MySQL AB :: MySQL Beta Certification Exams

MySQL 5.0 Beta Certification Exams

Which certifications are currently available in Beta?

In order to ensure the quality of the MySQL certification exams, they are always initially released as Beta exams.

In a few words, certification Beta exams

• are just as valid as non-Beta exams,
• cost less to attend,
• contain more questions,
• let you spend more time on the exam,
• let you spend more time on the individual question,
• do not let you know immediately whether you passed or failed.
• 50% Discount on MySQL 5.0 Certification Exams until May 15th - Register for an exam today!

Beta exam results are just as valid as the result of non-Beta exams. If you pass the Beta exam, you receive exactly the same credentials and benefits as you would by taking a regular, non-Beta exam. You get the advantages of being one of the first to pass a particular exam, at a heavily discounted price. The "price" you pay in return is to spend more time taking the actual exam.

Beta exams are used to make the last check on the quality of an exam, before it's released for general avaailability. Once several hundred exams have been completed, the result of all exams are compared to one another. During this time, questions may be approved, reworded or otherwise fixed -- and some will even be completely discarded. During this process, the exact pass/fail score for the exam is also set.

Once all questions have passed the final quality check, the completed Beta exams are re-scored against the (now known) good questions, and the pass/fail grade is applied to each exam. At this point, the candidate is notified of the exam score.

The exact differences between Beta and GA versions of exams are listed below:

Registering for a Beta exam

You register for a Beta exam just as you would for any other exam on the Pearson VUE web site. Pricing for Beta exams nominally follow the pricing of all other exams. However, discount codes are provided that you may use to receive the Beta discount.

Only a limited number of Beta exams are available for each certification. Registration and testing will be closed as soon as we have received the required number of exam results, and even if you have registered for a Beta exam, you will not be able to take the exam once the exam is closed down. Thus, when Beta exams are announced, you are strongly encouraged to register and test as early as you can.

• At the end of the exam you will receive a receipt for having attended the exam.
• Score reports are mailed via regular mail 8 to 12 weeks after the last day the Beta exam is available.
• You may take a given Beta exam only once.
• No refunds are provided for incomplete or failed exams.

The following exams are currently available as Beta exams. Use the discount code when registering for the exam to obtain the Beta discount.