3/26/2002 -- You're studying for your certification exam, and you want practice questions. LOTS of practice questions. And you want 'em cheap too -- well, free actually. And you probably don't want "braindump" questions either; otherwise, you'd just go directly to the sites that offer those and skip right over us.

So what can we here at CertCities do to help? We've got our pop quizzes, which feature six to 10 questions from top-notch test-prep vendors like Transcender and MeasureUp. However, we've come to realize that it's not enough -- an editor can only read so many e-mails like "This sucks! Gimme More!" and "Why are there only six questions, you losers!" (plus many others that I can't reprint here) before she gets a clue.

-- advertisement (story continued below) --

As a result, we present to you, dear reader, the following list of braindump-free practice exams available for free on the Web. We've sorted what we found first by certification (so you can jump directly to the certs you're most interested in), followed by source.

What do we mean by source? In general, there are two types of sites that provide free questions:

1) Independent Web sites. These sites feature full-length practice exams (usually 30, 40, 50 questions or more) for no charge, although some require registration. Questions are usually written by the site's Webmaster or a freelanced contributor, but are sometimes supplied by test-prep vendors (just like CertCities.com's Pop Quizzes).

2) Test-Prep Vendor sites. On these sites, vendors offer "samples" (usually 10 to 20 questions) of their commercial products. To get the full version, which can feature 200+ questions, you'll need to buy a license.

We've also found some certification vendors themselves (e.g., IBM, HP) who offer their own practice questions to let candidates know what to expect on their exams -- links for those we found are below as well.

You're probably starting to get the idea here -- start with 10 questions from our Pop Quiz section, then add 20 from another site and 40 from yet another, and you're well on your way to building a library of practice questions, all for no charge and free from braindump guilt.

Before you dig in, you might be curious as to the time and effort that goes into creating these exams, especially for the independent Webmasters like Jason Sprague. Sprague runs MCMCSE.com, a site known for its practice exams. He filled us in on what the process is like: "Typically, I write a study guide for the exam first based on the exam objectives. I then formulate about half of the questions right out of the study guide that has been written. Some of the questions are inspired by the various texts that I review. Once the question is formulated, I use an arsenal of tech sites (including Microsoft's) for research to make sure that the answer is correct. Finally, about 25 percent of the questions come from whatever it is that I am working on that day. For example, if I am working on an unattended installation of Windows 2000, I will write questions that come up while I am doing it," he explained."It is a very time consuming process...I would estimate that it typically takes about 40 hours to create and verify a 50 question exam."

Recognize too that many of the commercial vendors invest heavily in creating the full version of their products, providing the sample questions in hopes that if you like the product, you'll buy the full version and help them re-coup that investment. For both types of sites, showing your appreciation for these offerings is always welcomed.

Some caveats before we begin:

1) This is not a complete list, just a start. We'll be adding more resources as we find them, but we're also counting on you to help. If you know of a good site that offers free, non-braindump practice exams (or if you're a vendor with demos that we overlooked), let us know so this list can grow. You can e-mail me directly at bnagel@101com.com or post your comments at the end of the article.

2) Although we believe that none of the practice exams below contain braindump questions, there's no way we can guarantee it. For most of the independent sites, we checked with the Webmaster to see how they develop their exams, or relied on the information given on their Web site as to the questions' creation. With the vendors, we relied on their reputation in the industry. If you feel we made a mistake, let us know.

3) This article is not intended to start a pro v. con debate regarding braindumps. Yes, our site's editorial policy is not to link to braindumps. We've made our decision, and by now you've heard all the arguments and have made up your mind as well. We're not trying to tell you what to do here -- we're just offering a resource for those who've chosen not to use braindumps for one reason or another.

Now, to what you've all been waiting for, a list of links to no-cost, braindump-free practice questions on the Web. Enjoy!

Last Updated: 3-26-02

More articles by Becky Nagel:

CertCities.com’s 10 Hottest Certifications for 2006

10 Hottest Certifications for 2005

CertCities.com's 3rd Annual Readers' Choice Awards

Q&A: Novell Certs Go Linux