Biology

[hoagland]

Hi,

I just passed the Biology Clep test and thought I would post it here. I used Biology Demystified, Instantcert, the REA practice tests, the petersons tests, and the AP Biology Flashcards.

Biology Demystified was a good way to get a grasp on the subject. I went through Instantcert, but I think it would've been helpful to go through them again right before I took the test (had there been time). The REA practice tests were good to get thinking about the info you just read. Petersons tests were REALLY good, perhaps a little too details in some areas, but a very good resource all the same. The AP Biology Flashcards are not as common a resource, but is something I would HIGHLY recommend to others. They provide a good, detailed, overview of everything you need to know for the test. I read through these before I went into the test, and it really helped!

The test itself is a fairly broad subject; you just kinda need to be familiar with everything concerning Biology. At the same time, it is important to know details about the areas - especially cell functions/processes/characteristics, and the circulatory/respiratory (etc...) systems in the body. Knowing terminology is very important, but knowing the details and how-things-work is very important too. I found this test to be pretty forgiving; I scored a lot higher than I was expecting as I was taking the test.

This is a hardER test, but not an OVERwhelming one. Good luck to anyone that plans to take this test in the future! Hope it helps!


`Dakota

[vanki]

thanks for this post. I am planning on taking the Biology test this week and need all the help/advice i can get!!!

[15%Luck]

Awesome work!

Tell us what you scored!

+1 to the demystified books! I used them for economics and really liked them

[ghjkkjhg]

I was confident that I'd pass, but I wasn't expecting a 75. There were around 20 questions that I really wasn't sure about and quite a few more that I wouldn't bet on. If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to study vocabulary more than anything. It's easy to eliminate answer choices if you know the relevant definitions.

I started out by taking notes from a biology text, but I was going into too much detail and wasting time. It gave me a very good understanding of the basics (macromolecules, organelles, & chemistry), which definitely helped on some of the harder questions.

I did the bulk of my studying with the AP Bio for Dummies book. You could probably get by with using this as your only study guide. It doesn't cover everything in enough detail, but it's pretty close.

I took the Peterson's practice tests. It was good for my confidence to see that other people had passed with similar scores. I took the first test before I'd done much studying and scored 65%. I took the second test the night before the exam and scored 90%. The third test was quite hard, and I didn't answer all the questions before grading it. I think I scored 50%, but I knew enough of the unanswered questions to score in the 60s.

The difficulty was similar to the first two Peterson's exams, but there were a few CLEP questions that were definitely harder than anything one those two.

I went through maybe a third of the instantcert questions and picked up a few things, but I would've passed without it. I would've used it more if I had the time.

This was the best bio website I found.
The Biology Web

[hoagland]

Hi,

This test I found took a little more study time than my other Cleps I've taken. Now, just to let you know, I'm not the type of person who scores in the 70s and gets close to 80 after taking a test...I just study long enough to where I think I'll be able to get over 50. I'm studying for online courses while I do this, so I have to juggle study time between them. I scored a 57 on this test, which is pretty close to what I've gotten on my other tests that I've taken in this time frame. I studied for almost two weeks. It's not a score I'm proud of, but it is a passing one.

I agree that the third Petersons test was harder than the other two. It covered more detail and areas that weren't as familiar or common. So, if you score somewhat lower on that test than the others, it's expected.

Terminology is important because even if the question isn't asking you about what a word means, it helps a bunch to eliminate choices.

I would've liked to have seen some more options for practice tests and even feedback for this test, but outside of that, the resources are pretty good. Good luck to anyone who is going to take this test!


`Dakota