Microsoft has published four traditional exams for SharePoint 2010 and there are four corresponding certifications.

TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development

• Exam 70-573
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)
• 

TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring

• Exam 70-667
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)

PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications

• Exam 70-576
• Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD)

PRO: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Administrator

• Exam 70-668
• Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP)

Preparation

I believe the best preparation for these exams is by hands on experience. I passed the four similar SharePoint 2007 exams after a few months of dedicated experience deploying and customizing SharePoint. I didn’t use an exam cram or prep book because I’d rather learn how to DO than how to TEST. If you’d like to practice how to DO, I recommend the following books.

Admin Books

I have both The SharePoint 2010 Administrator’s Companion and SharePoint 2010 Administration and can recommend them for reference and learning.

Microsoft TechNet has free downloadable books and diagrams, which are a must have, too.

Developer Books

Professional SharePoint 2010 Development has kept me interested and will teach you a lot about customizing SharePoint 2010.

SharePoint 2010 Development with Visual Studio 2010 comes recommended from a few of my friends, but I haven’t checked it out yet.

Also, make sure to grab the free SharePoint 2010 Developer Training Kit and watch the Get Started Developing on SharePoint 2010 videos.. For many people, these free materials may be enough to pass the developer tests alone.

Classical Certification Prep

If you’d rather go the exam cram way, you may have options in the future. Two Microsoft Press Certification Toolkit books will be published and they cover two IT PRO and two Developer exams each. They are due in April 2011 and May 2011, respectively. An Amazon search for SharePoint 2010 Exam shows two other titles that may be released soon.

I don’t see practice tests at Measure Up or Kaplan for SharePoint 2010 yet, but a search for 70-573 MeasureUp does show other vendors are willing to sell you practice questions. I can’t recommend that, but I know some people like practice questions. I’d rather just go take the test and see how I do.

Update 1/5/2011: MeasureUp has released practice tests for 2010 Configuring, Application Deveopment in C# and Application Development in VB.Net.

Microsoft Certified Master for 2010

After you’ve passed all 4 exams, you can apply for MCM if you have the experience. If you can meet the requirements, I encourage you to apply. I am one of the 50 SharePoint people who have made it through with a certification so far and I loved the entire experience!