Month: May 2017

How to Ace the CLEP US History I Exam

I got permission from an 11-year-old homeschooler to repost his exam feedback for how he scored a 68 on CLEP History of the US 1 (which, according to those colleges that give letter grades for CLEP, would equal an A!).  Pretty awesome for an 11-year-old!

I scored a 68 this morning. It took me 38 minutes to answer the 120 questions. I am 11 years old, and this was my first time studying US History. Because I had never taken a US History course, my dad helped me put together a roadmap that included full courses so I could thoroughly LEARN US History I, and not just study to pass an exam.

This is what I did to prepare for History of the United States I: Early Colonization to 1877 (~6 weeks of preparation an average of ~2-3 hours a day):

Study.com – HISTORY 103: US HISTORY I – https://study.com/academy/course/us-history-i.html – 108 Videos with quizzes
Study.com – AP US History: Help and Review – https://study.com/academy/course/ap-…lp-course.html – I didn’t go through this entire course, just an additional 63 videos for more depth.
US History CrashCourse Videos by John Green – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis…SG593eG7ObzO7s – Videos 1 -23
Khan Academy US History: Period 1 – 5 – https://www.khanacademy.org/humaniti…tory?t=classes
REA Book CLEP History of the United States I Early Colonization to 1877: Read the Book 1x.
REA Study Center Practice Exams: I went through each exam 3x each, and knew the answers, and explanations cold by the end. 1st time evaluation test I scored 60%. Exam 1 first time 64%. Exam 2 first time 72%
InstartCert Flashcards: I mastered these, and kept taking them until I scored 99%. About ~3x through each set.
Official CLEP practice test: I took this 3x. My first time I took the test I scored 70%. 2nd time; 90%. 3rd time; 99%.
Free CLEP Prep Study Sheet I read 2x.
Free CLEP Prep Practice exams of which there are 3 I took each 1x. Exam 1; 82%, Exam 2; 87%, and Exam 3; 85%.
AP US History Study Guide: An Introduction: Periods 1-5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3qw…zTjwuwyuiLVFjT
History .com – Ultimate Guides To President up to Ulysses S. Grant – The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents Full Episodes, Video & More | HISTORY

I think the combination of everything I did is what led to my score. No one study method was better than the rest, however I really liked John Green’s videos the best, because they were entertaining. The Study.com courses were essential for receiving an in depth “classroom course” education.

Thanks for everybody’s help on this forum.

~ Oscar

6 CLEP credits you’re already ready to claim (for free!)

This post is about the CLEP exam Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.  The title says you can earn 6 credits, and that’s true, but of the Big 3, only TESU accepts the exam for 6 credits.  Charter Oak and Excelsior both grant 3 credits.  But still, that’s 3 credits!

In this post, I’ll explain why you should take Analyzing and Interpreting Literature as one of your first exams AND how you can get this exam for free!  That’s 3-6 credits you can earn literally in a week for $0!

Why take Analyzing and Interpreting Literature?

First, this exam doesn’t require that you know anything (much).  It expects that you can comprehend literature and you know a few key literary terms.  Please, please, PLEASE don’t focus your study on literary terms.  I did that and wasted a ton of time.  What you need to focus on is practice testing and just learning to comprehend literature.

The test is divided up into three sections, poetry, prose, and drama.  Unless you love ancient poetry, you won’t find this exam too entertaining.

Second, you can get it (and for a limited time, a number of other CLEPs) for free!

How to get the exam for free

I’ve discussed Modern States before.  If you aren’t using it now, use it. Period.  To recap, they have a library of free CLEP-prep courses taught by top professors.  Once you complete a course, email whitney@modernstates.org and ask her for a voucher.  She’ll give you a code and here’s a screenshot of how awesome this is:

5

So enter the voucher in the little box next to the Add Voucher button and check out what happens to your total!

So should I study for it?

Yeah.  A bit.  The title says that you’re already ready to claim these credits because my audience is homeschooled students and homeschooled students tend to be pretty good readers and read classics.  If you don’t have decent reading comprehension (like you can’t pass the practice tests), don’t worry.  Just push this exam for a while.  I’d recommend you review free-clep-prep.com’s A&I Lit study guide and if you have the Official CLEP Study Guide, take the test and see if you pass (I got a really high score on the practice test but only passed with a 59 on the CLEP).  Of course, go through the modernstates.org course.  This link works best: courses.modernstates.org.

Have any of you taken CLEP A&I Lit?  Please leave your feedback in the comments!

Zach

Get a complete CLEP Psychology prep book for $5!

I’ve just launched the pre-order of my first book, CLEP Intro Psychology!

The books are written under the name CLEP Notes and I can tell you confidently, the Introductory Psychology book is the most comprehensive and affordable guide written specifically for the CLEP.  Our guides are written by actual successful test-takers who have carefully studied the material in the officially-recommended textbooks and online resources and compiled key information into concise notes.

Get the book!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PASS (AND HOPEFULLY ACE) THE CLEP

…and earn 3 college credits for $110

If you pre-order this book before May 31st, you can get the book for $5 instead of $10. Plus, anyone who pre-orders will be given a code that 100% pays for your second CLEP Notes book!

WHAT IS CLEP?

CLEP was created by the College Board (they also created the SAT and AP exams) as a way of earning college credit for what you already know. It’s widely accepted (by over 2,900 schools).

HOW MUCH WILL YOU SAVE ME?

Our guides are insanely affordable (only $5) and actually an investment.

Consider the cost of a 3-credit course ($700) and compare it to the total cost you’ll spend preparing for and taking a CLEP exam ($80 per exam, a $20 testing fee, and $5 in quality study materials).

If you take and pass the CLEP exam, you’ll save at least $600 AND hours of listening to a boring professor.

HOW DO YOU COMPARE TO OTHER CLEP-PREP SERVICES?

1. No one does this: If you don’t pass, all your money back, no questions asked.

2. We’re easily affordable

3. We’re more comprehensive (everything you need to know. Not a review guide.  We don’t expect you to have already taken a psychology course.  We start from zero and work up to CLEP exam-ready.  No need to supplement this book.  It’s like a textbook without academic fluffiness.)

4. Our guides are written by sucessful test-takers

5. Our guides are actually enjoyable to read (but you’ll have to judge that for yourself!)

WHAT’S INSIDE?

In the introduction, we give you some specific exam tips for your test and general efficient studying strategies. Then we get into the meat of the book.

Our books are based off of the official CLEP outline to make sure you’ve learned the topics covered by the CLEP exam well.

The book is divided into lots of small sections. Bold words are key terms, and at the end of each short section is a quick summary and finally a link to a quiz that tests your understanding of the section.  The whole guide is written like a friend helping you pass an exam (not a professor lecturing down at you!).

The major concepts all have memorable examples that actually are interesting.

At the end, there is a full practice test testing everything you learned with a score assessment to show you where to review.

We also provide hand-picked online links to help you further your study (like videos to help you memorize parts of the brain).

Plus, humor is sprinkled within each chapter to keep your studying experience fun.

If you have any questions, please write to us at clepnotes@gmail.com.

Get the book!

Zach

Q&A about CLEP scoring

Today, let’s talk about CLEP scoring.  A bunch of my posts have mentioned a score like “70/20-80”.

CLEP scores are weird.  And confusing.  And irritating.  All you can know is if you got a B or a C.  After that, you could probably guess what A-level would be, but that’s obviously just a guess.

Lowest, highest, and passing scores

The lowest possible CLEP score is a 20.  The highest is an 80.  To get a C (which is the lowest score to pass with), you need a CLEP 50.  The number of questions required to get right to pass varies with each exam and is based off of how C-level college students perform in that class.

B and C level scores

This is about the only good data we have on letter grades and CLEP scores:

Business
Exam Title Credit-Granting
Score (C-Level)		 Semester
Hours		 B-Level
Financial Accounting 50 3 65
Information Systems 50 3 66
Introductory Business Law 50 3 60
Principles of Management 50 3 63
Principles of Marketing 50 3 65
Composition & Literature
Exam Title Credit-Granting
Score (C-Level)		 Semester
Hours		 B-Level
American Literature 50 3 53
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature 50 3 59
College Composition 50 6 59
College Composition Modular 50 3 60
English Literature 50 3 62
Humanities 50 3 55
History & Social Sciences
Exam Title Credit-Granting
Score (C-Level)		 Semester
Hours		 B-Level
American Government 50 3 63
History of the United States I 50 3 56
History of the United States II 50 3 57
Human Growth and Development 50 3 58
Introduction to Educational Psychology 50 3 62
Introductory Psychology 50 3 59
Introductory Sociology 50 3 56
Principles of Macroeconomics 50 3 62
Principles of Microeconomics 50 3 64
Social Sciences and History 50 6 62
Western Civilization I 50 3 55
Western Civilization II 50 3 54
Science & Mathematics
Exam Title Credit-Granting
Score (C-Level)		 Semester
Hours		 B-Level
Biology 50 6 56
Calculus 50 4 64
Chemistry 50 6 65
College Algebra 50 3 63
College Mathematics 50 6 57
Natural Sciences 50 6 62
Precalculus 50 3 61
World Languages*
Exam Title Credit-Granting
Score (C-Level)		 Semester
Hours		 B-Level
French Language
Level 1 Proficiency		 50 6 64
French Language
Level 2 Proficiency		 59 9 69
German Language
Level 1 Proficiency		 50 6 59
German Language
Level 2 Proficiency		 60 9 67
Spanish Language
Level 1 Proficiency		 50 6 56
Spanish Language
Level 2 Proficiency		 63 9 68

Are the questions weighted based on difficulty?

No.  Each question is weighted the same, so focus on the easier questions.  Each question will give you the same number of points.

So does a CLEP 50 mean 50% or 50 questions right?

No.  Each exam is scored differently.  A good estimate would be getting roughly a 70% is equal to a C which equals a 50.

Are the CLEP scores reported on transcripts?

Nope.  It will look something like this: Principles of Management – P.  It’s just pass/fail.
Do Masters programs ask for CLEP scores?
Unlikely.  If the subject is a prerequisite, they might want you to take it as a full normal course.  Otherwise, it’s quite rare.
Do all colleges accept a 50?
Once again, no.  Check with your college.  The CLEP 50 is recommended, but some colleges require higher (or lower) scores.
Is there any way for me to figure out roughly how high my CLEP score is?
Yes!  There are a few colleges that give A, B, and C grades for your CLEP scores.  At DegreeForum, cookderosa, jsd and sanatone provided the following info.  Wharton County Junior College:
Grades of A, B, or C are granted with credit in the courses below.
Your CLEP grade will determine the letter grade that will show on your transcript. A ( 70-79), B (60-69), C (50-59)
For the Spanish exam an “A” gives the student credit for 4 courses, a “B” gives credit for 3 courses, and a “C” gives credit for 2 courses.
Panola College lists CLEP equivalents here.  Kansas State also has a pretty big list.
Of course, these are not official scores.  But you can use them personally to see how well you did on a CLEP exam in normal English!
Do you know of any other useful CLEP scoring information?  We’d all really appreciate your input in the comments.
Zach