| In the Spirit of Sharing:Two of my kids applied over 80 CLEP and DSST credits to their degrees, so they have taken many exams. Below is the order they took them in and a list of the primary resource they used. My son focused on the History exams and my daughter’s focus was on the Business and Psychology exams. I’ve combined their lists to give some sense of which exams they studied for first and how they build on each other. Remember, this is only a guide … not the best or only way. There is excellent curriculum (such as Apologia) but I preferred choosing things that are in line with my students’ learning styles. All of their tests included taking practice exams and reviewing the wrong answers. See Tricia’s sitefor more details on her methodology.
~Cheri
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Learning Express e-books. Available through your library if they subscribe to the Learning Express site. Excellent free pdf files for a variety of homeschooling subjects. |
| Introduction to Computing DSST |
8-week Study Group Tricia’s Lesson Plans When using any text, always check the publisher’s website for a companion site. NOTE: I’ve recently put together a Computer Syllabus for this course for another group I facilitated. For an updated text:
Discovering Computers Fundamentals 2010 Edition, ISBN #0495806382 |
| Introduction to World Religions DSST |
World Religions Syllabus 4 pg |
| College Composition CLEP |
This CLEP assesses the writing skills taught in most first-year college composition courses. Besides the multiple choice portion of the exam, your student will be required to write two timed essays that will be sent away for scoring (you will receive your scores in the mail in a few weeks). Practice 5-paragraph essays with the free online website Learning Express that can be accessed if your public library is a subscriber www.learnatest.com/LEL/
Another good resource to prep this exam is to sign up for the SAT Question of the Day on the College Board site. A question will be e-mailed to you each day. The grammar questions are similar to what you need to know for this exam. I would encourage your 7th grader to start receiving these.
We complete a year-long course with WriteShop I and finished with The Least You should Know about English (form A, B, or C are the same, just different practice questions) |
| Western Civilization I and II CLEP |
We enjoyed the World History curriculum from Ray Notgrass. Most of the book is dedicated to the years covered in the Western Civ I exam. To study for Western Civ II, we used Spielvogel’s Human Odyssey. Other students have used this text for both exams and enjoyed it.Over lunch, we also watched videos by the Teaching Company that were very engaging. |
| Ethics in AmericaDSST |
The philosophers covered in Western Civ I lay the foundation for this course. Add study from the free pdf download from Peterson’s along with Instantcert and Peterson practice exams |
| Analyzing & Int Lit (w/o essay) CLEP |
A popular CLEP exam worth 6 credits. This exam has the reputation of being one of the easier CLEPs to pass for those who are avid readers. The exam does not require familiarity with specific works, rather it assumes that the student has the ability to read passages from poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction and answer questions about the reading. There are 80 questions and you have 90 minutes, as you do with all CLEP exams. To best prepare, include a unit on poetry in your studies, such as you would find from Progeny Press. Students will need to know common literary terms – such as symbolism, metaphor or stanza (sparknotes.com) – and be able to identify them in the given passages. |
| History of the US I CLEP |
We deviated from the standard homeschool curriculum for this one. The free downloadable text we used is from the State of Florida. It is no longer being published, but is available on the ERIC database. We also used their text for American Government and did these two subject side-by-side since there is so much overlap. From the teacher guide, I chose projects that helped enforce CLEP must-knows like memorizing the amendments.We are also big fans of Netflix so I coordinated historical fiction films and books into the syllabus. |
| American Government CLEP |
See note for History of the US I |
| Civil War and the Reconstruction DSST |
If interested in history, take this exam during study of US I, Read A Short History of the Civil War and Watch: Ken Burns Civil War Series. If time, watch Gods and Generals, and Gettysburg |
| Social Science and History CLEP |
For history buffs who have taken Western Civ and a few other history courses (my son) he just studied the REA and completed practice exams. |
| Humanities CLEP |
Same as note above. Others suggest the text: The Humanities through the Arts (6th ed) by David Martin and Lee Jacobus along with the REA guide and practice tests. There is a fair amount of American Lit and English Lit on this exam, so consider studying for those CLEPs first. |
| Microeconomics CLEP |
Micro and Macro econ were the foundation courses to a host of business cleps. We used the free curriculum available through Junior Achievement after establishing our homeschool coop as a “school” and me as the volunteer. We then followed up with the REA and Sparknotes to review specific or difficult concepts. |
| Intro to Business DSST |
The e-book containing this title from Peterson’s was about all we used in a list of exams. There are numerous websites that are helpful if you need more studying. |
| Principles of Marketing CLEP |
Two-4 week study after Economics because there are several economics terms that overlap. We used the REA marketing book. These are also available
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| College Mathematics CLEP |
After any Algebra I course, this can be taken. |
| History of the US II CLEP |
Same resources as US I. Students usually say US I is easier than II — more fact based and less “isms”. |
| History of the Vietnam War DSST |
If interested in history, take this exam during study of US II. My son wrote a research paper for National History Day so didn’t need to do additional studying. |
| Intro to the Modern Middle East DSST |
Resources for this one were hard to find. He used Idiots Guide to the Modern Middle East and followed with Instantcert Flashcards. |
| Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union DSST |
Read The Soviet Colossus and followed up reading about specific people in Wikipedia. |
| Western Europe since 1945 DSST |
Read PostWar — a long read … he read the chapters that pertained to the years on the test and followed with InstantCert |
| Environment and Humanity DSST |
12-week course Environmental Science by Arms ISBN: 0030520193 This was my realization that pictures speak a thousand words and the difference between a middle school text and high school or college is they just remove the pictures from the upper levels, shrink the font and add 200 unnecessary pages!
I liked this text because it is colorful, includes diagrams (teach your student to flip through the chapter and “read” these first) and is supported by auxiliary resources from the publisher. The 2006 edition also makes it very affordable. When I was evaluation options, I reviewed the ten sample questions available at the time and found answers to nine of them in the text. Not a guarantee of future success, but good enough for me. Since the text does address evolutionary topics such as the age of the earth and adaptation, it provided an opportunity for us to discuss worldviews. For additional text ideas and resources, check out the AP Central site for teachers: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/index.html. You might also find additional worksheets and ideas online by googling “Holt Environmental Science”.
Followup with Peterson’s practice exams.
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| Macroeconomics CLEP |
Same resources as Microeconomics |
| Business Mathematics DSST |
4-6 week course, independent of other exams except that basic economics and financial concepts are applied; Algebra I prerequisite. Business Math Demystified by Allan G. Bluman (one chapter a day). We also reviewed the free pdf download from Peterson’s. |
| English Literature CLEP |
A semester course using Switched on Schoolhouse British Lit CDs. The name of this exam is English Lit, but they mean English in the British sense. We followed up with Barron’s EZ-101 Study Keys for English Literature and relied on the Specific Feedback Forum available through http://www.degreeforum.net/ |
| Principles of SupervisionDSST |
Principles of Supervision DSST & Principles of Management CLEP are very similar. Study for both at the same time; 4 weeks for both. We took the DSST Supervision one first because DSSTs are a bit easier since there are only 4 multiple choice answers to choose from vs. 5 multiple choice with CLEP. |
| Principles of Management CLEP |
See note on Principles of Supervision Petersons e-book was enough, however, there is resources such as: REA Management book, http://www.netmba.com/ and Standard Deviants videos |
| Human Resources Mgmt DSST |
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| Organizational Behavior DSST |
http://www.free-clep-prep.com/Organizational-Behavior-DSST.html |
| Introductory Sociology CLEP |
I was teaching a 12-week Psych course so we studied for this concurrently since so many terms overlap. Depending on the depth of knowledge from the student, this may be a simple 4-week study:**Free cliffnotes site , Barron’s EZ 101 and InstantCert Flashcards |
| Technical Writing DSST |
Having finished traditional high school English courses, we did this as a semester course using The Elements of Technical Writing and two free ebooks from Learnatest.com Learning Express One under “Writing Skills” … Goof Proof Business Writing and the other is under “Workplace Skills: …Business Writing Clear and Simple.Note: the free pdfs withing the Learning Express site must now be accessed through a pubic library. Check your local library’s online site and look for online resources. |
| Introductory Psychology CLEP |
12 week course Understanding Psychology by Kasschau and the free companion website. It was difficult finding a visually-friendly text that was appropriate for grades 7-12 (no marijuana brownie references … no kidding!) Followed up with InstantCert cards. This course was the foundation to the next two Psych Cleps: Human Growth and Ed Psych, as well as foundational to the Sociology CLEP. Another Resource Post: Click Here |
| Human Growth and Development CLEP |
Just a few weeks after the Intro Psych course, just the REA and practice tests for this one. There are Instantcert cards as well. |
| Educational Psychology CLEP |
After HG&D, two more weeks, REA and practice exams and this one is good to go! |
| College Algebra CLEP |
Test after completing Algebra II and review REA book. Note: Consider ALEKS for Intermediate and College Algebra. Since it is approved by ACE, many colleges grant credit for the course, eliminating the need for taking the CLEP. |
| Principles of Statistics DSST |
My son worked independently for a semester through a typical public school Stats book and then tested (his dad is a math teacher) |
| Chemistry CLEP |
We completed a year Chemistry course by Beginnings Publishing and intended to follow with the REA book for test prep. However, both my students did not feel adequately prepared for this clep (we are not a science family … so by no means am I suggesting this curriculum is not adequate). |
