Microsoft chọn Prometric cho tất cả các kỳ thi Microsoft

[dangquangminh]

Microsoft Picks Prometric for Exam Delivery Into 2008

7/11/2007 -- Next year, Prometric will be sole company to deliver exam services officially for Microsoft.

For years, Microsoft has offered certification and Dynamics exams through two official exam providers, Pearson Vue and Thomson Prometric. That's about to change next year, as Microsoft pares the offering to just one company in 2008: Prometric.

According to information posted on the Microsoft MCP Web site, exam takers can continue to register for MCP and Dynamics exams through Vue until Aug. 30, 2007, and take exams through Vue until Dec. 31, 2007. Thereafter, exam delivery worldwide will be through solely through Prometric centers.

The change doesn't affect MCP transcripts, as both exam delivery companies send all reporting information immediately to Microsoft soon after exam takers finish an exam.

Microsoft has posted an FAQ that explains further details, including how Vue exam vouchers can be exchanged later on for Prometric vouchers.

MCP reaction has been mixed. "At a local city level, not all test centers are opened daily -- certainly not weekends or longer opening hours -- which severely restricts the choice of a suitable test center even more," explained Desmond Lee, an MCT and consultant based in Switzerland. Lee believes quality will become an issue at some point: "The lack of any competition usually leads to higher cost...[and] complacency results in no motivation or push to innovate or improve, a drop in quality, inattention to details...etc."

"By limiting themselves to one provider, they won't be able to service as many test takers," observed Mark Horninger, an IT consultant and trainer with Haverford Consultants in Philadelphia. "It's a step in the wrong direction."

A good exam experience counts high with frequent exam takers and if Prometric can deliver at the local level, the matter may be moot.

"I don't necessarily prefer one over the other," said Andy Barkl, an MCT with WeTrainIT in Phoenix. "It all boils down to the local test center staff, location and equipment when I make my choice."

Horninger agreed: " I've taken exams at both Vue and Prometric and find the quality is relatively the same."

Barkl said he's been taking exams since the beginning of the MCP program and remembers a time when "you could only take a Microsoft exam at Sylvan Prometric."

Noteworthy: Pearson Vue has announced a release that it is the "primary vendor" for Cisco Systems' CCNA and CCIE certification programs. To view the release, click here. -Michael Domingo
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Bình luận: Nói chung những thay đổi này chỉ gây khó khăn thêm cho người đi thi. Người học và thi bỗng nhiên gặp các khó khăn không đáng có. Không phải tất cả các trung tâm thi đều mở vào cuối tuần. Người thi đôi khi có thói quen thi tại một trung tâm thi quen. Ngoài ra, có khả năng lớn là chi phí cho các kỳ thi quốc tế nói chung sẽ tăng cao. Và sau cùng, việc hỗ trợ cho việc chuyển đổi kết quả thi, profile, voucher, chứng chỉ....là một việc nhiều công sức và tốn kém.

[young]

Nếu mình đã có thi được 2 module của Microsoft ở VUE thì khi sang Prometric thi tiếp có tự động chuyển điểm qua cho mình không anh Minh? Và nếu thi ở Prometric thì anh Minh có thể cho em địa điểm nào trong TPHCM được không? Em không biết các trung tâm khảo thí của Prometric nằm ở đâu cả? Cám ơn anh Minh rất nhiều!:)

[dangquangminh]

Hi

Một phần nguyên nhân của những thay đổi gần đây có thể là do Prometric đã bị ETS mua lại. ETS là khách hàng lớn nhất của Prometric. Các kỳ thi Toefl, GRE@...đều là do ETS quản lý.

Dưới đây là thông tin từ web site ets.org về việc ETS mua lại Thomson Prometric.

ETS To Acquire Thomson Prometric
Contact:

Karen Bogan
(609) 683-2902
mediacontacts@ets.org

Princeton, N.J. (July 2, 2007) —

ETS, the world's largest educational assessment and research organization, is acquiring Thomson Prometric, the global leader in technology-enabled testing and assessment services. Prometric is part of The Thomson Corporation.

ETS is Prometric’s largest customer for technology-based delivery of tests and assessments. Prometric delivers ETS’s TOEFL® (Test of English as a Foreign Language™) test, the GRE® (Graduate Record Examinations®) tests and the Praxis™ teacher licensing assessments. Thomson Prometric delivers assessments directly to candidates via the web and through a global network of testing centers in 132 countries.

Prometric has an extensive and diversified customer portfolio in the academic, professional, governmental, corporate and information technology markets. Prometric’s more than 400 clients include the Association of American Medical Colleges, Johns Hopkins University, the College Board, the National Association of Securities Dealers and the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants. The company has government contracts in Ireland, England, Saudi Arabia, and federal and state contracts in the United States. Clients in the technology market include IBM, Microsoft Learning and Sun Microsystems.

ETS is acquiring Prometric for $435 million, pending regulatory approval. Prometric had annual revenues of $317 million in 2006. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007. “Prometric is uniquely positioned at the intersection of ETS’s commitment to deliver high-quality products and services through access to this strategically valuable, worldwide technology-based delivery channel,” explains ETS President and CEO Kurt Landgraf. “Acquiring Prometric expands our footprint and strengthens ETS’s position in the global marketplace for delivering technology-based testing and assessment services.”

“We look forward to providing high-quality services, products and innovative solutions to Prometric’s premier clients, which include some of the largest corporations, organizations and government agencies in the world,” Landgraf adds. “We will work closely with these valued clients to ensure we are aligned with their strategies and goals. They can rely on the unique strengths of Prometric and ETS to help them achieve long-term growth and success.”

“ETS is a good strategic fit and well-aligned with our business and our goals,” said Michael Brannick, President and CEO of Prometric. “ETS knows our industry well and will help strengthen Prometric’s business by acting as a catalyst to our growth. We are excited and optimistic about the opportunities new ownership will bring.”

Prometric will operate as a wholly-owned, for-profit subsidiary of ETS. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC acted as financial advisor to ETS with respect to its acquisition of Prometric.

About ETS

ETS celebrates a 60-year history of advancing quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services for all people worldwide. In serving individuals, educational institutions and government agencies around the world, ETS customizes solutions to meet the need for teacher professional development products and services, classroom and end-of-course assessments, and research-based teaching and learning tools. In 2006, ETS developed, administered and scored more than 50 million assessments in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide and had consolidated revenues of $836 million dollars.