"What score do you study for?"

[TayTay]

Hi everyone!

Out of curiosity, I was wondering what score you study for. For example, do you study just enough for a pass or for a higher score? I know it is just a personal preference and we all study to pass!

Personally, I study until a I am pretty confident of getting a "pass," whether it's a 52 or a 72. (Obviously, we never know if it is enough, until we take the exam.) I find that there is a fine-line with doing it, this way. "Do I know enough to get a pass?" I don't want to study more than I have to, but I want to be confident going into the testing center!

I would like to know your thoughts! I don't think there is a "right way" or a "wrong way."

[cookderosa]

I've never figured out how to study for a 50. In every test I take, there are ALWAYS questions I don't know, and sometimes questions I never even heard of. I always study to cover the bulk of whatever it is. I almost never study fringe or outlier trivia.

[OpenRoot]

Another vote for studying to pass without focusing on a high score. I do tend to overstudy a bit, but that has more to do with the fact that I don't have $120 to waste on a failed exam than wanting to knock the test out of the park.

[Publius]

I always studied till I knew I'd be able to pass, anything over a 50. Sure I could keep studying and the longer and harder I studied the higher my score would go, but a pass is a pass. Most of my scores were in the 50s. Got one 67, two 65s, one 62, and two 60s. Out of my 22 something exams everything else was in the 50s (highest DSST score was 452). So yeah, 3/4 of my test scores were low, but a pass is pass.

I'd rather pass with a low score and a few weeks of study, then pass with a high score and spend a large amount of time studying for it.

For some reason however, I don't think that's going to be the case with my last DSST (I haven't been looking forward to this one and won't mind overstudying).

[starlinghunter]

Yep, I'd say the same as Publius, I study until my practice test scores tell me I'm ready; usually between 56 and 63 or so.
I always try to study till i'm at the "break-even point"; the least amount of time it takes to get a near-comfortable score.

[mrs.b]

I'm a "what if" person.

"What if, someday, my school changes their policy so they convert scores to grades, and include transferred credits in the GPA? What would that do to my transcript?"
"What if I get a version of the exam that differs from the bare minimum I studied, and I'm looking at material I do not know?"
"What if my own son someday learns I aimed for 'good enough,' and not what we always tell him to shoot for: his best?"

I treated exam study sessions as if they were an actual course. When I took actual courses, I wanted the best possible grades I could achieve. I wanted my degree to show myself and future employers that I learned something; if I didn't bother to learn anything more than the bare minimum, what did that make my degree worth? Aiming for "good enough," to me, felt like confirmation of the stereotype that test-out options were cheats and shortcuts. With actual full courses, I had other assignments to help bump a weak test score (and I had a couple, trust me) but for these, that score was it. I tended to study until I scored bare minimum pass on practice tests, then scheduled my appointment a week or two later. Then used that extra time to nail down the finer details. (Mind you, I was taking these will also enrolled in three online courses, so not every moment of that additional time was devoted to test studying.) I passed each exam I took with a margin that made my conscience rest comfortably that I had not taken advantage of the system.

[HorseManiac]

I'd have to say I'm in-between....I study enough to make sure that I pass, but I'm also a bit of a perfectionist so I would always like to get as high a score as I can. I think I lean more towards the "study till I can pass side" though.

[TayTay]

Thanks for everyone's responses!!!

@mrs.b-

I see where you are coming from, though, I always try my best...sometimes I get a 55 and sometimes I get a "higher" score. "A pass is a pass," so I, personally, don't want to use unneeded time working towards an excellent score. I don't want to spend more time, than I have to, getting my degree! I really want to do other things (sew, read, garden, learn valuable "home-making" skills, etc.) and studying takes up a lot of time. The reason I am pursuing my degree, is that I can be prepared in case the government requires a college education to homeschool. One of the advantages of CLEPing is speed...

I can see where there are positives and negatives to studying, either way!

Another advantage of CLEPing is everyone can do what he or she feels like they need to do! I enjoy reading everyone's responses!!!

Blessings!

[NAP]

I tended to study for high scores, and I liked not having to worry about failing any tests. By the time I studied for and took the actual exams, for the most part, it was just a matter of what my scores would be. I seemed to study longer and with more resources than many other students, but it helped that I could choose a lot of test subjects that interested me.

[starlinghunter]

That's a good reason for a girl to get a degree, Taylor! It's great that you've got your reasons in the right place, a lot girls still insist on going after their "dream careers", in pursuing a degree.
Another good reason (actually the only other I can think of, since I don't agree with women getting a job under normal circumstances) for a girl to study into something, is to sharpen their God given skills in preparation for whatever is in store. Who knows? If she's interested in the medical field, for instance, it may be that God has planned a doctor husband for her.
OK, just some off-topic thoughts there!

- Sam