US History text for Clep

[ssirisha]

My student is planning to take Clep exam after the completion of the US history course. After thoroughly searching this board, I found that REA and instancert.com are good prep resources, but I did not find enough discussion on the text books used.  On the Clep college board website, the following books are recommended. Please share your experiences on the text books. Some of these books are very expensive even to try them out. So, before I take the next step I need your suggestions.

 

Thank you,

Sri

 

Textbooks

• 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)

[mumto2]

My dc's have done several CLEP exams successfully. They did Western Civ not US History so no textbook recommendations but we never ever use the current edition. We normally order a few textbooks that we can get inexpensively and pick from what arrives first......for instance the Out of Many textbook can be purchased for $7 used with amazon prime (totally random). It's the 2002 edition but should serve your purpose.

 

The reality is between instacert and REA your student with a respectable basic knowledge is going to be able to get test ready reasonably quickly. If they aren't ready you will know from the instacert. Peterson's has helpful online exams also.

[mumto2]

I just wanted to add that if you already had teaching plans/books for US History in the coming year I wouldn't necessarily switch everything just for the CLEP. I would buy the REA book and check off topics as covered and add in the missing bits (if they exist).

 

We have done these exams many different ways. The only consistency really is REA and Free Clep Prep which we love. http://www.free-clep-prep.com

[MomsintheGarden]

Ds passed the US History I CLEP using either instantcert or speedyprep (sorry, can't remember which for that test) and the REA book. He had read a good amount of US History in middle and high school, but the CLEP has its own slant, so it was very helpful for him to use CLEP-specific prep materials. He did not use a textbook.

 

I believe it is doable to pass most CLEPs using this method. Ds studied the online flashcards and prep book for several weeks until he knew the material, then took the practice tests in the book.

[ssirisha]

mumto2, I did not have teaching plans yet for US History. As you suggested I'll buy a couple of older edition texts and will try out. Thank you for the advice and the test prep resources.

 

Momsinthe Garden, thank you for sharing your experience. We'll try to use the resources you mentioned.

 

Sri

 

[Jennay]

Sometimes you can find a free pdf version of many of these textbooks online - especially previous editions - to check them out.