Pearson VUE online exam review (August 2020) - What you NEED to know!

Hey if you found me through the PearsonVue site, than check out my Twitter!

If you liked this video, here are some others I made about test with PearsonVue 'Online':

What to do if you fail your exam:

How to reschedule your exam:

And my study techniques to pass exams (on the first try):

Hello everyone! In this video I break down what it is like taking a certification exam at home, not at a Pearson VUE test center using the new Pearson VUE "onVUE" application.

If you have not taken a Pearon VUE exam online yet, I will walk you though what to expect from registration all the way through the experience of the exam and everything in between!

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[cameronharcus]

I'm two days away from taking my exam and this video took such a weight off my shoulders on how the whole procedure works. Thank you for taking the time to make this video, it is greatly appreciated.

[leskyy]

I will never take another exam on Pearson VUE from home ever again, I'm almost 40 years old I am just not use to taking test under so much pressure. I failed my test twice (not the same test twice) when I did them from home but when I went to a testing center I pass with no problem. Everyone is different I guess so just be sure to chose what is best for you, good luck everyone :)

[SriOke]

I was told to “empty out all drawers” from the work desk that I was using. That came as a huge surprise and hassle because instead of that only other choice was to move to another desk. But that meant that I lost my setup and all this happening right before “release the exam” i.e. last step left me completely flustered 😩
Anyways I managed and passed the test but you folks beware of this drawers requirement.

[BillPrehl]

Chris,
First, THANK YOU for putting this video together! It's absolutely what PV should do.
Second, THANK YOU to everyone who asked great questions in the comments above that Chris did not cover in the video.
As a recap, here's my summary after reading through PV's site, Chris' video and the answers to the questions below:

1) Make sure you do what Chris said in the video and do the system check. Keep in mind some people had problems with internal webcams and had to use an external webcam for the program to send the video to them properly. I believe they simply rescheduled the exam a couple days later.

2) DOUBLE CHECK the time and date of your exam - make sure it's not 12AM when you thought you signed up for 12PM. <insert facepalm>

3) Don't sweat the registration - just show up early to get yourself logged in and refresh until the Begin Exam button appears which actually starts the registration process. Plan to use your cell phone to take the initial pictures (headshot, front/back of photo ID, and 4 pictures of your front/rear/sides of your workspace).

4) External mouse/keyboards are OK - Phew! If you're laptop is raised up, make sure it's not on a book! Doesn't matter what the book is, they probably wont' allow it to be a book. And now that we've raised the laptops with the webcams (for better video presentation) people are also accustom to the screen location while studying.

5) NO external or extra monitors - ONLY 1 MONITOR is allowed. They will make you UNPLUG the power (or confirm the power cord is unplugged) if they see them on your workspace (my suggestion is to CLEAR your workspace of all extra "stuff")

6) NO written materials in your workspace (although, I'm wondering if they are going to have problem with the bookshelf loaded with books (but not exam materials - no way to prove it - in front of me since my workspace is in the middle of the room and not up against a wall. I'd have to reach over the 6 foot table and the laptop to get to one of them so we'll see what they say on test day coming up this Friday).

7) NO electronics - calculators, watches, cell phones (this item has a variance in case you run into technical problems, but needs to be out of your reach from within the webcam based on what I read).

8) NO writing materials (paper/pencils/pens/etc.) for hand calculations or any other brain-dump/scratch paper. There is a calculator built into the program AND a whiteboard that's pretty much like MS Paint - I did see a video of the whiteboard app on PV's site but I can't find that video now. UPDATE: I found the whiteboard practice page:

9) NO talking out loud during the exam like reading the questions out loud to yourself (for those auditory learners!) - that's a violation of the testing policy.

10) Internet connection CANNOT be on a tethered cell phone/hotspot. It must be a high-speed internet connection. Now, I say that as the 5G technology is just rolling out so in the near future a 5G home router will/should pass the muster, but not many people today, if anyone, has that situation. So, tethering a 5G phone is probably not going to fly at this point either. Remember, it must be reliable and fast.

11) Unless they think you are blatantly cheating, they will give you a warning about anything they see/hear before they pull the exam from you, so just breathe, smile and listen to them before freaking out!

12) For PMI candidates, there is a specific FAQ on PV's site:

You'll do great!

Any corrections to the above list are welcomed.

[Alkaline_Acid]

Thank you for this Chris, good info and helps reduce some of the “inevitable” anxiety with this format. Looks like a great resource and I’m gonna try it out for my A+…Wish me luck!

[hezecomp]

You were exactly right and detailed in your explanations. I have used onvue platform three times for my Big Data Certifications this month. When I sneezed and my face went off camera, the test was temporarily taken off and restated from where I stopped. That was painful because I missed 3 questions out of 15 because of that. But I passed nevertheless.

[NoGaragE]

Good video, but even better to read all the negative reviews on the comments section. All the area prep, the rude proctors, the potential distractions, and the risk of re-schedule or forfeit? Makes the testing center a much better option, assuming you have one close by. I can only hope things have improved over the past two years.

[RivaldoChristian]

I cannot work with exam without pen and paper. It is helping me to remember and reduce my stress during exam.

[thewolfkiba]

You are the man; I'm taking my exam tomorrow morning at 8AM EST and this was super helpful!

[BrianHazardVideos]

Going to be taking the NCE exam with them in a few days. This was very helpful, thanks man.

[koryngrant]

Despite misgivings about the proctoring process, I decided to try it. Never again!

The system test passed fine, but once I reached the front of the queue the proctor said that I needed to check my internet connection because it wasn't working (this was through the chat and audio in the OnVUE application, which was using my internet connection...). He asked me to close OnVUE and login again, which meant I had to requeue.

The second proctor also said there was a problem and was revoking the exam. They provided a case ID support, but shut down the application and chat from their end before I could make a note of it (as per the test policies, I didn't have any paper nearby and my phone was out of reach), so I have no idea what it is. Nothing has shown up in my Pearson dashboard that looks like a support case.

All around, complete amateur hour from the Pearson side and a waste of my time. In future I will be using a test centre. Unfortunately I have no choice about using Pearson for this exam - if there was an alternative I'd be using them in a heartbeat.

[troymaggart]

Thanks for this video. Unfortunately I had a terrible experience. Checked in and everything, waited an hour and no proctor or customer service rep reached out. So I had to call Pearson VUE to get sorted and had to reschedule for the same day 3 hrs later. Same thing happened later and they had no explanation as to why. Now I’m rescheduled for a test at 8:30 PM because that’s the only one they had available in under 2 weeks. I really hope this next attempt works out.

[brewforce]

"Make sure to do this days ahead of time" oh ho ho well I got some bad news bucko.

For real though this was an extremely helpful video!

[badash]

I can honestly say the best bit of advice here is dont let them get to you when they do their checks. I failed my exam the first time because I didnt expect them to ask me to remove my speakers off my desk. It was a nightmare because of all the cable management and I was seriously stressed and angry after that and couldnt focus on the exam.
Today I went in for my retake much calmer and passed it easily whilst making sure my desk was all clear etc I wish I watched this video before I took my first test as it would have prepared me better

[nasserossareh]

Thanks a lot for this recording. it certainly helped me to know what to expect and in which order. However, unfortunately my experience with Pearson OnVue has been very unpleasant and frustrating. I made two efforts trying to take the Microsoft AZ-900 exam online. the first one on 4/6/2022 @9:45 PM and the 2nd on 4/8/2022 @ 10:15 PM. Both scheduled efforts failed. The exam did not open up! The proctor did not communicate with me for a single sec! The "Begin" blue button did not appear on my screen! I wasn't given an opportunity to take photos of my testing space or my drivers license. However, I downloaded the OnVue and tested the system, took the 1-quetion test and got the Congratulation screen!. I attended 15 to 20 mins before the scheduled Exam time and left about 1-2 hours after that time. I sent a complaint to MS about the first exam. They forwarded it to Pearson the next day. Pearson sent me an email @5:15 AM on 4/9/2022, with no reference to my complaint, and accused me of canceling the exam with a shorter notice than 24 hours!! A totally false claim!

The 2nd exam did not go any better. I completed the system test by 10 PM, got the Congratulation screen and then nothing! No "Begin" blue button. No photos! No Proctor! No Exam! No nothing! This time I found a support bot who passed me to a real human called Yann after a couple mins. He asked me a bunch of questions. Eventually, he said he has no ideas why the system has not worked as he expected. He raise a case and with OnVue technical support. He said the will get back to me as soon as possible. I asked for an ETA, and he said "1 Week"!

Now, imagine, I have to put my life on hold for one week. Try a few practice exams each day. So that at they end of the week, may be they send my another email an blaming me once again for canceling the exam with a short notice! Give us a break!

You said, this is the future of the profession exams. With all due respect sir, I completely disagree. With the above performance, I doubt it if Pearson has any place in the future of professional exams.

[reneebentley]

This is helpful! Did you notice any issue with word wrapping with the exam questions when you took your test?

[techtutorialcentral]

Thank you boss! I really needed to know all this stuff. It's my first time and didn't know what to expect. Perfect video.

[madis]

Thank you so much for making this video. It's so helpful and explained the testing process incredibly well. You definitely helped relieve some of the stress I've been feeling. This may be a silly question. but on the test does it allow you to go back and change/ review answers? Or once you choose an answer and move on to the next one, that's it?

[scratchingtheitch]

FYI: If your the type of person that like to "Read Aloud" or talk your way through scenario's, just know they proctor will discontinue your exam and oh yes, you've no forfeited your testing $$.

[SkandiaAUS]

I took mine today. It's comical how invasive it is. I have a triple monitor set up, but you can only use one so to prove the others are unplugged requires a total dismantle of the set up. Then during the test you're being monitored or at least reviewed periodically. I had two alerts from someone telling me not to look off camera, which I was doing when I was thinking hard. And not to mumble or speak the questions out loud, which I do when I'm processing my thoughts, afterall I'm alone in my room.

Also the technology they use is pretty old and reminds me of the days of active X and 'this site only works on IE' so I'd be deleting all signs of the app once you're done.

Don't let this scare you off taking an exam, but I'd say be at least extra prepared for your exam so that these distractions don't put you off