Failed 70-410 again

Well, after failing 70-410 the first time, then studying for a month, I failed it again after the second attempt.

First score: 630
Second score: 630

It feels like I'm treading water, but the results say differently, as baffling as they are:

Improved in the following:

Install and configure servers
Configure server roles and features
Configure Hyper-V

Maintained the same score on Deploy and Configure core network services

Actually did worse on:

Install and administer Active Directory
Create and manage Group Policy

For prep I used:

Craig Zacker's Exam Ref 70-410
Sybex MCSA complete study guide
Trainsignal (just before they went to PluralSight)
Transcender
MeasureUp
TechNet
Lab environment, both on physical and virtual servers

Needless to say I am pretty flummoxed, especially after my improvements versus the sections in which I did worse made the second test a wash. It's like being on a seesaw. What makes it all the more frustrating is that I work with Group Policy and Active Directory for my job on a daily basis.

Is there something I'm missing that is apparent in all I've outlined here? I would appreciate any and all feedback.

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Comments

NotHackingYou

No Exam specific feedback as I haven't taken this exam. Only advice is to keep at it. Try to compare your objective-specific results to your studying in a meaningful way. If you did poorly on GP, how did you study it? How else might you be able to study it?

MSSoftie

Tough to say exactly what to study. The questions come from a pool so you often get completely different ones the second time you take the test so the parts of GP (as an example) that you know well don't show the second time. Best advice I can give is to spend more time labbing it out. I see you used the Exam Ref. I found the Training Guide that goes with it to be a big help as a companion book. I don't think either one individually is enough. I like the Sybex book for deeper understanding of a topic in broad terms at my desk but wouldn't want to use it for the exams. Unfortunately, though a good book to cover concepts it doesn't give you the focus you need for the individual exams (mho). I failed the 410 the first time I took it. I took the two low areas and brushed up on those but as I didn't show mastery in any of the areas (strength but not top marks) I also really honed in GP and Roles and Features to get all those points no matter what the questions. You are only missing by a couple of questions so that should do the trick. Good luck to you.

jso

Perhaps its the way you are answering the questions, rather than your knowledge thats letting you down? Do you feel that you performed/scored better on the multiple choice or the other type of questions? Were you able to eliminate the wrong options as well as select the right one? Did you have enough time?

Its a little moot now because there will be probably another pool of questions specifically targeting R2 by the time you try again.

practicinghuman

Thanks for the responses, I truly appreciate it.

I will admit that I spent more time studying than I did doing lab work. I did not get the Training Guide that goes along with the Exam Ref, so I think that will be next.

Are there any other sets of lab exercises that stand out? I see there are the Keith Meyer "Early Experts" labs on the TechNet blogs. What has the general experience been with those of you who have used those? I'm looking for labs that go a bit deeper than a primer level.