Information Systems and Computer Applications

[vettech1]

The study questions for this exam seem really outdated. Is this really a good resource for studying for this? Do you think the actual test is also this outdated? I mean, there is stuff about floppy disks, SCSI drives - some not too current topics.

[cooperalex2004]

Well I took that exam back in December of 2010 and it was filled with quite a mix of old stuff. It is an exam on the foundational IS material and not specific to new technology so I guess the short answer is not to expect a bunch of stuff on Windows 7, iPhone 4S, or anything else released in the past few years.

Looking back at my 2011 CLEP Official Study Guide book it has plenty of stuff on code, and I would say the majority of the content was the same as in the MS-DOS & Windows 95 era. The exam shouldn't mention specific brand names or anything but don't be surprised if you see floppy disks and SCSI drives on the exam. With the odd mix of old content they do throw in a few things more recent, one example out of the study guide and not the exam was the distance bluetooth operates.

You might consider the DSST - Intro to Computing Exam instead (or in addition if your school will take both). It has comparable content but I prefer the DSST exams over CLEP.

Check out these links:
Information Systems and Computer Applications | CLEP
Information Systems and Computer Applications CLEP Free Study Guide

Or use the search bar at the top right to find tons of great content.

[vettech1]

Thanks so much for the helpful information!

[Bibby]

I took the test in February, and a lot of the questions did discuss concepts more relevant to the DOS/Windows 95 era of computing. Make sure you have an elementary knowledge of topics like floppy drives and older programming languages, and study closely the different kinds of databases - the test has many questions about those! Good luck.