,000,000,000 chance of a specific result occurring, I can definitely with confidence conclude that a result is not sound and will invalidate those results. Once invalidated, a result will not count toward certification.

After putting these policies and procedures in place it's been really interesting what I have found:

Once people know someone is looking, they repent and cease with their misconduct.
Education of candidates is key; in fact candidates often state that they did NOT know that they were in violation of the NDA or any other policy.
Even those with the most grave violations, seem to value the cert when they are in danger of losing it.

I hope our efforts will help Citrix Education begin to make a dent in the challenge of exam security. But I realize that a huge part of the problem is in the attitudes and lack of a universal understanding of what constitutes test theft and fraud. So my mission is simple,

To educate Citrix Certification Candidates and Certificants on what constitutes cheating and how it impacts the value of the credential in an effort to maintain the integrity and validity of our certification programs.

What I really hope to get out of this besides the above is a better understanding of our certified community. And as Citrix Education takes bite after bite of the elephant known as cheating....I can only hope that candidates and certificants worldwide will see the return to the value of certification....

The million dollar question is with all the buzz by Citrix and others on increased security initiatives, how will the cheaters respond?

Sierra Hampton is the Manager of Exam Development and has worked at Citrix for 7 years.