CLEP Macroeconomics

[Back2School]

Just a few thoughts. In the past month I've taken both Micro and Macro. Passed Macro with a 76 and Micro with a 69. IMO the micro was significantly harder. Going in I felt much more comfortable on the micro and was doing very well on Peterson's, instantcert, and the Thomas / Wadsworth practice tests. Yet the questions on the micro appear to be intentionally tougher and very few questions where you can throw away more than one or two answers.

I'd also comment that in general I'm suggesting that we make a decision to stop recommening ONLY to use Instantcert for ANY CLEP test. This not because of how I value Instantcert.

InstantCert is very good, but we must remember this is an open community and employers (I'm one myself) and other peers will read our comments. The reason we are getting degrees is to advance our careers, earn respect, or to demonstrate our knowledge in these subjects. I'm concerned that we will be harming our own success if we preach that these tests are 'easy' and that by studying a set of flash cards from one source we can get credit for a particular subject. I'm not saying we need to go overboard; I'm just recommending that we not forget that the goal here is not just to pass a test, but to have something of value (a respected degree) in the end. What good will it be to have passed these tests and earned a degree if five years down the road many consider it 'Bush league'.

Getting a 76 on my Macro and 69 on the Micro was not easy... but I really felt like I learned something. I took Peterson's tests, I studied the links I posted earlier in the thread, I read quite a bit of Paul Sameulson's text book. At the same time I probably only have about 30-35 hours total in study for both those exams. Not bad for getting out of a years worth of economics classes.

I don't mean to sound 'preachy' here. I'm just suggesting that we step back and look at the big picture. Even if someone only wants 'the piece of paper', the least they want is a piece of paper that is respected and valued in the community. We can serve ourselves best IMO by taking balanced approaches to these exams and not just looking to 'pass' but actually learn the material. Or at least that is the way I think we should try and portray it to the community.

Good luck to all.