CLEP Spanish: Best way to learn for someone with ZERO prior knowledge

[sanantone]

60% of the test is reading. The reading portion covers vocabulary, sentence structure, and comprehension. 40% of the test is listening. There is no speaking on the test. Learning to speak a language takes longer than learning how to read it well enough to pass a test that's graded on a curve. Many people take several years of a language in high school and make high grades, but they can't speak it on the fly because that requires long-term immersion. I know many Hispanics in Texas who can understand Spanish when they hear it, but they don't speak it well. I also know a lot of Hispanics who grew up speaking Spanish, but they made horrible grades in Spanish class. It's similar to how native English speakers can fail English.

I think speaking a language is more important than being able to read it, but this is not an efficient way of preparing for a test quickly, especially when the test does not include a speaking section. Learner.org has two series that should help with listening and vocabulary.

http://learner.org/resources/series75.html
http://learner.org/resources/series151.html

The Pimsleur series that only have a level or two teach you how to speak as a tourist, and people get a false sense of being fluent. The Pimsleur series that have several levels take a while to get through.

Edit: It looks like the second season was taken off of Annenberg Learner, but you might be able to find the DVD set at a local library.