Art of the Western World, Has anyone taken the DSST?

[jessjoy23]

Hello All,
I'm taking the DSST Art of the Western World today and I've been using the flashcards from instantcert.com. I was wondering if anyone has used this method and passed? Thank you!

[wombat777]

I would love to hear about your experience with this one! Our family was planning to try it but have backed off a bit because we didn't hear good things about the newest version of the exam. Please post after you test.

[jessjoy23]

Now I'm scared!!!!! I report back=( what did you here about the new exam?

[wombat777]

Just that people were not passing it since it has changed.

[chibbi30j1]

Did any of you guys find anything important regarding the exam? I have to take it too.

[wombat777]

Did any of you guys find anything important regarding the exam? I have to take it too.

Ultimately, I decide to pass on this one. Reading feedback here and in the members only section, I only found ONE person who passed the newest version of this exam and that person passed on their second try!

I contacted a recent test-taker (he failed it) and the advice I got was not to take this one unless absolutely necessary. It would be better to wait until more info/feedback is available. So that is what I decide to do.

Sorry I don't have anything more positive to offer.

[bshd15]

I took it last April and failed by one question. Frustrating for sure. I found the flashcards were helpful but did not cover the extent of the exam. I had to do a lot of educated guessing. Hoping the study material gets updated soon. I have another exam set for July. I also used the 9 part video series found in other dust study materials online. Did not make it through all of them. They were informative but with the amount of information being presented and having no prior knowledge of art history, I felt like I was missing clues to look for while watching the videos.

[cookderosa]

I've followed the exam attempts here, on the specific exam feedback thread, and on facebook. I'm waiting to hear feedback on a pass regarding study materials....so far, crickets...

[chibbi30j1]

SO....absolutely nothing on the new exam?

[Thundersnarf]

I just sat for the exam today, I scored a 412. I was not very confident I would pass, looking at the pass rate is not very inspiring! I would say to anybody who wanted to take this exam should definitely study Jansons History of Art, watch the Annenburg videos, both of which I enjoyed a lot, and perhaps another text focusing on the last three hundred years of art. I studied for this material only one intense week, although I had also studied for the CLEP humanities for about one month prior. Luckily I find this art interesting, but easily forget dates, I struggled to remember the names of paintings, which is crucial. My version of the test was mostly historical relationships and technique based questions, probably ten percent image based. After quite a bit of studying I still drew randomly on 10 questions.

I suggest really digging into the who-inspired-who, who-apprenticed-who facts, this is not only helpful in remembering the different periods but also came up in the quiz a few times. You need to know why people were painting the way they were. Also, learn the materials and techniques and terminology: impasto, frescoe, oil, when people started painting with which material,where, who was the king, etc. This test was really hard with 70-76% score needed to pass, so I would say it is not worth the three credits alone, unless you are extremely interested, have a good knowledge base already, or are in need of some specific credits. Pair this studying with western civ, or humanities exams to save time and effort.

I hope this helps, as I have gotten a lot of good info from this forum,
Good Luck!

Study Material I used:
instantcert
JansonsHistory of Art(highly recommended, if you have the time, I believe this could be a singular source. It is an enjoyable read, but a little intimidating)
Beckett's The story of Painting
Annenbergs companion videos for art of the western world
Lord Clark's Civilisation, television series produced by the BBC
The Learning companys Lecture series on the Italian Renaissance, with Kenneth Bartlett
numerous artist biopics: caravaggio, lust for life, Turner, documentaries etc.