When preparing for exams, when are you comfortable with the material?

When going over Instantcert (or other practice exam type set-ups), at what point are you comfortable enough with the material to register for the exams? 80% or up? Just 50% for a pass? Don't register until 100% on the material?



I was super-motivated a while back and took two exams back-to-back, and have more books waiting to study up for some others. I am two for two, so far. The last one I took didn't score as flashy a score as I'd expected (I think overconfidence rushed me to sign up) so I've decided to be more cautious. Granted, CLEP are just pass-fail, but I don't like to just squeeze by the margin.

I'm currently studying for the CLEP Principles of Microeconomics and have heard it isn't one of the easier exams.

I have a subscription with Intantcert.com and am going over and over and over the material. I also have Barron's EZ-101 Study Keys for Micro, and Cliffs Quick Review for Economics. Microeconomics is a new subject to me - never took a course in high school or my short stint at b&m college. I want to make sure I don't get overconfident and blow the exam so am using Instantcert.com as a practice measure. (I'd used Petersons practice tests to prepare for English Comp. and American Government, but they don't offer Microeconomics.)

 

I guess since I'm active-duty, I don't really put as much effort into studying as I could, because I figure that I can always take it again. But, as a civilian having to pay for each individual test, I could easily see what one would have to risk and to potentially lose.

Basically though, I find that I'm comfortable (especially with CLEP's), if what I've studied simply matches the study guide. If it's a subject I'm struggling with (like I did for microeconomics), I'll try to use as many different, usually free source whether internet or local community college library, to go over the more difficult items.

I would think that 80% would be more than enough to take the real test, since the practice tests are usually much harder than the real thing. The only instance in which I'd worry about actual scores on the practice tests would be timed practices of math-intensive tests like college algebra, etc.

Wish I could provide more info, but I'm afraid I haven't used instacert.com.

 

EmilyM,

Actually Petersons does offer Principle of Microeconomic. The Navy didn't buy, but the Air Forces did. Here is the link

http://www.petersons.com/airforce/testprep.asp?sponsor=8

The activation code should be the same.

Semper Fi,

 

You need the official CLEP guide from the college board, if you don't already have it. Objective measure of your competence in the CLEP subject exams should, in my opinion, be based exclusively on your performance in the practice exams comprising that volume.

In the case of the CLEP general exams, the official guide is usefully complemented by the Princeton Review's: Cracking the CLEP. The practice exams in that primer are a fair predictor performance.

See BA in 4 Weeks, "Test Strategies" for more.

Oh . . . 50% score in these specific practice exams should indicate you're about ready - assuming a bare pass is good enough.

See also the BA in 4 Weeks "Exam Difficulty Index", for an estimate of difficulty relative to targeted letter grade (CLEP subject exams are letter graded, by the way - unless you're a TESC student).


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I've taken 10 CLEP exams so far, and have given some thought to your questions in the past, as they've come up in my mind, and in my own study efforts.

The great thing about the CLEPs is, as Lawrie pointed out, if you can get 50% of the questions right, you will pass. Obviously, you never get them all right. I like to have a margin of error (or "safety net") as well. I would recommend that you sit for the exam if you are getting 60-70% of the questions right on your practice drills.

The only scenario that I can honestly say "keep studying" until you can get into the 80-90% range, would be if your school converts the CLEPs into letter grades. In that case, I would study as long as you can.

Good luck!

Cheers.