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Certification Exam Study Guide?

Forum|Forum|10 years ago
April 17, 2015
18 replies
9689 views

Just got back from the Summit where I took the certification exam and failed. I took the practice exam that was distributed prior to the summit and aced it. Apparently those questions weren't on the real exam and the study material that was sent out didn't cover the stuff on the exam.

(Apparently I wasn't the only one. I talked to about 30 people who failed and 3 that passed. One guy had been certified for the past 3 years and failed.)

I know that you're allowing us to retake it for free in 2 weeks which is great because my company had to spend money on this and my failing is not going to sit well with my manager.

Can you distribute a study guide that covers what is on this year's exam?

Finally, why was the test so difficult? It really required a photographic memory. The questions asked were not questions I would say show expertise. My favorite example is the question that asks the text on the button to add a new user: "Invite New User" or "Invite User" or "Add New User" or "Add User". How does knowing the text on that button make me more of an expert than knowing where it is or what needs to be done to create a new user or role?

I probably have 2,000 hours of real time Marketo use. I know how to use the APIs. I know how to use just about every aspect of Marketo. I would like to be recognized as an expert but the questions on that exam were about memorization of detail instead of functionality so I'd like a resource to help me study for the re-take.

Marketo

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Best answer by Ayana_Nickerson

Greetings Marketers!

Thank you so much for your feedback and comments regarding the Marketo Certified Expert exam. We heard your feedback and we have made some improvements to our preparation materials based.

Practice Exam: We have updated and expanded the practice exam to more closely reflect and align with the updated exam.

Preparation Guide: We have also created a webpage specifically for certification preparation.

Prep Tools Page

http://pages2.marketo.com/MCE-exam-prep-tool-kit.html?utm_source=website&utm_medium=marketo&utm_camp...

I hope this information is useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly. I would love to hear from you.

Best regards,

Ayana Nickerson

anickerson@marketo.com

Joe_Reitz

Level 8

I could not have stated this any better. In the same boat with you, Robb!

If it doesn't look cool, you're probably doing it wrong.

Robb_BarrettAuthor

Level 10

I just reviewed the FAQ for the Certification. Something's up. It was last update less than 3 weeks ago but there are a number of inconsistencies. I'm wondering if they didn't give all of us the Consultant Certification exam, which is supposedly the more difficult one. Look at this from the FAQ:

11.   Is the exam difficult?

This is a serious industry certification requiring product experience, education, and preparation. You are expected to have significant Marketo experience and you should take time to prepare appropriately. For those with the experience and proper preparation, the exams will not seem terribly difficult. [emphasis added]

- This exam was VERY difficult, IMHO. The topics covered included an insane level of detail.

17.   What are the format and length of the exam?

Marketo exams consist of approximately 90 multiple choice items. The Marketo Certified Expert exam has approximately 90 items.

-Mine had 100. If we're going to round, let's be realistic.

19.   What information will I get about my exam performance?

You will be given pass/fail information. You will also see a section breakdown of your results. You will not see your exam score. This is withheld for exam security reasons. Most industry certifications do not give this level of detail.

I was told my score - 70%

20.   What is the passing score on the exam?

We do not share the passing score of our exams. Marketo will be revising and updating exams on a regular basis to keep in step with product changes. Because the content of the exam will change over time, it is also possible that the passing score will also change on different versions of the exam. We have chosen to not share this information to prevent confusion for people who have taken the exam at different times.

- I was told I needed a 75% or better

21.   Why can’t I get my specific exam score?

The exam score is only valuable relative to the passing score. Marketo has chosen to keep these scores confidential for the sake of exam security.

- See above

Robb Barrett

Joe_Reitz

Level 8

Our consultant gave us the Ghost Cert just for funsies... I will say that the types of questions were very similar, as was the level of difficulty, but no- this wasn't the Consultant Certification Exam.

Odd thing is, I almost did better on the Ghost cert than the MCE.

If it doesn't look cool, you're probably doing it wrong.

A

Anonymous

I echo this discussion - i took the sample exam of 50 questions and got 97%. With a little review on areas I was less familiar with - I thought i would have been fine. This was very difficult and the specifity of the questions - asking drop down values.....really that does not make you a marketo expert. The exam should be about executing tasks in Marketo - if you have to make it mulitple choice then it should be theory not specifics. Who remembers drop down values. I thought some of the questions had answers that there intended to purposely confuse you - one of the questions had answer choices of "blank", "empty", "leave blank", "leave empty" - thats just silly.

I will redo my exam in a few weeks but feely pretty uninspired with the process. Everyone who was leaving the room failed when i wrote.....

John_Westley

Level 4

Does anyone have the link to the practice sample exam?

Joe_Reitz

Level 8

Hi John,

Try this: http://info.marketo.com/uJb000JYiv0m1u02t5bHGB0

It should forward you on to the practice exam.

If it doesn't look cool, you're probably doing it wrong.

Danielle_Wong

Community Advisor

Is the practice exam free to take? And how many times can one take it? Do the questions change?

Danielle W.

Philip_Tieu

Level 5

Hi Danielle!

Yes, the practice exam is cost free! You can take it as many times as you like but it reveals a complete pool, so the questions do not change.

Take a look at the rest of the MCE toolkit which contains the practice exam and a preparation guide.

Marketo Certified Expert Preparation Tools

John_Westley

Level 4

Hey Joe thanks for the link! Unfortunately it didn't work. I'll just ask my rep for a URL seems like that's the way you have to do it.

Robb_BarrettAuthor

Level 10

I think you need to be registered for the test to take the practice. Don't bother with it, it's nothing like the real exam.

Robb Barrett

A

Anonymous

Same here. Same here. And no response from Marketo. I was especially annoyed with the ENTIRE section on the calendar. We don't use that, as we have more users than they allow without purchasing more. I know the basics of it from initially learning about the new product, but there was nothing about it on the practice exam. nothing. Also, yes, the trick questions were just annoying.

Joe_Reitz

Level 8

Marketo did finally send through a revised practice exam with updated study materials about a month after Summit. I've yet to take the practice test again, but I hear it's much more in-line with how the test is now.

If it doesn't look cool, you're probably doing it wrong.

A

Anonymous

Thanks Joe, I went back and found it. Glad to hear it'll be more helful.

Here's the link for anyone looking: http://pages2.marketo.com/MCE-exam-prep-tool-kit.html?utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=email&utm_campai...

A

Anonymous

This is great. Thanks for finding the link Serenity Greenfield!

I am one of the few who passed the exam during Summit. I would say what really helped me was going through documents for each of the Marketo products, looking at any places where they might have highlighted tips etc. It used to be called "Core Concepts" on the old version of the community. But I think they're slowly building it up again on here: https://docs.marketo.com/

I think if you make sure you're familiar with all the complete levels of each of the products it will put you in a better place to take the exam.

I found that I passed 100 % on the areas of the exam where I went in and reviewed these pieces.

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