About Mark2010

Mark2010 · ‎11-08-2019

Actually @premdaniel1 , 1024x768 is rather tight. The vertical number is the 768 value. It will be possible to take the exam on those settings, but I would consider that a small screen.

Mark2010 · ‎11-05-2019

I welcome other's experiences on smaller screens. I have proctored hundreds of these exams and can offer this: It is more about resolution and how good your eyes are than it is about overall screen size. I've seen college students with small laptops but hi rez do fine. Me with my older eyes might struggle. If you have at least 1000px of vertical space, you will be OK. If you only have 720px, that is tight. You could do this on a larger monitor if you had an external web cam that you could use rather than your laptop camera. And thanks for the props on the webinar.

Mark2010 · ‎11-05-2019

Allow me to chime in here at the beginning to answer what I can and remind previous candidates of the 'Candidate Agreement' and 'Confidentiality Agreement. at the beginning of the exam. No sharing content, right? Read through this if you haven't seen it: https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Tips-and-Strategies-for-the-A00-231-SAS-Base-Programming/ta-p/582838 What you experienced in the format of the practice exam is the same that you will experience in the actual exam. Projects are presented first, followed by standard questions.

Mark2010 · ‎10-29-2019

Content Guide. The content guide is the list of topics for the exam. Anytime you have the question, "Is X on the exam?" - check the content guide. Every exam has one list on the credential page at https://www.sas.com/certify

Mark2010 · ‎10-21-2019

Yes, SAS Studio is installed on the lab computer directly. It is not using University Edition. Also, the exam instructions tell you where the data is located.

Mark2010 · ‎10-18-2019

@JJiru - Yes. There is a 'Review' button in the lower right of the exam window. This will always take you to the review page.

Mark2010 · ‎10-09-2019

Editor's Note: This topic is very popular! @Mark2010's answer below addresses the original question, helped by responses from @beccagre, the original poster, and others. Scroll down to see their replies. The confusion may be the location of the webcam. @dgritt had an external webcam that was used during the exam. When you ( @reachblesson ) told them that you were going to close the laptop, they may have assumed that your only webcam was in the laptop. If that is the case, then that is not acceptable. There needs to be a webcam to monitor you during the exam. If you have an external webcam, then you should clarify that with Pearson. But if your only webcam is in the laptop, then you will need to use the laptop monitor for your exam.

Mark2010 · ‎10-07-2019

We have asked Pearson VUE for more details, and if they provide a response, we will post it here. For questions about a specific Online Proctoring questions unique to your situation, I recommend reaching out to Pearson VUE directly via the chat functionality that is available at: https://home.pearsonvue.com/sas/onvue

Mark2010 · ‎10-07-2019

Read this: https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Tips-and-Strategies-for-the-A00-231-SAS-Base-Programming/ta-p/582838 tips and 2 good videos (but I recorded them, so I may be biased )

Mark2010 · ‎09-10-2019

I like @shelby62b comments. Also, let me link to this Tips and Strategies article, with a quick related quote from it: Stay organized. There are instructions in the exam to save each program you write before moving to the next project. Do this. Writing all of your code in one big file may feel like a time saver, but it's not. As you build up code, it gets difficult to manage and submit sections and things get all gummed up - causing more stress. Save the program, take a breath, and then start a new file for the next project.

Mark2010 · ‎09-03-2019

Thanks Jos, I can add some more insight. If your 'Base 9' book is the 5th edition, then everything in it is tested, plus additional content I will mention below. If it is 4th edition or older, then you can skip reading raw data with INFILE and INPUT statements and arrays. Additional content: Use PROC IMPORT to access non-SAS data sources. Read delimited and Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) files with PROC IMPORT. Use PROC IMPORT statement options (OUT=, DBMS=, REPLACE) Use the GUESSINGROWS statement Use macro variables to simplify program maintenance. Create macro variables with the %LET statement Use macro variables within SAS programs. Restructure SAS data sets with PROC TRANSPOSE. Select variables to transpose with the VAR statement. Rename transposed variables with the ID statement. Process data within groups using the BY statement. Use PROC TRANSPOSE options (OUT=, PREFIX= and NAME=). Also, the Specialist Prep Guide is going to include a workbook section with about 10 programming projects similar to the projects that are on the exam. The new guide almost 1/2 the cost of the old guide as well.

Mark2010 · ‎09-03-2019

The exam provides a lab environment, which is a Windows computer. On that computer, SAS is installed. You have 3 different User Interfaces to SAS (Studio, Enterprise Guide, and Display Manager). From within one of those user interfaces, after you have written your program, then you save the program as you normally would, such as the 'save' icon within the coding tab of SAS Studio. The location to save the file is specified in the exam.

Mark2010 · ‎08-30-2019

It is highly recommended to work from the new guide. In addition to it being the right content, the new guide includes a workbook with performance-based projects to work through. And vs. a version 1 or 2 of the old guide, which is probably a decade old, it's really no contest.

Mark2010 · ‎08-27-2019

Thanks for the plug - SAS Cares! Also, I have just released an Article (My first! New Community Badge! Who Hoo!) here in the community that consolidates a lot of information (and bonus tips!) about the exam into 1 page. It is here: https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Tips-and-Strategies-for-the-A00-231-SAS-Base-Programming/ta-p/582838 Regarding some of the nitty gritty details, I'm hesitant to put that here, as exams are subject to change. The performance-based coding sections are weighted heavily enough that you should focus on these first. On the Base exam, you have a lot of flexibility in your code. We grade answers to questions about your results (Advanced works differently with macros to assess your code, but still a lot of freedom). We do often look at the code after the exam, so be sure to save your programs.

Mark2010 · ‎08-26-2019

Sitting for a performance-based exam can be a challenging experience. During your exam, coding challenges are presented and you write SAS programs to answer questions about your results. These questions are then scored to determine your grade. Straightforward, but in a timed, high-stakes exam environment, we know that this can be stressful. Here are a few strategies to help you get through the exam as calmly as possible. For starters, please review the information on our exam website, which includes a short, 5 minute introductory video to explain the exam environment. Next, check out this 10 minute video from the SAS User Channel. I walk you through an example coding challenge, write some code, troubleshoot it, and answer a couple of exam questions. With the basics out of the way, here are a few more tips: I'm not going to go over specific content, but please be sure to review the exam content guide and be familiar with ALL the topics. There are some projects on the exam that aren't difficult, but if you have gaps in your knowledge, they can use more clock time than is necessary. I said I wasn't going to get into specific content. I lied. One pointer from the content guide: You must be able to create a SAS library with a LIBNAME statement. You are going to have a bad time if you can't do this one thing. The source data sets are write protected. This is to save you from yourself and ensure that you don't corrupt the source data. So don't be surprised when you can't edit the original data sets. You are going to have to save sorted/edited data somewhere else (which is explained within the exam). Stay organized. There are instructions in the exam to save each program you write before moving to the next project. Do this. Writing all of your code in one big file may feel like a time saver, but it's not. As you build up code, it gets difficult to manage and submit sections and things get all gummed up - causing more stress. Save the program, take a breath, and then start a new file for the next project. Keep an eye on the clock. I think that we as programmers can't let go of a half-finished program, or one that keeps spitting errors. It is in our DNA to keep at it. But during an exam, it is better to get the points where you can. You can mark the questions for review or skip them. Either way, these marked/skipped items will show on the "Review" page before your exam ends and and you can go back later. If you are making progress, great. If not, time to skip to the next project. The practice exam is currently available at no cost, and there is also an On Demand webinar How to Prepare for the SAS® Programming Specialist Exam to help you with your studying. I hope that you find these tips helpful during your exam preparation. Make sure that you practice writing SAS programs, and good luck on your exam.

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