Discussion - Study.com difference between practice tests and actual exam

[vobrodrew]

How do the study.com tests work? Do i need to go to a testing center like CLEP/DSST? Or is it smply online? I've been trying to find out how these courses work. I am very good at the CLEP/DSST/UEXCEL but I think I could save some money with study.com. Any info provided would be very helpful. Thanks!

[jsd]

Study.com has video lessons followed by unprotected quizzes that count toward your grade, and then a proctored final exam. All is done online, not in person.

I think a small handful have written projects, but those are rare.

[Synicaal]

How do the study.com tests work? Do i need to go to a testing center like CLEP/DSST? Or is it smply online? I've been trying to find out how these courses work. I am very good at the CLEP/DSST/UEXCEL but I think I could save some money with study.com. Any info provided would be very helpful. Thanks!

To add on to what jsd said, most of the UL courses still have project involved in them. The courses are either out of 150 total points or 300 points. For the 150 point courses you need at least a 105 and for the 300 point courses at least a 210.
Breakdowns of 150 point classes look like this:
50 total points for quizzes (if you get a 100 on all the little quizzes that 50 points leaving you needing a 55 on the final to pass)
100 total points for proctored final

Breakdowns of 300 point classes look like this:
100 total points for quizzes
100 total points for final project (some courses have multiple final project for example the Business 308 has 4 essays)
100 total points for proctored final.

The total points needed on the final would be calculated after you get your grade from the project. So 100 on all quizzes, an 85 on the final project, you would need a 25 on the final. The final projects are reasonably graded from my experience so far. I just submitted my project for Accounting 301

[gremlinbrawler]

Look Gremlinbrawler - you took the minimum effort route and paid the price.
Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't - I think you may be upset about it because you know that you just had to do put in some more effort.
I would take it as a lesson learned, and try to engage the material with more depth, especially if you are struggling with the material.

I personally used the steps below to get past a class I dreaded, Principles of Finance. I am not the best when it comes to math.

TESUAbroad's Study.com learning guide(especially when it is all new content or difficult concepts):

Step 1: Read through and/or watch the videos
Step 2: After each lesson do the quizzes(get 100%, dont accept 80% will help with reinforcement and your grade) Finish all the lessons then go to step 3.
Step 3: Go over the lesson summaries for each chapter, then after you have done this for a chapter, take the chapter exam
Step 4: Go over your chapter exam(right after you took it), what did you get right? What did you get it wrong? - why did it you get it wrong?
(I wouldn't necessarily take the exam again, just take note of what you got wrong and what is right. However, if you did terribly for a chapter exam, retake it a later point)
Step 5: Take the practice exam and get somewhere in the 80s
After this you will most definitely be ready, however, if you still feel unsure
Step 6: Go over flashcards for difficult terms

Good luck and sorry about the setback.

I explained above that I would not be upset if I simply needed to study more but I am upset that the practice tests appear to sometimes be a completely irrelevant measure of your knowledge on the course. I am trying to go at a very accelerated pace so accurate practice tests are important to me. On the other study.com courses I took I was doing good on the practice tests and getting mid 90's as my final grade. I don't want to waste my time preparing for weeks longer than I have to especially because study.com is billed monthly so that's why I would like to be able to count on a practice test to give me a good idea of where I'm at.
I still like study.com better than straighterline so I think I will continue to use it if I don't have too many problems in the future. Thanks for your study tips I'll give them a try.

[rowan555]

I explained above that I would not be upset if I simply needed to study more but I am upset that the practice tests appear to sometimes be a completely irrelevant measure of your knowledge on the course. I am trying to go at a very accelerated pace so accurate practice tests are important to me. On the other study.com courses I took I was doing good on the practice tests and getting mid 90's as my final grade. I don't want to waste my time preparing for weeks longer than I have to especially because study.com is billed monthly so that's why I would like to be able to count on a practice test to give me a good idea of where I'm at.
I still like study.com better than straighterline so I think I will continue to use it if I don't have too many problems in the future. Thanks for your study tips I'll give them a try.

I'm not sure if I or anyone else mentioned this yet, but my son told me that the one course he failed at Study.com was the one he skipped the chapter tests on and only did the practice final. He skipped the chapter tests on Principles of Finance and failed by 2 points, then took again and passed by 2 points. Since then he's been getting final grades of around 87% per course, and the main difference has been that he's begun doing the practice chapter tests along with the practice final the day before he takes the proctored final.

Also - higher level courses are a bit easier to control in terms of your final grade because about 1/3 of the grade is based on projects which you can submit and then re-submit for a higher grade after you get your grade/comments back.