lauriej Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with any of the texts recommended by the College Board for use in preparing for the CLEP exam in US History? We have just had great success using Spielvogel for the W. Civ. CLEP exam and I would like to try again with the US History tests next year. The following are the books they recommend: Berkin et al., Making America (Wadsworth) Boydston et al., Making a Nation (Prentice Hall) Boyer et al., The Enduring Vision (Wadsworth) Brinkley, American History: A Survey (McGraw-Hill) Davidson et al., Nation of Nations: A Concise Narrative of the American Republic (McGraw-Hill) Divine, et al., The American Story (Penguin/Prentice Hall) Faragher et al., Out of Many: A History of the American People (Prentice Hall) Foner, Give Me Liberty! (W. W. Norton) Goldfield et al., American Journey (Prentice Hall) Henretta et al., America's History (Bedford/St. Martin's) Jones, et. al., Created Equal: A History of the United States (Prentice Hall) Kennedy et al., Brief American Pageant: The History of the Republic (Wadsworth) Murrin et al., Liberty, Equality and Power (Wadsworth) Nash et al., The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, Concise Edition (Prentice Hall) Tindall and Shi, Essential America (W. W. Norton) I haven't heard of any of these and don't know where to begin! Thanks for any help! Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in NY Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 My daughter used the Berkin for a US Hist CC class last year and found it very clear and readable. I have read parts of the Tindall and Shi, and like its narrative, story-like style. HTH --- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa in MO Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 my dd took the US History 1 (early american history) CLEP test to fulfill her state required history class while she was in nursing school. I think they have three different ones, take the first one. There are alot more political correctness questions in the second and third one. Really, all she used were the REA Clep prep book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 My dd took the US History I CLEP last winter. She had read about the subject a fair amount in our homeschool (we did WTM-style history 1st-10th). She drilled on instantcert (instantcert.com) for a couple of weeks, skimmed the REA book, and took the two practice exams in the REA book. She had no problems passing the test. She has a very good memory so ymmv. Ds used speedyprep and the REA prep book to study for and pass the Western Civ I CLEP exam. HTH, GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 TWTM recommends Tindall as an accessible spine. We like it. Extras are free on the Norton Website. I would check out the chapter quizzes to help prep for CLEP as you go. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america8/full/ Have you seen the course over on the Hippo Campus site? You can align it to the Tindall book. The page numbers are aligned with the 6th edition. Either the 6th or 7th edition is probably available for cheap - the 8th edition is currently being peddled to poor college students. :001_smile: http://www.hippocampus.org/?select-textbook=54 Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 My daughter used Kennedy's American Pageant (not the brief version but the 1000 plus page tome) for an AP US History class. While it was a LOT of reading, she found the author's style engaging. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauriej Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Thanks for the tips! You've given me some good jumping off points for books. It's interesting, Teresa, because my dd also used the REA book after reading the Spielvogel and she took a lot of practice tests. I really shouldn't give all the credit to Spielvogel since it might have had more to do with the REA book! I want to do US history for our history next year anyway, so I need some sort of text for a spine. All three books you ladies mentioned sound like good options. Had to laugh at your remark about the poor college students, Janice. It's so true, isn't it? They've got you over a barrel- especially when the professor wrote the text! Gardenmom, the man who administered the CLEP exam last week mentioned instacert as being very highly regarded by test takers he's spoken to. I'm glad to hear you recommend it as well. Thanks for the help, ya'll! I'm off to ABE to look for books. Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauriej Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 Just wanted to post a follow up on this. We used the Tindall and Shi book and the REA test prep book, and my daughter scored a 72 on the US History I CLEP exam. We are pleased! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 We used Sonlight Core 100 this year. My son also used the REA book and InstantCert. He had no trouble passing the United States History 1 exam (up until 1877 or so). He will probably also take the second one after we finish the school year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Just wanted to post a follow up on this. We used the Tindall and Shi book and the REA test prep book, and my daughter scored a 72 on the US History I CLEP exam. We are pleased! Congratulations! That's wonderful. I'm glad to hear she did so well, and thank you for the follow up. We like Tindall and the REA book, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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