Frequently Asked Questions: Cisco Packet Tracer Skills

Assessments

Last updated September 8, 2010

Cisco Packet Tracer Skills Assessments

Q. What are Cisco® Packet Tracer Skills Assessments?
A. Cisco Packet Tracer Skills Assessments are innovative, formative assessments that measure student
performance and knowledge of networking concepts and skills using the simulation and configuration
capabilities of the Packet Tracer learning environment. The online, centrally administrated Packet Tracer Skills
Assessment environment presents complex and authentic tasks, immediately scores the exams, and provides
rich, detailed feedback, which is also integrated into the course Gradebook.

Q. What types of Packet Tracer Skills Assessments are currently available?

A. The first type of Packet Tracer Skills Assessments available is practice exams for Cisco CCNA® courses.
There is one Packet Tracer Practice Skills Based Assessment (PT Practice SBA) available for each CCNA
Discovery and CCNA Exploration course. These eight PT Practice SBAs help students prepare for the
corresponding final hands-on SBA for each CCNA course. The exams are available in English only. Table 1
lists the CCNA courses and corresponding practice exams.

Table 1. PT Practice SBAs for CCNA Discovery and CCNA Exploration (English only)

Course PT Practice SBA

CCNA Discovery :

Networking for Home and Small Businesses DHomesb PT Practice SBA

Working at a Small-to-Medium Business or ISP DsmbISP PT Practice SBA

Introducing Routing and Switching in the Enterprise DRSEnt PT Practice SBA

Designing and Supporting Computer Networks DCompNtwk Practice SBA

CCNA Exploration:

Network Fundamentals ENetwork PT Practice SBA

Routing Protocols and Concepts ERouting PT Practice SBA

LAN Switching and Wireless ESwitching PT Practice SBA

Accessing the WAN EWAN PT Practice SBA

Q. What are some benefits of the PT Practice SBAs for CCNA courses?
A. The PT Practice SBAs help students and instructors identify areas that need improvement to help increase
student confidence, satisfaction, and success when preparing for the final hands-on SBAs at the end of the
CCNA Discovery and CCNA Exploration courses.

Q. Will the PT Practice SBAs be translated from English into other languages?
A. While there are no plans to translate the exams at this time, the English versions of these exams are available
for use by all CCNA academies, regardless of the course language version being used.

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 Technical Requirements
Q. What are the local computer requirements for taking a PT Practice SBA?
A. The local computer requirements are the same as the recommendations for the Cisco Networking Academy®
CCNA courses.

Q. What are the software requirements for taking a PT Practice SBA?

A. To successfully complete a PT Practice SBA, the following software must be installed on your computer:

● Cisco Packet Tracer 5.2.1.x or above – Versions 5.2.1.x or above are the only versions of
Packet Tracer that support the PT Practice SBAs. We recommend downloading the latest version
of Packet Tracer from the Packet Tracer resource page on Academy Connection. To access this
page, log in to Academy Connection and click the Cisco Packet Tracer graphic on the left, select
Software Downloads, and then choose the appropriate download package for your needs.
Note: If you have just installed Packet Tracer you will need to reboot your computer before
completing a PT Practice SBA.
● Java version 1.6 or higher – The latest version of Java can be downloaded from www.java.com.
Q. How can I tell if I have the correct software on my local computer to successfully take the exam?
A. The Packet Tracer Skills Assessment Environment Checker application will determine if the necessary
software is installed on a computer. A link to the PT Skills Assessment Environment Checker is available on
the Class homepage for all CCNA courses under View Official Course Material, and on the Assessment
resource page in the Course Catalog.

Q. How can I get help with issues related to downloading or installing Packet Tracer or Java, or with
running the PT Skills Assessment Environment Checker?
A. For general assistance, contact the Networking Academy Global Support Desk. To access the Support Desk,
log in to Academy Connection and click Help at the top of the page, then select Academy Support.

Q. Do I need to open any special network ports to communicate with the Networking Academy
assessment servers?
A. No, special ports are not required.

Instructor Exam Administration

Q. How do I activate a PT Practice SBA?
A. The PT Practice SBAs are activated from the course Assessment Home page using the normal assessment
activation process. Instructors can use the default activation settings or modify them as needed.

Q. What exam settings are available when activating a PT Practice SBA?

A. The default exam login activation period is one hour, but you can activate the exam for up to 14 days. The
default number of exam attempts is 20 to allow students to take the exam as many times as needed to gain
proficiency, but instructors can reduce this number during activation. The default exam duration is 2 hours,
which can also be adjusted as needed up to a maximum of 10 hours.

Q. Can PT Practice SBAs be used to replace the final hands-on skill exams?
A. No. The PT Practice SBAs were not designed to be a replacement for the final hands-on skill exams.
Networking Academy recommends the use of physical equipment for hands-on learning and for the final
hands-on skills based assessment. The opportunity to gain hands-on experience is a key Networking Academy
differentiator relative to other programs. The PT Practice SBAs are designed to provide additional learning and
practice opportunities to help students prepare for the hands-on SBA and support student success. Certain
hands-on skills can only be validated by configuring and connecting real equipment.

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 Q. Why do the PT Practice SBAs appear in the course Gradebook with a default grade weighting if they
are meant for practice purposes only?
A. Currently, all assessments that are scored and appear in the course Gradebook display a default weighting,
including optional exams such as chapter exams, practice final exams, and PT Practice SBAs. Instructors can
adjust the grade weighting as needed.

Q. Can I make modifications to the PT Practice SBA scoring rules?

A. No, exam modifications are not available at this time.

Q. Where can I find information about the topics covered on each exam?
A. Design documents are available for all PT Practice SBAs These documents are located on the Instructor Class
Home Page for each course, in the View Official Course Material section, and also on the Tools page.

Q. Can students take a PT Practice SBA outside of the classroom?

A. Instructors can determine the best use for their classes. The practice exams were designed to be offered either
in the classroom or instructors may make them available outside of class for additional practice.

Q. Can I print the PT Practice SBA activity instructions for my students?

A. Yes, instructors can print the PT Practice SBA activity instructions for their students. After submitting a PT
Practice SBA, select Launch Student's PKA from the instructor IIP. Once the activity is open in Packet Tracer,
select Print from the File Menu. Select Activity Instructions and then choose Print or Print to a File.

Q. What kind of instructor feedback is available after a student has completed a PT Practice SBA?
A. In addition to proficiency estimates and detailed scoring feedback, the Item Information Page (IIP) for
instructors also includes the Packet Tracer initial topology and instructions and the answer topology and scripts
for the proposed solution. Instructors can also view and download the actual .pka activity files submitted by
students, exam timing statistics, the student’s final running configuration, and a time stamped activity log of
every IOS command entered by the student during the exam.

Q. How can I view the IIP for a student?

A. You can view the IIP for a student by selecting the exam name from the course Gradebook, and then clicking
the student’s score on the Exam Details page. The detailed feedback helps identify areas where the student
may need additional study and practice. See Appendix B for more information on viewing the IIP.

Q. Do PT Practice SBAs help students prepare only for the final hands-on skill exams?
A. While the PT Practice SBAs for CCNA courses were designed to help students prepare for the final hands-on
SBA at the end of each course, they also provide useful practice and performance feedback that may help
students prepare for the final exam, Cisco certification exams, and entry-level jobs.

Student Exam Experience

Q. What level of Packet Tracer experience is needed to complete a PT Practice SBA?
A. Since the PT Practice SBAs are designed to be used at the end of a course to help students prepare for the
final hands-on SBA, students should have gained the necessary level of experience with the software by
working on the Packet Tracer activities embedded in each CCNA course.

Q. How can a student initiate a PT Practice SBA?

A. Students will use the same process to launch a PT Practice SBA as any other online Networking Academy
assessment. Go to the Class homepage and click Take Assessment in the Assessments and Grades
section.

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 Q. What steps are involved in taking a PT Practice SBA?
A. Taking a PT Practice SBA is a seamless experience that uses Packet Tracer software and the online exam
environment that students are already familiar with:
1. The student selects and launches an exam.
2. Packet Tracer and the exam launch on the student’s desktop.
3. The student works through the activity instructions to take the exam.
4. Students may submit their work when finished, or save it and resume the exam at a later time.
5. Submitted exams are immediately scored and integrated into the course Gradebook.
6. Students should go to the course Gradebook, click on the name of the exam first and then click on their
score to view detailed feedback about their performance on the Item Information Page and identify areas
where they need additional study and practice. See Appendix A for more information.
7. Instructors can also view this feedback from the course Gradebook and work with students as needed to
reinforce concepts. See Appendix B for more information.

Q. After completing an exam, how do I submit my work for scoring?

A. After you launch the exam, your web browser will remain open in the background with a submission page
window. Switch to that window and click Submit Assessment. The PT Skills Assessment environment will
keep Packet Tracer open prior to submitting your assessment. Do not turn off your computer or force your
web browser or Packet Tracer to close prior to submitting your assessment, or your exam will not be scored
and work may be lost.

Q. Can I pause the exam and come back to finish it at a later time?
A. Yes. When you reach a point where you’d like to pause, switch to the submission page window and click Save
Assessment and Continue Later. You should make note of where you stopped working in the activity
instructions to make it easier to resume where you left off at a later time. The amount of time left to complete
the exam will depend on the amount of time used prior to saving the assessment.

Q. How long does it take to complete a PT Practice SBA?

A. The time it takes to complete a PT Practice SBA depends mostly on the skill level of the student. The elapsed
time needed to complete an exam may range from approximately 1 to 2 hours. Students have the option of
saving the exam and returning to finish it at a later time.

Q. Can I print the PT Practice SBA activity instructions?

A. Yes, once the activity is open in Packet Tracer, select Print from the File Menu, or select the Print icon in the
activity.

Q. How do I resume working on a previously saved assessment?

A. To resume working on a previously saved assessment, go to the Class homepage, click Take Assessment in
the Assessments and Grades section, and select the assessment again. Packet Tracer and the exam will
launch on your desktop with your saved activity file containing all the work you had previously completed.
Resume working on the activity instructions from the point where you had stopped. The amount of time
remaining to complete the exam will be displayed when you resume, as shown in Figure 1.

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 Figure 1. Time remaining is displayed when resuming a saved assessment

Q. Do I need to start Packet Tracer before taking the exam?

A. No, Packet Tracer should not be running on your computer prior to taking the exam. Packet Tracer will
automatically open on your computer when the exam is launched.

Q. What happens to the work I’ve already completed on the exam if my computer experiences a system or
software crash?
A. The PT Practice SBA assessment environment periodically saves your work to the Networking Academy
servers. If a system or software crash occurs, the most recent work you completed will most likely be lost and
need to be reentered.

Q. Do I need to close Packet Tracer before submitting my work for scoring?

A. No, do not close Packet Tracer manually when taking a PT Practice SBA. Packet Tracer will automatically
close when you click either Submit Assessment or Save Assessment and Continue Later. If Packet Tracer
is closed prior to submitting or saving your work, you will need to launch the assessment again to resume
working on it. The most recent work you completed will most likely be lost and need to be reentered.

Q. How can I manage the multiple windows that appear after launching the exam?
A. You can move and arrange your windows to show the activity instructions and the Packet Tracer application to
make it easier to perform the exam tasks.

Q. Do I need to pay attention to the correct case when entering my work in a PT Practice SBA?
A. Yes. In situations where the instructions specify a particular mixture of upper case and lower case characters,
that format should be followed for your work to be scored correctly. For example, you would need to enter
Router1_LAN if that is the correct name of the device instead of router1_lan.

Q. What kind of student feedback is available for a PT Practice SBA?

A. Feedback includes proficiency estimates for the performance components tested on the exam and the
maximum score possible and the score earned for each task and sub-task. This feedback is designed to help
students identify their strengths and weaknesses and areas that need improvement. See Appendix A for more
information.

Q. How can I report bugs in the PT Practice SBA exams or assessment environment?
A. Students should report bugs and errors directly to their instructors. Instructors should then follow the normal
procedures outlined in the Support section of this document to report the issues through the Curriculum and
Assessment Quality Support site on Academy Connection.

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 Support
Q. Where can I get help with questions regarding the PT Practice SBAs?
A. For more information regarding the PT Practice SBAs, please review the following resources on the
Assessment resource page in the Course Catalog:
● PT Skills Assessments Overview Presentation
● PT Skills Assessments FAQ
● PT Skills Assessments At A Glance
If you have questions after reviewing these resources, please contact the Networking Academy Global Support
Desk for assistance.

Q. How can I report issues, errors, or bugs in the PT Practice SBAs or assessment environment?
A. Instructors should report issues, errors, or bugs through the Curriculum and Assessment Quality Support site.
To access this site, log in to Academy Connection and click Help at the top of the page, then select
Curriculum and Assessment Quality Support. Select the Contact Curriculum Team tab, provide as much
detail as possible, and then click Submit.

Q. Where can I discuss the PT Practice SBAs with other instructors?

A. To collaborate with other instructors, join the Cisco Packet Tracer Skills Assessments community discussion.
To access the discussion board, log in to Academy Connection and click Forums & Chat under Resources,
then select Instructor Community > Online Assessment > Cisco Packet Tracer Skills Assessments.

Q. I participated in the PT Skills Assessment Beta Program. Can I still use the classes I set up during the
beta period?
A. While the beta program has ended, all classes that were opened during the beta period will remain open until
December 31, 2010. You can continue activating exams in those classes for your students until that time.

Q. Are PT Practice SBAs compatible with the accessible versions of the curricula?
A. PT Practice SBAs are completely compatible with the accessible versions of the CCNA courses. Note that in
the accessible course versions, the Exam Results page and the IIP currently display links at the top of the page
that are not needed, and will be removed in a future release. Please ignore this known issue.

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 Appendix A: Student View of PT Practice SBA Feedback

After submitting a PT Practice SBA, students should go to the course Gradebook and follow the steps outlined
below to see their scores and view the Item Information Page (IIP). The IIP provides detailed feedback about their
performance and identifies areas where they need additional study and practice.

1. Go to the course Gradebook.

2. Click on the name of the exam.

3. Click on the numerical grade to view your results.

4. The first section called Feedback gives a visual overview of how you performed on the assessment.

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 5. The next section, called Scoring, provides details on the maximum points and points you received for
each portion of the activity. Each portion of the submitted logs and configurations, known as a work
product feature, is evaluated. Points are assigned when all features for a task are marked as “Correct” in
the Student Result column.

For example, in the scoring report below, the student correctly activated the interface and configured the
IP address and subnet mask on the Router1 Fa0/0 interface. They received 8 points for the Router 1 Fa0/0
Addressing task.

The student received 0 points on the Switch VLAN Interface Addressing task as the features were marked
“Incorrect” in the Student Result column.

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 Appendix B: Instructor View of PT Practice SBA Feedback

In addition to proficiency estimates and detailed scoring feedback, the Item Information Page (IIP) for instructors
also includes the Packet Tracer initial topology and instructions and the answer topology and scripts for the
proposed solution. Instructors can also view and download the actual .pka activity files submitted by students, exam
timing statistics, the student’s final running configuration, and a time stamped activity log of every IOS command
entered by the student during the exam.

1. To view the IIP page for a student, go to the course Gradebook and click on the name of the exam, then
click on the numerical grade for a student to view the student’s results. See Appendix A as a reference for
viewing proficiency estimates and detailed scoring feedback for a student.

2. The Proposed Solution section on the Instructor IIP contains the Answer Topology and the Answer
®
Scripts (running configurations) for all Cisco IOS devices the student was required to alter.

3. As a quick verification, the instructor can compare the Proposed Solution Answer Script to the Student
Final Running Configuration. Both configurations are located in the Student’s Work Product section.

4. For more details on the correct configuration for all devices, the instructor can download the student PKA
file and review the Answer Network.
a. Download the student PKA by clicking on Launch Student PKA from the Instructor IIP page.

b. Open the Activity Wizard. This can be done by typing CTRL + W or by selecting the Activity
Wizard Icon.

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 c. Select Answer Network.

d. Click through the various devices to see the answers for the activity.

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Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective
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