Horrible PearsonVUE Experience

Question

Sat for an AWS cloud practitioner exam last night with PearsonVue and got terminated for "leaning in". I felt that it was horribly unjustified. The first time I did it, I got a warning for leaning in. I responded the proctor with okay I'll make sure of that. From then, I paid a little more attention to the camera to make sure that I am in frame. When I was checking my answers, he suddenly terminated me saying that I have repeated the offence.

Firstly. Laptop screens are small and the text in the UI aren't huge either. There weren't any buttons to zoom in to the text so is it not natural to bring your face closer and squint your eyes? Not teaching how to conduct the exam but if suspect someone of cheating, do a live scan as per PearsonVue's T&Cs and not be terminated abruptly.

As per PearsonVue's T&Cs:
You may be subject to additional potential inspections, including the following:
* A proctor may ask you to show your ears if you have hair that covers your ears, for the purpose of verifying that no Bluetooth devices are present.
* A proctor may ask you to roll up your sleeves to verify that you have no writing on your arms.
* A proctor may ask you to empty your pockets for the purpose of ensuring nothing is in them.
*** A proctor may ask you to complete a full 360-degree room scan either during check-in or during your exam.**

Otherwise, I believe all the candidates should be given the due respect for the hours spent studying and the money used to pay for this examination. I have the case number and the name of the proctor ready should AWS choose to investigate this matter. Send me proof and tell me which part I'm leaning in too much if possible instead of accusing. Fun fact, I too have a colleague who took the same exam at a different time, got the same proctor and also abruptly terminated for a different reason.

Also for PearsonVue: I propose doing multi-devices set up or something to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings.

Anyways I just thought this should be brought up to attention as AWS is still well-loved by many and would love to have someone directly from AWS to contact regarding my case since the call center of PearsonVue didn't do a good job as well.

Cheers,
Desmond

Answer

Thank you for sharing your experience. While we understand that you had a frustrating experience, based on what you shared, the proctor was following the guidelines for our exams. If you need to lean into your screen for any portion of an exam, I encourage you to apply for an accommodation for ZoomText. You can find more about requesting accommodations in your AWS Certification portal (aws.training/certification).

If you would like us to investigate your case further, please submit a ticket at https://aws.amazon.com/contact-us/aws-training/

Answer

Today, I should have taken Pearson Vue online exam for AWS Cloud Practitioner certificate. I finished all check-in process 2 times and when proctor released me for exam, there was a message saying "Something's wrong. Try again". At third attempt, I was not able to pass internet speed test whereas my internet speed in fast.com was 100Mbps. Such a pity. I don't understand why AWS chose Pearson Vue as testing platform. Are there any testing platforms which match global standards? And guess what I should wait for 2-3 days to resolve my issue. They will refund me or reschedule my exam. Or I am afraid they put this blame on me. And I lose 100$ (I live in a place where 100$ is normal monthly wage)

Answer

Recently had the same experience for the AWS SAP C02 exam. I thought that taking the exam online would be a great option, but I was wrong. Unfortunately, the Pearson proctors are unreasonable, inattentive to questions or concerns, and mostly outsourced, non-native English speakers.

I would advise anyone taking an AWS certification to go to a testing center rather than roll the dice with the online offering.

Horrible PearsonVUE Experience

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