College Algebra, help!

[collegealgebra7]

Hello,
I am very new to this website and still working on figuring everything out. I am taking the CLEP College Algebra test tomorrow. I am terribly nervous about taking it. I took a Peterson practice test and scored a 57%. I have read some posts that make that score seem okay and others that make me nervous about it. If anyone could provide some advice that would be great. I also noticed someone suggest in a previous post something about DSST exam. Does anyone have further information about that? I would definitely be happy to try and take the DSST if I am unable to pass the CLEP tomorrow. Are the two comparable in difficulty?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[rebel100]

The DSST is a little easier, my daughter missed the Clep cutoff with a 48, but passed the DSSTwith a 57. Florida colleges often only give intermediate algebra for the dsst.

[collegealgebra7]

Thank you!! Hopefully, I will be able to pass the CLEP but if not the DSST sounds like another good option.

[Lindagerr]

Good Luck tomorrow. But if I was you I would look over some Kahn academy Algebra lectures or do more study in the areas you had problems with on the practice exam. Before you take the DSST make sure your college will take it.

[collegealgebra7]

Thank you for the advice, I will definitely look at that!

[DestinyRainStorm]

Hi,
I tried today but it was a total fail. I scored 43. The test only had 58 questions. You can only miss 8 if you want to pass. Each question is worth one point according to the information detailed at the beginning of the test. I can tell you that my test had a lot of log and functions. Many g(x) and f(x). I studied using the official clep book 2012 edition. I can honestly say that there were only about 20 questions similar to the ones on the guide. I started off fine with factoring and simple stuff but after the first 23 questions it got very hard for me. I wish I had known that I could only miss 8, I would not have wasted my money. Good luck.

[collegealgebra7]

Thank you for giving me some extra insight about the test! I am so nervous! There are so many different evaluations of the exam and I am hoping it ends up well, but it sounds pretty tough. Aw, you were almost there! I hope you pass it next time! =)
Do you happen to remember if there were many word problems? I'm still unsure of Binomial Theorem and synthetic division. I seem to have been doing alright with log and functions so hopefully that helps. These tests have so much stress along with them!
Thanks again!

[andrewtn]

I had trouble preparing for the College Algebra CLEP. In the end someone suggested ALEKS. I ended up slowing taking the Aleks assessment and barely passing but just like that I'm done with College Algebra. If you don't pass you can keep taking the assessment or working through it until you pass. For only $20/month this a very inexpensive option, especially if you aren't in the military and paying out of pocket for CLEPs. If you can use Ace Credit I think this is the way to go.

[BGSU_Alum_86]

Destiny, you are going to truly scare people away from taking the College Algebra exam! The scaled score (the score you actually receive) is NOT the number of questions you answered correctly! Granted there are slight variations among the different forms of the Algebra exam, but usually the number of questions is around 60. Ten of these questions are not even calculated in the scoring (still in test design mode so to speak). Typically, to receive a scaled score of '50' you would need to answer about 50% of those 50 questions correctly. Do you know which ones are the 50 questions that count? No!

Yes, you would have received a passing score if you had only missed 8 questions, but I do not want people who are reading about this exam to think that is all they can miss to get a score of 50.

[collegealgebra7]

Thank you everyone for all of your help and advice! The CLEP was definitely harder then I expected but I managed to pass! I received a 53!