I discussed prepping for the CISSP exam in last week’s blog. This week, I want to follow-up by reviewing what the exam is actually like. The CISSP exam is unlike other certification tests you may have taken. It’s a paper-based exam that is made up of 250 questions with a six-hour time limit.
The exam is completely closed book. When you arrive at the test location, you will not be permitted to take any study materials into the testing area; you will be given scratch paper to use that must be returned at the completion of the exam. Because the test has a 6-hour time limit, ISC² tries to make the candidates as comfortable as possible and typically allows you to bring bottled water and a snack. You may be asked to leave these in the back of the room or under your desk.
During the 6-hour time limit, you will need to complete all 250 questions. This provides plenty of time to complete the exam and even provides some time to go back and review your answers. The exam moderator will also keep you informed of how much time you have left to complete the exam. 25 of the 250 questions are for research purposes, so only 225 questions are actually scored for certification. Counting the number of good questions you have answered isn’t an indicator of success because of the research questions and also because the questions are weighted. Expect to see a variety of questions including: situational questions, recall questions, questions that appear to have more than one right answer, questions that use double negatives, and overly wordy questions.
The exam questions are developed by an ISC² committee and are always being updated and changed. I would encourage you to make multiple passes on the test. On the first pass, answer all the questions you are sure of. On the second pass, work through the questions that you are not completely sure of, and pay close attention to key words such as not, least, and most. Missing one word on the exam can make a big difference. On the final pass, answer any remaining questions. Remember that it is better to guess at an answer than to leave a question blank. Finally, if you see people get up after a couple of hours and leave, don’t sweat it – they may be attempting another exam like the SSCP. You are not in a race; spend all the time you need to answer every question correctly. Passing candidates don’t see their scores; they only receive notification that they have passed.
From Michael Gregg
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When did you take the exam, Mike? We were informed they purposely took out some of the “English Test” issues a few years ago, particularly things like the Double Negatives…
@Anon, My feedback on the exam is based on comments from current and former students on their overall impression of the exam. Just this week I had someone email me with the following comment, “I thought the test was very hard to understand. It felt in many ways like an English test.”
-Michael Gregg
Hi Michael,
I am using the Exam cram CISSP book. it is nicely written. I am also having couple of other books too.
When I take the sample exam, I scored only around 70 percent. I am worried about my score and reading and reading again.
One of the question I have is that you have mentioned that I need to score 700 points. you didn’t tell out of how many score (or) 700 points out of what?
Thanks
Ganesh
(From Michael) Hi Ganesh – 700 out of 1000. Good luck with the exam!