CLEPs hard?

[irnbru]

Have you looked at the Collegeboard's CLEP page here?

Since you're talking about analyzing and interpreting literature, I'm guessing you've either read a bit of the forum or sussed that it's an easier test for anyone that's done a bit of reading. If it's the latter, do more of the former and you'll be fine Good luck.

[rebel100]

Free Clep Prep.com

Note that the above link will refer you back to the specific exam feedback forum here at Instant Cert...and that is in my opinion the very best test prep available.

[burbuja0512]

Yes, CLEPs can be hard. The idea of testing out sounds so easy. Just take a test and *poof* like magic, you have 6 credits. When I first heard about it, I thought that it was just too good to be true and that I could probably finish my degree in a month or less by taking a bunch of tests.

As you can see from my signature, it did take a lot longer than a month, though still much less time than a traditional degree path. There are no easy tests unless you already know the material. I took Spanish without any study whatsoever and managed to get a perfect score. Does this mean that the test was easy? No. It means that through my life experience, which includes six years of living in Mexico, I had learned enough to pass this CLEP. According to the CLEP, I have enough knowledge that they don't think I need to take first and second year college Spanish.

If some people think that Analyzing and Interpreting lit is easy, it's only because through life experience, high school courses, and/or a love of reading, they've spent enough hours of their life reading at a college level to be able to test out of a basic college course.

My best advice would be to sign up for InstantCert so that you can have access to an area of the forums where specific test feedback is discussed. That way you'll be able to see what years worth of test-takers have said about a given test. Be careful - in the feedback area, almost every test has people that say that a test is very easy, and almost every test has someone that says the opposite. How you perform on any given test will sometimes depend on your prior knowledge of the subject, but more often, will be up to how much you study. The specific feedback forum also gives advice and study guides to supplement the IC cards. There are no IC cards for Analyzing and Interpreting lit, but if you plan to take more tests, the cards will be a great tool. Also, not sure if it helps, but I averaged about a week of study for most of my tests. Study for me meant IC cards + Specific Forum Feedback + Google + Youtube and occasionally another resource that someone on the forums would recommend. The reason that testing saves you time is that it allows you to learn at your own pace and also skip homework assignments, group projects, tests, and all the other stuff that you have to do in class. However, you still have to learn and know the material well... how easy or difficult each topic will be to you is hard to say.

HTH

[LaterBloomer]

You might also look into locating lists of passing rates for members of the military who have taken CLEPs and DSSTs. Until recently, service members (SM) could take CLEPs and DSSTs without paying for them. (I think that's how it was. Now the first test in a subject is free, and a service member pays if s/he has to take it again.) Many of us think that if the tests were free, SMs were more likely than the average person to take the test without studying. (Well, that's what I did in 1987.) Ergo, a list of passing rates could indicate the difficulty of exams.

Burbuja, as usual, has stated the argument for the difficulty of tests as clearly as it can be stated. It's up to you and your knowledge base.

Finally, you might want to check with your local library to see if they offer sample CLEP exams. My local library offers the general subject exams, and some AP. Take those and see how you do. If they don't have the exams on-line, they may have some of the books with sample exams.

Good luck!

[thiagocastro]

if you know spanish, you can get 12 easy credits.

[ryoder]

12 credits for Spanish! Thats awesome!

I used the REA books. Go find them at Amazon.com or your local bookstore. They are great and if you like to read, you will find yourself enjoying learning.
I also supplemented with the instantcert flashcards, speedyprep.com flash cards and the specific exam feedback you get here when you are a member of instantcert.com.

My favorite combo is REA and specific exam feedback. I think these two are a killer combo.