I'm sure there are some people out there who are looking for some info on the difficulty and style of the NCCRS proctored exams that you take through Saylor for CBE. I thought I would make a post giving back to the community since it has helped me so much already!
Difficulty of the exams:
I'll preface this portion of the review by stating that I started and finished all 3 of these Saylor courses (and proctored exams) within the last 4 days with scores of 82, 74, and 76 respectively, and since I recognize that rushing through the coursework/testing process may be uncommon, I'll say that your results and perceptions of difficulty may vary. However, seeing as I already had a reasonable grasp on the course material I think I can still give an accurate view on what to expect at a more moderate completion speed.
First things first - The NCCRS (proctored) version of the final exam is more difficult than the non-proctored, non-credit version. The reason for this is that the non-proctored exam deals with common lower level testing methods of memorization, recollection and compartmentalization whereas the proctored exam deals with the application of the concepts themselves. Additionally, the wording in some of the questions on the proctored exam may seem to contradict wording from the non-proctored exam (I found that this was consistent across the 3 courses), despite the two questions or answers saying the same thing. This can throw people off. The proctored exam deals with using definitions to solve hypothetical situations. It also covers some material that was not tested on in any of the unit quizzes or the final exam, and even focuses on a very specific set of data that you may not have been quizzed over before. For example: In the Business Law unit assessments and non-proctored exam, LLCs, LLPs, Partnerships, and Corporations are covered through a span of ~15 questions. However, the proctored exam consisted of 2 difficult questions regarding only LLPs and Corporations, and 2 questions regarding LPs, something that wasn't covered in any of the unit assessments or non-proctored final. There are additional examples where I felt that I had luckily stumbled upon the subject matter tested for in a couple questions on the proctored exam, but I also feel that some of the answers could be deduced through reason, depending on the subject.
Here is what I did to barely pass in a very limited amount of time:
1. Took all of the unit quizzes/assessments before reading any material to get a feel for the course material and to gauge my familiarity with it. If I found I was guessing on a good amount of the questions or that I was just wrong, I would mark that section as something I needed to pay special attention to. If I breezed through it, I more or less left it alone.
2. I went through the trouble questions and sections and not only read into the details regarding the correct answers to the questions, but also any terms relating to the question (definitions and applications of wrong answers, possible alternate questions, etc.)
3. I memorized those questions and answers, which accounted for around 10-20% of the questions, to the word, on the proctored final exam. That's free credit right off the bat and gives you an advantage.
4. If there were bolded words in the textbook (like there were for Principles of Marketing), I scrolled through the book and pulled out those words and definitions. If bolded words and definitions weren't available, I simply scanned through the book as quickly as possible, familiarizing myself with what I subjectively thought looked important (this didn't help much).
After that, I reviewed the questions and answers and definitions once again and took the exams. Again, they were difficult. I found myself second guessing my answer choices and with worse luck I may have failed. However, it seems to me that people with moderate cognitive and reasoning abilities can pass these exams and receive credit without going through the arduous process of reading the entire text (in the case of Principles of Management it's over 1,000 pages of text!)
Anyway, if anyone has specific questions let me know. I think taking these Saylor exams for credit is a super cheap and fast way to go, but I'm not sure I would categorize the exams as easy. Good luck!
Difficulty of the exams:
I'll preface this portion of the review by stating that I started and finished all 3 of these Saylor courses (and proctored exams) within the last 4 days with scores of 82, 74, and 76 respectively, and since I recognize that rushing through the coursework/testing process may be uncommon, I'll say that your results and perceptions of difficulty may vary. However, seeing as I already had a reasonable grasp on the course material I think I can still give an accurate view on what to expect at a more moderate completion speed.
First things first - The NCCRS (proctored) version of the final exam is more difficult than the non-proctored, non-credit version. The reason for this is that the non-proctored exam deals with common lower level testing methods of memorization, recollection and compartmentalization whereas the proctored exam deals with the application of the concepts themselves. Additionally, the wording in some of the questions on the proctored exam may seem to contradict wording from the non-proctored exam (I found that this was consistent across the 3 courses), despite the two questions or answers saying the same thing. This can throw people off. The proctored exam deals with using definitions to solve hypothetical situations. It also covers some material that was not tested on in any of the unit quizzes or the final exam, and even focuses on a very specific set of data that you may not have been quizzed over before. For example: In the Business Law unit assessments and non-proctored exam, LLCs, LLPs, Partnerships, and Corporations are covered through a span of ~15 questions. However, the proctored exam consisted of 2 difficult questions regarding only LLPs and Corporations, and 2 questions regarding LPs, something that wasn't covered in any of the unit assessments or non-proctored final. There are additional examples where I felt that I had luckily stumbled upon the subject matter tested for in a couple questions on the proctored exam, but I also feel that some of the answers could be deduced through reason, depending on the subject.
Here is what I did to barely pass in a very limited amount of time:
1. Took all of the unit quizzes/assessments before reading any material to get a feel for the course material and to gauge my familiarity with it. If I found I was guessing on a good amount of the questions or that I was just wrong, I would mark that section as something I needed to pay special attention to. If I breezed through it, I more or less left it alone.
2. I went through the trouble questions and sections and not only read into the details regarding the correct answers to the questions, but also any terms relating to the question (definitions and applications of wrong answers, possible alternate questions, etc.)
3. I memorized those questions and answers, which accounted for around 10-20% of the questions, to the word, on the proctored final exam. That's free credit right off the bat and gives you an advantage.
4. If there were bolded words in the textbook (like there were for Principles of Marketing), I scrolled through the book and pulled out those words and definitions. If bolded words and definitions weren't available, I simply scanned through the book as quickly as possible, familiarizing myself with what I subjectively thought looked important (this didn't help much).
After that, I reviewed the questions and answers and definitions once again and took the exams. Again, they were difficult. I found myself second guessing my answer choices and with worse luck I may have failed. However, it seems to me that people with moderate cognitive and reasoning abilities can pass these exams and receive credit without going through the arduous process of reading the entire text (in the case of Principles of Management it's over 1,000 pages of text!)
Anyway, if anyone has specific questions let me know. I think taking these Saylor exams for credit is a super cheap and fast way to go, but I'm not sure I would categorize the exams as easy. Good luck!
2015: TESC - BSBA in General Management - In Progress (expected completion early 2015)
2010: A Couple Community Colleges - 57 LL hours transferred (3.96 cumulative GPA)
2006-2008: A Couple Big State Schools - 30 hours withdrawn "W" and 6 hours transferred (3.66 cumulative GPA)
GMAT to be taken December 2014
Yeah, I'm all over the place. Bring on the TESECs!
2010: A Couple Community Colleges - 57 LL hours transferred (3.96 cumulative GPA)
2006-2008: A Couple Big State Schools - 30 hours withdrawn "W" and 6 hours transferred (3.66 cumulative GPA)
GMAT to be taken December 2014
Yeah, I'm all over the place. Bring on the TESECs!
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