Microsoft Applied Skills assessment issue – Researcher agent stalled during assessment

Question

Hello,

I encountered a technical issue while taking the Microsoft Applied Skills: Generate reports with AI research agents assessment.

During the first Researcher task, the agent remained on "Extracting necessary data" for an extended period and never completed. Because of this, the assessment timer expired and the assessment was automatically submitted before I could finish the remaining tasks.

I believe this may have been a service or lab issue rather than an issue with the assessment itself.

I have screenshots documenting the Researcher agent remaining in the "Extracting necessary data" state, along with the assessment timer and the final assessment result, and I can provide them if they would be helpful for reviewing the issue.

Could a Microsoft moderator please advise on the appropriate support channel or whether this assessment attempt can be reviewed?

Thank you.

Answer 1

For issues that occur during a Microsoft Applied Skills assessment lab (including technical or lab/service problems), the appropriate next step is to contact Microsoft Certification/Applied Skills support so the attempt can be reviewed.

Use the official support channel for Applied Skills by going to:

• The Certification/Applied Skills support page at https://aka.ms/CertificationSupport
• Then scroll down to the Applied Skills section and submit a support request describing the issue, including:
  • The assessment name (Microsoft Applied Skills: Generate reports with AI research agents)
  • Date and time of the attempt
  • Description of the Researcher agent stalling on “Extracting necessary data” until the timer expired
  • Any screenshots showing the stuck state, timer, and final result

Support can review the attempt and advise on next steps in line with the Applied Skills policies (including retake and score challenge policies). If there is a concern that the score is inaccurate due to a technical issue, a score challenge can be submitted within 15 calendar days via the process described at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/support/help.

Note that per the Applied Skills assessment lab retake policy, each attempt (including one that ends abruptly) is scored and counts as an attempt, and a 72-hour wait is required before retaking the lab.

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References:

• Challenging a Certification exam or renewal assessment item or an assessment lab task
• Exam and Applied Skills assessment lab retake policies
• Microsoft Applied Skills Assessment – Candidate Agreement
• Assessment lab scoring and score reports
• Frequently asked questions
• Microsoft Applied Skills: Create agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio - Never Displayed - Microsoft Q&A