CLEP Tests

[TXMary2]

Has your student taken CLEP tests during high school to get some college credits out of the way? If so, did you use CLEP recommended textbooks or the typical homeschool textbooks? Both? Did your student find the practice tests helpful?

 

All of our local college and university choices accept CLEP and have CLEP testing centers so we already have that covered.

[ereks mom]

We checked out College Board CLEP prep books at the library, and he looked over the English, but he barely glanced at the math. Even with almost no test prep, he still scored very well on the CLEP exams. He also plans to take the Western Civ 1 & 2 tests, and possibly Chemistry. I bought an AP World History prep book at the thrift store for him to study for the history. For the Chemistry, he will review using his Apologia Chemistry & Advanced Chemistry textbooks.

 

For high school math, ER t ook BJU Algebra 1, Geometry, & Algebra 2. Then he took college algebra during his senior year of high school (Lial's Algebra for College Students).

 

For high school lit & comp, we used a conglomeration of things: (Format Writing, Wordsmith Craftsman, Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, classic literature, etc.).

[MomsintheGarden]

My two oldest have taken and passed two CLEPs each, and plan to take more.

 

Ds took the College Algebra CLEP at the end of 10th grade, after he finished Chalkdust Algebra II. He read through the REA study guide for it and took its practice tests to prep. The college he attends did not award credit for this test. We had him take it so our family could learn how the process worked, and to make sure he was ready to move on to precalc.

 

Ds took the English Composition with Essay CLEP in mid-12th grade after he decided on his college, and we checked with the college's CLEP credit policy. We had used the WTM/WEM for all of his high school English, and he used an REA study guide and instantcert.com for prep. He passed, and was awarded 6 credits for both freshman-level English classes. His dorm-mates were jealous - they had either taken the much more difficult AP exams or were taking the classes.

 

After considering her chosen college's CLEP policy, Dd (a high school senior) took the Sociology CLEP in October of her senior year. She studied for the test for 2 weeks using only the REA study guide and instantcert.com. She thought this test was very easy, even though she had never studied the material before.

 

Dd also took the US History I CLEP in October after studying for two weeks with the REA study guide and instantcert.com. We figured that since we had paid for a month of instantcert already, why not use it for two tests? Since she had used the WTM for history for the past 8 years, she already knew most of the material.

 

Ds plans to take 3-4 more CLEPS (Humanities, US & World History, etc.) to fulfill the gened requirements of his new double major. Dd plans to take the American Lit (after the REA study guide for it comes out in January), and Spanish. She's read a lot of American Lit already because of our WTM literature study, and she'll probably read some more. She's prepping for the Spanish CLEP using Rosetta Stone, a grammar workbook, her Spanish Bible, and tutoring. Rosetta Stone is nice because it's so easy to do, but if I had to do it all over again I would use a more comprehensive program that includes a lot of grammar.

 

You will probably need a college-level text for some exams. I recommend looking at your chosen college's bookstore for texts used in the equivalent courses and buying somewhat older versions of the texts. We've done this for APs and it's worked well.

 

If you know your student will be attending a college that awards CLEP credit, I would say go for it! We really like the REA study guides and instantcert.com. Just remember to save your instantcert login information and sign-up date and cancel before it automatically renews.

 

Be very careful in choosing which CLEPs apply to your student's major. YMMV on study times and materials needed.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

[Basketmaker Amy]

My ds has passed 3 CLEP tests and has 9 credit hours: US History I and II, and American Government. (He is a big history buff.) He studied the REA guides and had completed SL 400...which covers both government and some American history.

 

He is planning on taking the two Economics ones this summer.

 

My other son will take Western Civ I and II this year. We are using Spielvogel's text, Teaching Company DVDs, and the REA guides. He will probably take some other CLEP tests also.

 

My ds thinks the REA guides are very helpful.

 

Good luck!

[Michelle in GA]

My two oldest have taken and passed two CLEPs each, and plan to take more.

 

Ds took the College Algebra CLEP at the end of 10th grade, after he finished Chalkdust Algebra II. He read through the REA study guide for it and took its practice tests to prep. The college he attends did not award credit for this test. We had him take it so our family could learn how the process worked, and to make sure he was ready to move on to precalc.

 

Ds took the English Composition with Essay CLEP in mid-12th grade after he decided on his college, and we checked with the college's CLEP credit policy. We had used the WTM/WEM for all of his high school English, and he used an REA study guide and instantcert.com for prep. He passed, and was awarded 6 credits for both freshman-level English classes. His dorm-mates were jealous - they had either taken the much more difficult AP exams or were taking the classes.

 

After considering her chosen college's CLEP policy, Dd (a high school senior) took the Sociology CLEP in October of her senior year. She studied for the test for 2 weeks using only the REA study guide and instantcert.com. She thought this test was very easy, even though she had never studied the material before.

 

Dd also took the US History I CLEP in October after studying for two weeks with the REA study guide and instantcert.com. We figured that since we had paid for a month of instantcert already, why not use it for two tests? Since she had used the WTM for history for the past 8 years, she already knew most of the material.

 

Ds plans to take 3-4 more CLEPS (Humanities, US & World History, etc.) to fulfill the gened requirements of his new double major. Dd plans to take the American Lit (after the REA study guide for it comes out in January), and Spanish. She's read a lot of American Lit already because of our WTM literature study, and she'll probably read some more. She's prepping for the Spanish CLEP using Rosetta Stone, a grammar workbook, her Spanish Bible, and tutoring. Rosetta Stone is nice because it's so easy to do, but if I had to do it all over again I would use a more comprehensive program that includes a lot of grammar.

 

You will probably need a college-level text for some exams. I recommend looking at your chosen college's bookstore for texts used in the equivalent courses and buying somewhat older versions of the texts. We've done this for APs and it's worked well.

 

If you know your student will be attending a college that awards CLEP credit, I would say go for it! We really like the REA study guides and instantcert.com. Just remember to save your instantcert login information and sign-up date and cancel before it automatically renews.

 

Be very careful in choosing which CLEPs apply to your student's major. YMMV on study times and materials needed.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

 

 

You mentioned instacert.com. I looked it up and it looks interesting. Were you pleased with it? How much do you think it helped? Was it more helpful than the Rea books?

 

Thanks!

[Sandra in NC]

My kids don't use the flashcards much, but the subscription is worth it just for the specific exam feedback. Some of the people who post there put together extensive study guides that we've found useful. The tests change over time and there are various versions of each test, so it's helpful to hear from others what their experience was and what they wished they had studied more, etc.

 

See http://www.freewebs.com/officesolutions/instantcert.htm for more information. We subscribed using the discount code (85722) and I thought we'd cancel after 27 days (there is a 30 day money back guarantee, but in the fine print, you have to give them 3 days notice so it's really more like 27 days), but we kept the subscription.

 

Sandra

[MomsintheGarden]

You mentioned instacert.com. I looked it up and it looks interesting. Were you pleased with it? How much do you think it helped? Was it more helpful than the Rea books?

 

Thanks!

 

Instantcert is a flashcard-style drill program. It covers many (but not all) of the CLEP exams, and content that is on some APs as well. It is mostly fill-in-the blank, so there is no allowance for random guessing - a good thing. My students drill on a subject about 3 times through before an exam. The first time they just see how much they know. The second and third times they keep track of what they missed. Hopefully by the third time through there are only a few questions to study.

 

It is a bit clunky to use because it doesn't keep track of what you've missed. It is an excellent review for CLEP, and the questions are remarkably (!) like what a student will encounter on those exams.

 

Depending on the subject, my students use it for either teaching or review. When dd took the Sociology and US History I CLEP she used instantcert for teaching - she didn't read through a text or review book. She occasionally look up things in the REA practice book, and she took and analyzed their practice tests. Intro Sociology includes many concepts that are part of our culture, so it is a rather intuitive subject at that level. She had already studied US History, so she just needed a good review. YMMV depending on the student. Dd has an excellent memory.

 

Instantcert was also very helpful when ds and dd took the Microeconomics AP exam. They first read through a college-level text and did many of the exercises. They used instantcert along with an AP prep guide to review for the month before the exam. Both felt they really knew the subject after that study routine, and both received the highest score on that AP exam.

 

Be aware that instantcert does not cover all subjects. The say on their website that they will keep adding to their offerings, but I have not noticed a change in what they have over the past several years. I emailed them asking if they intend to add study for the American Lit and Spanish CLEPs, but they said no:sad:. I'd love to see them offer the full range of subjects, especially the sciences, math, and foreign language.

 

GardenMom

[MomsintheGarden]

We subscribed using the discount code (85722) and I thought we'd cancel after 27 days (there is a 30 day money back guarantee, but in the fine print, you have to give them 3 days notice so it's really more like 27 days), but we kept the subscription.

 

Sandra

We have found out from experimenting:

 

- You can cancel a day or so before the end of your subscription without it renewing.

 

- You can also continue to use instantcert until the end of the day it is supposed to expire - thus getting your full month's worth.

 

 

We just thought we'd try these this time, and it worked for us. HTH you get the full value out of it!

 

GardenMom

[brennab]

Yay! More options for me!