DANTES Statistics (formulas)

Discussion in 'CLEP, DANTES, and Other Exams for Credit' started by beholdweb, Mar 26, 2006.

Loading...
  1. beholdweb

    beholdweb New Member

    Hi All,

    I am currently studying hard for the DANTES Statistics exam, and simultaneously memorizing how to use the stats functions on the TI BAII+ calculator (that should be worth 3 credits in and of itself).

    For those of you who have taken this exam already...

    Do I need to memorize all the actual formulas themselves, or is it enough to memorize how to find the solutions using my calculator.

    Example:

    I have memorized how to calculate the slope of a regression line using my calculator. Will that be enough, or might there be a question which requires me to know/identify the actual formula itself?

    Such as:

    Which of these is the formula for calculating the slope of a regression line?

    A. Blah
    B. Blah blah
    C. Blah blah blah
    D. Blah blah blah blah

    I would hate to try and memorize all the formulas if just understanding the principle behind the formulas and knowing how to solve them with my calculator will suffice.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Beholdweb
     
  2. Ultimale

    Ultimale New Member

    Check out www.Degreeforum.com

    Check out www.Degreeforum.com ; (forums) in the Dantes section. They have a lot of information about this exam and what's on it.
     
  3. beholdweb

    beholdweb New Member

    ::GENTLE BUMP:: (for additional exposure)

    Can anybody advise me as to whether I need to memorize formulas that I will be solving using a calculator?

    The scenario I can imagine might be if they show me four formulas and ask which one is the formula for *****.

    In that case, I would need to have memorized the actual formula and not just know how to use the formula to solve problems using my calculator.

    Does anyone remember if this type of question appears on the DANTES Statistics exam?

    Thanks in advance for you help,
    Beholdweb
     
  4. beholdweb

    beholdweb New Member

    Re: Check out www.Degreeforum.com

    Hi Ultimale,

    I have read every post I can find about this exam. But none refer specifically to whether I need to memorize the formulas themselves or if just knowing how to solve them using a calculator will suffice.

    Obviously, there are some formulas that I will absolutely need to memorize. But I don't want to memorize every single formula if just knowing how to do the math on my calculator is enough.

    Thanks,
    Beholdweb
     
  5. LiveFromHouston

    LiveFromHouston New Member

    Hey Beholdweb,

    To my surprise, I encountered several questions of this nature. I, too, relied heavily on the BAII+. Many of the formulas can be deduced by working backwards within the calculator -- after all, the test isn't timed. But, if you can remember the formulas you should walk out with a bit more confidence in your pass.

    Don't let it stop you from sitting it, though; I think you'll be fine either way.

    Cheers,
    LfH

    PS- I think I mentioned in another thread that there are no formulas given to you on the DSST exam (unlike ECE). For some reason I thought there was going in :eek:, but it still wasn't too bad. Instacert was great.
     
  6. Ultimale

    Ultimale New Member

    Try this

    "I agree with you on your suggestion that this is not a cram, and study last minute type of exam. I think if people take 2 weeks or so, watch the videos a bunch, review the books, practice SD, Z scores, median, mean, scatter plots, basic concepts etc, they do fine."

    Try this link: http://www.degreeforum.com/theforums/showthread.php?t=88

    From what i remember (it was awhile ago), The Standard Deviants Videos covered the material very well. Standard Deviation, Z Scores, Mean, Scatter Plots, were all tested a lot. Make sure you learn the methods (memorize) necessary for calculating this material.

    I used the Search feature over at Degreeforum, but it seemed to miss several related posts. Try just scouring the Dantes section (it's 3 pages deep).

    I would also recommend doing a search on this site as well. In addition, do a Google search. I remember therew was a FREE online video website (covering statistics) designed for teachers that was helpful.

    Here's my post on the subject:

    Just wanted to give you, or others a heads up on the Dantes exam. it was actually easier than I expected. I was more than a bit nervous going in, but feel really good after taking it.

    I used the Standard deviants Statistics videos (1&2), www.learner.org (lessons 1-8), CLiff notes, Statistics for the utterly confused, www.QuickmBA.com.

    The majority of the exam was questions about standard deviation, mean, mode, median, probability, histograms, z score. I didn't have too many calculations to worry about. A simple scientific calculator will suffice, but definitely bring one that will do square roots.

    someone mentioned that these exams are aimed at the average college 20 year old, with little or no work experience. This seemed to hold true on this exam. Study the cliff notes, videos and you should be fine. good luck
     
  7. beholdweb

    beholdweb New Member

    Thanks for your help LfH and Ultimale,

    I am very good at memorization so I will just go ahead and memorize as many formulas as possible.

    Despite my absolute fear and trembling in the face of anything math-related, I am actually feeling pretty good about this exam at this point. I've been able to grasp all the concepts I have studied so far.

    I guess the thing that is making me most nervous right now is not really knowing what type of questions to expect. I haven't taken a quantitative CLEP/DANTES exam yet...and, other than ten sample questions in the DANTES fact sheet, I have nothing else to go on.

    I intend to study for another week or so to solidify what I have learned and then take the plunge!

    Any additional input or advice from anyone else will be greatly appreciated.

    If not....I'll see you all on the other side of this particular DANTES Inferno! :p
     
  8. bceagles

    bceagles Member

    Did you take this exam? If yes, how did you do? Any tips?
     
  9. Will Makeit

    Will Makeit New Member

    I did this one and don't recall having to know the formulas by heart, but you will have to know how to use them.
    I think you should know what the slope is, as a concept.

    I asked the same question you asked back then, think it was two years ago.
     
  10. beholdweb

    beholdweb New Member

    Hi bceagles,

    I did take the exam, and I ended up scoring 71. I hated every minute of the exam itself. It was very stressful. I was actually in tears at one point, believe it or not. But I think most of it was just my irrational fear of math. I get extremely anxious whenever I do an exam involving numbers.

    However, as you can see by my score, I was able to pull it off.

    The #1 key to passing this exam is to learn how to use your calculator. I used a Texas Instruments BA II+ (about $30).

    The calculator took care of the calculation questions, and I took care of the concept and terminology questions.

    It took me 3.5 hours to complete the exam! I was mentally and physically exhausted by the time I left the test center.

    I think the 'curve' works in our favor on this exam. As Lawrie Miller says, "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." It was never more true than on this exam.

    If you master the key concepts and basic terminology, and learn how to use your calculator for the math problems, you will very likely pass this exam.

    Hope that helps!
     

Share This Page