Shmoop, Proctored?

[22gunsonfire]

Yep, totally agree. Some weird test questions sometimes. Might want to be around when they take the exam in case they don't understand something (not that you always will either, I seem to remember an exam question without a question....).

An idea... My daughter did a copy / paste of the text content on each page and we turned it into a big searchable pdf she could use while taking the exam.

I did the same for the history courses. Even then you had to contend with wrong wording, convoluted interpretations, and (my most favourite) broken links to information referenced. IMHO Shmoop is fantastic for the end game they provide, but not for the content they give it to you in.

[Synicaal]

I'm surprised any college out there would accept this if they are an accredited school.

You can't google the answers to Shmoop questions, you get them right or wrong based on the lessons. So proctoring wouldn't change anyone scores really. Shmoop style really really sucks, I don't recommend it and all proctoring would do is make the courses almost impossible to finish. No one care out of these choice what would George Washington most likely say... yes that was a type of question. Not what did he say what would he most likely say. Shmoop is doable and cheap so if you can suck it up its worth however many credits you can manage in the month. I got 3 courses down and started working on a English course but gave up because it was more of the same.

[Old Guy]

I'm surprised any college out there would accept this if they are an accredited school.

I have taken a lot of distance education courses in my life from a lot of accredited schools and have only ever had one proctored. I found the Shmoop history courses relatively easy because I am a history nut. The literature courses are something else. The Shakespeare course studies 9 plays and tests you in detail. It's not easy. The Women's Literature course has close to 20 required books.

[cookderosa]

I'm surprised any college out there would accept this if they are an accredited school.

They don't accept Shmoop credit (I don't believe they have any partnerships for direct credit, but I'm not 100% sure), rather they are accepting ACE's recommendation that Shmoop's content is credit-worthy. There's a difference, because of the reason a college awards CLEP credit, for example, is because of ACE's recommendation.

[bellbaby]

I'm surprised any college out there would accept this if they are an accredited school.

I have taken a lot of distance education courses in my life from a lot of accredited schools and have only ever had one proctored.  I found the Shmoop history courses relatively easy because I am a history nut.  The literature courses are something else.  The Shakespeare course studies 9 plays and tests you in detail.  It's not easy.  The Women's Literature course has close to 20 required books.

The Shmoop US History is hard. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I do have a Bachelor's degree with a concentration in History, and the Shmoop questions are difficult. I would say that many people could get the same score guessing on the test as they could if they read ALL the material... because the questions are worded so that 2 are super obviously not the right answer and the other two are so close, flip a coin! I'm pretty sure the difficulty of the test makes it a lock as to why ACE will recommend it without proctoring. 

Did someone once mention on the group that Shmoop courses require just 70% for credit? Or am I confusing that with another site? I tried to check the syllabus but didn't see where they weighted it or drew it out?

[bellbaby]

I retyped two sample questions. Quizzes for US History don't go to the grade. But just as samples for those considering Shmoop...

Quiz sample:
When Christopher Columbus first hit land in the Americas, he actually thought he had hit
A) China.
B) India.
C) America.
D) Spain.

Test sample:
How does Columbus' treatment of his own sailors illustrate his complexity as a historical figure?
A) He treated them almost as badly as he did the Native Americans, which calls his prejudice against the Native Americans into question.
B) Although he lied to them, he had logical reasons for doing so, providing an example of how a difficult situation in another time period can justify actions that appear purely good or bad to us looking back.
C) He lied about the journey, but rewarded the sailors with land in the New World, making it unclear if he appreciated their work or was using them for his own means.
D) His abandonment of the sailors indicates regret at his actions in the New World and an attempt to right his own wrongs, but he still established the slave system that dominated America for centuries.

[Thorne]

I retyped two sample questions. Quizzes for US History don't go to the grade. But just as samples for those considering Shmoop...

Quiz sample:
When Christopher Columbus first hit land in the Americas, he actually thought he had hit
A) China.
B) India.
C) America.
D) Spain.

Test sample:
How does Columbus' treatment of his own sailors illustrate his complexity as a historical figure?
A) He treated them almost as badly as he did the Native Americans, which calls his prejudice against the Native Americans into question.
B) Although he lied to them, he had logical reasons for doing so, providing an example of how a difficult situation in another time period can justify actions that appear purely good or bad to us looking back.
C) He lied about the journey, but rewarded the sailors with land in the New World, making it unclear if he appreciated their work or was using them for his own means.
D) His abandonment of the sailors indicates regret at his actions in the New World and an attempt to right his own wrongs, but he still established the slave system that dominated America for centuries.

sees first question
Oh, that's not bad at all!

sees second question
Uhhhh. Well... flips table and walks away

[bellbaby]

I retyped two sample questions. Quizzes for US History don't go to the grade. But just as samples for those considering Shmoop...

Quiz sample:
When Christopher Columbus first hit land in the Americas, he actually thought he had hit
A) China.
B) India.
C) America.
D) Spain.

Test sample:
How does Columbus' treatment of his own sailors illustrate his complexity as a historical figure?
A) He treated them almost as badly as he did the Native Americans, which calls his prejudice against the Native Americans into question.
B) Although he lied to them, he had logical reasons for doing so, providing an example of how a difficult situation in another time period can justify actions that appear purely good or bad to us looking back.
C) He lied about the journey, but rewarded the sailors with land in the New World, making it unclear if he appreciated their work or was using them for his own means.
D) His abandonment of the sailors indicates regret at his actions in the New World and an attempt to right his own wrongs, but he still established the slave system that dominated America for centuries.

sees first question
Oh, that's not bad at all!

sees second question
Uhhhh. Well... flips table and walks away

Right?!!!

[a2jc4life]

Yep, I am currently trying not to go insane over Literature in the Media. I kinda like it -- if I were doing this for fun. For credit, it's maddening. On the last unit, I literally answered every question on every quiz correctly almost without thought, except one (a line from a poem, and I couldn't remember which poem) -- and then completely bombed the test. :/

But yes, 70% is required overall to pass.
And I agree that I have taken a number of unproctored exams through accredited distance courses. My AAS required a certain percentage of final exams be proctored. 10%, maybe? Something like that. The others were all unproctored.