calling Homeschool families

[cookderosa]

Groupings mean test that will be taken one after another and have a similar 'theme'. Like all the English related exams.

Certain curriculum would help fine tune Grammar, spelling and literature analysis so the sources for curriculum would be set up in a 'block' schedule within the same 'school year'. So first 8 weeks would be GRAMMAR focused, 2nd 8 weeks would be American Lit focused, 3rd 8 weeks would be English Lit focused, 4th 8 weeks would be Humanities focused in our 'school year'.

Then there would be a test taking period of 2 months or so where the focus would be 1 exam every 2 weeks. The 2 weeks in between would be the cram period of taking practice test, reviewing flashcards and focusing on areas that need sharpening. If test scores are above a certain percentage (say 48%) than student would take the test.

For instance these test would be taken within 2 weeks of each other
The 2 weeks would be a 'cram' period for that specific test (it's what a friend who is with College Plus does which is where I got the idea)

-English Comp with Essay
(then 2 weeks later)
-Technical Writing (DSST)
(then 2 weeks later)
- Analyzing Literature
(then 2 weeks later)
-American Lit
(then 2 weeks later)
- English Lit
(then 2 weeks later)
- Humanities

Thank you for explaining! Good luck to your daughter.

[lprstn]

Thanks! My older dd took the US Hist 1 and Humanities with just 2 weeks of study of both at the same time using the 'cram' method but hadn't studied either subject prior. She only had 2 weeks to study and pass or she would've had to take the winter course. She passed but studied for 1 subject in the morning for 3 hours and the other in the evening for 3 hours for 12 days straight. She took both test on the same day. One in the morning then during her 3 hour break read over her quizlet flashcards for Humanities prior to taking the 2nd test.

[cookderosa]

Thanks! My older dd took the US Hist 1 and Humanities with just 2 weeks of study of both at the same time using the 'cram' method but hadn't studied either subject prior. She only had 2 weeks to study and pass or she would've had to take the winter course. She passed but studied for 1 subject in the morning for 3 hours and the other in the evening for 3 hours for 12 days straight. She took both test on the same day. One in the morning then during her 3 hour break read over her quizlet flashcards for Humanities prior to taking the 2nd test.

I'm going to sound snarky, which isn't my intent, but I'd like to keep this thread focused on curriculum used in homeschooling that can lead to test preparation. I appreciate that some families want to spend as little time as possible, but my personal philosophy is that CLEP is frosting for teens, not cake. Thanks though, really, I appreciate you sharing your experiences.

[lprstn]

Deleted Comment

[cookderosa]

You don't sound snarky, just that you don't understand what I am doing. My child is LEARNING THE CURRICULUM 1st (my youngest dd who is 13)! Then she is taking 2 weeks to study for the exam that follows the curriculum. Your opinion is fine but I think you just misunderstood my intent and frankly I don't care what your opinion is in this because every kid is different, situation is different and it's hard to make blanket statements based on what you read on a forum.

I just wanted to address the comment because I didn't think it was necessary. I outlined the curriculum we are using, I stated how 'we' plan on studying for the test based on assessments and advise I got from actual people (face to face) who went this direction.

As for my dd who used the cram method, she is 16yrs old and finishing up her AA in BioInformatics at a brick and mortar Community College with a 4.0 average, transferring this fall to her 4 year college of choice (brick and mortar) into their honors college. She only needed 2 of these classes that she CLEPed out of so she wouldn't have to take any courses over the winter in time to graduate. She nailed them by watching the Education-Portal.com videos and doing the flashcards but she is well read and absorbs information quickly.

Now my younger daughter is different. She isn't in college now and doesn't need to quickly gain credit in order to graduate with her AA degree. She will be using the homeschool curriculum I listed earlier, then at the end of learning that specified curriculum she will spend 2 weeks reviewing flashcards, taking sample test, correcting her mistakes, reviewing areas of need then sit for the exam.

Wow, okay. I'm not sure why you're mad. We can start a thread and talk about this, but THIS was the thread's questions: "I need help from my homeschool cohorts. I'm making a list of homeschool curriculum BRANDS that can be used for CLEP/DSST/AP. Here's the thing, I don't want support material, I have zillions (Khan, Purplemath, Learner.org, etc are not what I need). What I want to know is if you've used a specific BRAND of curriculum for a specific exam. For instance, you might say "my son used Alpha Omega Life Pack 1100 Chemistry and then took the Chem CLEP" or such. If you have any specifics PLEASE share!".

You came INTO the thread with the following post "Does anyone find that combining the subject matter for test groupings can get confusing? I just want to make sure as I'm starting the English Grouped Exam prep for my daughter. She's finished all the prep courses for the year and will have about 2 months to just absorb the information so I was thinking of having her just read through the flashcards on Speedyprep and Instantcert for English Lit/American Lit and Humanities since they seem to overlap a bit and cover so much information. Then have her focus on 1 test every 2 weeks. Does that sound realistic? I just don't want to throw it all at her at one time but the information does kind of overlap." which didn't have anything to do with this thread. I answered the question you asked me as a kindness. I now ask that you do the same and post general questions in the general forum. I'm using this information in this thread for research. Thank you.

[GAHenty]

Hi,
I studied the "Idiot's Guide to American Literature" for the American Lit Clep. The Idiot's Guide did a very good job on covering the material, but they come at it from a very secular viewpoint. Men like Hawthorne and Twain are praised for their work that "reveals" the "hypocrisy" in the church. I found it helpful to read Kevin Swanson's "Apostate: The Men Who Destroyed the Christian West" at the same time. But academically, the Idiot's Guide is terrific. I passed with 68, and the proctor was quite impressed. Hope this helps!

P.S. The Idt's Gd. to Engl. Lit, however is worthless. I have not read it, but saw numerous reviews on it, and the book mostly covers the author's opinions, not lit.

Sincerely in the Lord,
Isaiah

[cookderosa]

Hi,
I studied the "Idiot's Guide to American Literature" for the American Lit Clep. The Idiot's Guide did a very good job on covering the material, but they come at it from a very secular viewpoint. Men like Hawthorne and Twain are praised for their work that "reveals" the "hypocrisy" in the church. I found it helpful to read Kevin Swanson's "Apostate: The Men Who Destroyed the Christian West" at the same time. But academically, the Idiot's Guide is terrific. I passed with 68, and the proctor was quite impressed. Hope this helps!

P.S. The Idt's Gd. to Engl. Lit, however is worthless. I have not read it, but saw numerous reviews on it, and the book mostly covers the author's opinions, not lit.

Sincerely in the Lord,
Isaiah

Thanks for your feedback Isaiah, especially on the English Lit Idiot's Guide- that was one I'd never looked at, good to know I'm not missing anything.

[awesomej]

My son is using teaching textbooks, starting geometry this year. Would you be able to tell me what Cleps yours did after which teaching textbooks?
I am trying to understand when he will be ready for college math Clep and Algebra Cleps.
Thanks
Nadine

[cookderosa]

My son is using teaching textbooks, starting geometry this year. Would you be able to tell me what Cleps yours did after which teaching textbooks?
I am trying to understand when he will be ready for college math Clep and Algebra Cleps.
Thanks
Nadine

Hi Nadine,
Our family has never used that brand, however, my suggestion is to visit http://www.collegeboard.org and pull up the specific subject info for College Math and College Algebra. Match the course content against your textbook's Table of Contents to see if it covers the information you need. If you need additional information, the Khan Academy videos are EXCELLENT and you might even find the Peterson's CLEP practice exams ($20) to be useful. Of course, the Specific Exam Feedback folder on this forum is the best of the best resource. Hope that helps!!

[Westerner]

My son is using teaching textbooks, starting geometry this year. Would you be able to tell me what Cleps yours did after which teaching textbooks?
I am trying to understand when he will be ready for college math Clep and Algebra Cleps.
Thanks
Nadine

We didn't use teaching textbooks either, but I took College Math CLEP a little over a year after I finished geometry (I used Videotext). After being away from math for that long, I used Khan Academy to brush up and practice the concepts. I also used the Official CLEP study guide and Princeton's "Cracking the CLEP." I studied those for a couple weeks and passed College Math with 77.