Getting read for Security+, need some advice.

Vask3n

Hey everyone. I would like to start off by saying that this is an amazing site, the exams and technotes are second to none.

With that in mind, I am studying for Security+, I have been doing so for about a week and a half now. Yesterday, I started using flash cards, which have proved very helpful. I am using ExamCram2 Security+, as well as Mike Meyers' Passport for Security+.

However, I am EXTREMELY nervous about the score you need to pass this exam! 764/900 almost seems like you can only miss 4-5 questions, correct me if I am wrong. I am getting about 80-90% on good exams, however I take some exams more than once. If I continue this scheme of studying from the books, taking exams, and utilizing flash cards, would you say I am ready to take the exam in at least a month and a half? Please share your thoughts with me about anything I have posted above, as well as your thoughts on my main question above.


Thank you in advance!

jase67

Vizv,

I too had the Mike Myers Passport book, but after reading through TCAT's guide, I quickly figured out that the Passport was not enough for this test. It's more of a quick reference guide, as it does not go into enough detail about most of the subjects.

I studied for 3 weeks, using TCAT's guide, the Technotes on this site, and going through a couple of practice tests, and passed with an 820 (I hate taking tests). Here's a link where I bought the TCAT guide: www.studyexam4less.com. I'm sure there are other places as well.

I'm not familiar with the ExamCram resources, but they seem to be pretty popular. I believe it really helps to use multiple resources, and the use of flashcards can help tremendously.

Don't rush it. Take your time, and actually learn something from the material. What good is a cert, if you don't remember anything that you studied after the test is over?

Good luck! Go in there, and knock the bottom out of it.

Megadeth4168

I am also studying for the security+ exam. I have read the passport book, the sybex book and I am almost done with the Syngress book. Out of the 3 books I would have to say that the passport book was the least helpful.

My best guess about question you can miss on this exam is 17. When I go to take the test I am going to mark the ones I am unsure of and I will hope there are not more than 15 marked questions.

supertechCETma

You can also view Tcat's Security+ Study Guide for free at www.certiguide.com

You will find a wealth of links within Tcat's guide. Exam Cram was good.

mvastarelli

I'm not very familiar with the Passport series, but I haven't heard very much praise for it. For my Network+/Security+ I used the syngress books supplemented with their corresponding Exam Cram2 books and had terrific success.

Give yourself some extra time here. I spent a month reading books, and then another couple of weeks reviewing material and testing before I actually took the test. The 764 minimum score leaves some room for error, but not much.

For what it's worth I scored an 810.

Vask3n

Thanks a lot for the replies. Megadeth4168 mentioned that you can miss 17 questions while still passing. Can anyone else agree with this, or do you believe the number is different? I realize there is no way to be sure, but just on average, how many mistakes do you believe the exam will allow while still passing?

Webmaster

vizv wrote:

Megadeth4168 mentioned that you can miss 17 questions while still passing. Can anyone else agree with this, or do you believe the number is different? I realize there is no way to be sure, but just on average, how many mistakes do you believe the exam will allow while still passing?

It's not a matter of opinion of 'believe', but some rather simple math:

The exam is scored on a 100-900 scale. That's 800 points you can score, 100 questions, 8 points per question. You need 764 to pass, hence you need to score 664 points (you already get the first 100, scale 100-900) which is 83 x 8. This seems to be right when you look at the scores people got in this forum (all 900 minus a multiple of . This assumes all questions are created equal (have the same value), which is probably correct because I doubt very much CompTIA has some advanced scoring method.

mvastarelli

Webmaster wrote:

It's not a matter of opinion of 'believe', but some rather simple math:

I scored an 810. The general rule of thumb is 8 points per question, however this figure isn't carved in stone. If you get to the end of the test and you have more than 17 questions that you have serious doubts about, you're most likely in trouble

Vask3n

thank you. The reason I asked, was because I have heard that the exams may contain questions that are not counted, as in they are worth zero points. Also, I believed that the questions were weighted differently.

Thank you once again.