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  Interesting Take on Study Materials for ECE Exams
Posted by: steelers - 02-21-2006, 03:02 AM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - Replies (14)

This is from Lawrie Miller, creator of http://www.bain4weeks.com:

My name is Lawrie Miller, and I'm author of BA in 4 Weeks, the guide to earning a degree by examination. I earned two bachelor degrees largely by testing out, encompassing forty proficiency exams for a total of 190 semester hours credit. I note that 92.6% of all credit hours appearing in my University of the State of New York/Regents College transcripts were awarded for passing proficiency exams (Regents is now Excelsior College).

Skeptics have suggested that earning a degree by examination is impossible without monumental effort, and even then, could only be accomplished by a gifted few. Frankly, this is nonsense. I did it, and no one has ever accused me of being gifted. I think it likely that whatever I can do, you can do too, plus or minus a bit.

Many have relied in whole or in part on the methods and techniques delineated in BA in 4 Weeks to earn their degree. One effect of this is that you will see remarkably similar book recommendations and lists from the contributors here, related to testing out in CLEP, DANTES (DSST), ECE (formerly ACT/PEP), and GRE advanced subject exams. Everyone will benefit from purchase of the official practice exams published by the various exam providers but is also the case that the free practice exams offered by the same providers, can often substitute for their commercial wares.

Depending upon your chosen exam(s), buy the CLEP Official Guide from the College Board, the Princeton Review's, Cracking the CLEP, the DANTES (DSST) guide, and/or, if your contemplating tackling certain GRE subject exams, Princeton Review's, Cracking the GRE in, Biology, Literature, or Psychology, as and if applicable. There is also the official ETS, 'Practicing to take', series, which comprises past test papers for the various GRE subject exams. I think these are out of print now, but there seem to be a number of used examples for sale on amazon.com.

Adequate (in my opinion) free practice exam materials are available for the ECE exams, the GRE subject exams, and perhaps, the DANTES (DSST) free exam fact sheets. You can find these at the exam providers website. I provide the links to these in bain4weeks.com, but you can find them yourself by sniffing around the providers home pages.

With respect to study materials (as distinct from practice exams), I recommend you use the most concise, simplest, and cheapest, texts that are adequate to the task. When I first proposed that the quick-study Cliffs Notes primers were often wholly sufficient, more than a few eyebrows were raise among the cognoscente in academe. Yet, these quick and cheap reads, have proved sufficient again and again, for learner after learner, and they will likely serve you just as well.

As noted, many have used the book listings in BA in 4 weeks, and this is reflected in some of the reviews you will find here. However, most all the books appearing in the original lists where those already in my library at home, or those readily obtained during a quick stop at my local bookshop. The truth is that unlike the practice exam materials detailed earlier, study materials, can, for the most part be easily replaced by any similar text. That is to say, where a survey work of some discipline is recommended, it is generally interchangeable with any other survey work in the subject. I often get email from the concerned student who cannot locate a copy of this or that recommended primer. Almost always, there are several adequate substitutes. There is no magic bullet. You can't find Barrons EZ-101 Psychology? No problem, use Psychology for Dummies, or any other basic survey text. HarperCollins College Outline 'Introduction to Government', out of print? No worries, substitute Cliffs Quick Review American Government. . . . and on.

Whether your looking to complete a traditional course, pass a proficiency exam, or even earn an entire degree by testing out, good luck and best wishes for your success. Lawrie Miller, bain4weeks.com


Since instantcert covers almost all of the Dantes and CLEP exams I will provide her recommended book list for the ECE exams only below:

Abnormal Psychology
HarperCollins College Outline Abnormal Psychology*

*Her review of the above text from Amazon:
First class thumbnail of this sub-discipline. With only a freshman's academic background in general psychology, augmented I guess, by Life's experience, I found this text sufficient preparation for the ECE (formerly ACT/PEP) upper division Abnormal Psychology exam. The content and concepts delineated are made readily accessible by smart organization and lucid prose. A pleasure to read and an easy study for both learner and layman. It helped me to an "A" and three credit hours toward my degree.

Ethics Theory and Practice*
Harper Collins College Outline Ethics

*The following input came from the creator of 123collegedegree.com:
This one is similar to the DSST version, in that only about a 1/3 of testing the theories, and 2/3s of application of the theories. You can pass this if you use the DSST Ethics in America study guide. (I got a "B" on it using ONLY this study guide) But it is not complete. You may be able to get an "A" if you guess well enough. Take this one the same day as the DSST version. Some of the concepts you may want to home in on include:

- utilitarianism (the underlying principles was MOST important for the whole test, but knowing "spin-offs" from Mills or Bentham (sp?) also helps)
- Kantianism and his categorial imperative
- Aquinas and the double-effect
- Aristotle and principles of virtue
- Epicurus and hedonism
- consequentialism vs deontologial morals
- autonomy
- divine command theory and moral objectivism
- social contract (Hobbes)

Fundamentals of Gerontology
Princeton Review Cracking GRE Psychology

Labor Relations
1. Fed&State Labor Laws free on the WWW
2. Barrons Business Library Human Resource Management

Lifespan Developmental Psychology
Princeton Review Cracking GRE Psychology

Organizational Behavior*
1. Barrons Business Library Human Resource Management
2. Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour: A Student's Handbook -buy this one if you're struggling.

*The following input came from the creator of 123collegedegree.com:
The instantcert DSST Organizational Behavior guide is perfect for this one as well. I took both versions the same day, but Excelsior will only accept one (they duplicate each other). Since the ECE version was upper level, it counted towards the 12 credits of upper level business electives*** I got an "A" on the ECE version, and a 59 (A) on the DSST version.

Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
Princeton Review Cracking GRE Psychology

English Composition
Suggest buying the Excelsior College ECE English primer if you have doubts

Business Policy and Strategy
Strategic Management and Business Policy - Wheelan. Great buy!

Human Resource Management*
Barrons Business Library Human Resource Management

*The following input came from the creator of 123collegedegree.com:
Very general concepts covered. This was probably the second easiest upper-level credit I've ever earned. You don't even need to study for this exam. After taking all the other exams that you've taken up to this point, you should be aware of what Human Resources is all about. Just remember to usually choose the answer that will benefit the most amount of people, not necessarily make the company more profits. I did buy the recommended textbook (before instantcert came out with their guide). I briefly skimmed over the first 70 pages or so.

Research Methods in Psychology
Princeton Review Cracking GRE Psychology

World Population
1. The www CIA World Fact Book is a great free resource – use it
2. Population Matters: Demographic Change, Economic Growth, and Poverty in the Developing World This volume may prove useful if struggling.

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  Criminal Justice/Intro to Law Enforcement
Posted by: stephykay - 02-20-2006, 10:37 PM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - Replies (56)

Has anyone taken these Dantes tests? If so, any advise??

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  Be careful and don't get overconfident
Posted by: RBOWMAN - 02-20-2006, 02:07 PM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - Replies (17)

I was just humbled by a clep test. I thought I could just walk in to the testing center and " cold turkey" take an English Composition test. I needed one more credit on my english to get the amount Thomas Edison is requiring. I decided to take this test..without the essay element and low and behold..up pops a 45 at the tests end. Yuk! So now I have to regroup,rethink and somehow come up with one crummy credit. Moral to the story:

1. Don't assume after being out of school for over 30 yrs. that there will be no problem on this test.

2, Don't get overconfident and just whiz through any test and figure,"All is well". I just found that out and now I have to move on and get smarter!

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  Has anyone used this company:testprepresearch.com
Posted by: Shark101 - 02-20-2006, 10:37 AM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - No Replies

Has anyone used this company: testprepresearch.com They offer practice questions for us history 1&2 biology and chemistry clep exams: I purchased their us history 2 practice exams.

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  Great "How To" Site Created by Somebody That Earned Two Degrees by Taking Exams
Posted by: steelers - 02-19-2006, 11:52 PM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - No Replies

Check it out:

http://www.bain4weeks.com

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  Air Force Members
Posted by: scottcop1 - 02-19-2006, 11:27 AM - Forum: Military Discussion - Replies (39)

I know of one, but are there any more Air Force members on here? If so, are you planning to apply to OTS with your distance learning degree?

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  Free CLEP handbook
Posted by: anar579 - 02-19-2006, 02:19 AM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - Replies (15)

Steve suggested earlier a new thread be started about this for everyone's benefit.

CLEP
There's a free copy of Peterson's CLEP Success available online:
http://www.petersons.com/airforce/clepce...sponsor=8.
I suggest using Internet Explorer to open it, as Firefox froze up on me.

The "Read Book Now" button takes you to the book with all general exams, which includes a pre-test, subject overview, and post-test. At the bottom are 17 full-length exams and answers.

It's a nice supplement to instantcert.com due to the full-length exams, which even the official CLEP handbook from the College Board doesn't provide. Even more helpful for exams not yet covered by instantcert.

DSST/Dantes

Also available is the official DSST book:
http://www.petersons.com/airforce/dsst.asp?sponsor=8.
Same deal with IE.

It might be a good idea to save these files to your hard drive in case they decide to password secure these in the future.

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  Anybody Passed Dantes Civil War, Soviet Union or Money/Banking Using Only Instancert?
Posted by: steelers - 02-18-2006, 05:50 PM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - Replies (42)

Has anybody here passed Dantes Civil War and Reconstrruction, Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union or Money & Banking using only Instancert?

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  Is Natural Sciences very "in-depth"?
Posted by: andrea33 - 02-18-2006, 04:20 PM - Forum: General Education-Related Discussion - Replies (6)

I am taking this test next week, and wondering if it is basic info or very "in-depth" information on the test? I studied the "Passyourclass.com" text, and the "David & Laurie" one as well. I looked over the info & tests out of the "Clep Success" book. So, for those of you who took it (passed,or failed), did it seem tough or what?

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  Calendar
Posted by: ViolinGirl - 02-18-2006, 02:31 PM - Forum: Off Topic - Replies (1)

Steve (or anyone who knows): What's the calendar feature for?

(I thought I'd ask you here instead of PMing you because I thought perhaps others wanted to know, too.) Thanks in advance!

ViolinGirlSmile

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