Passing tests

Hello, MC!

Well, the only way I can think of passing an examination without studying is by reading itself. In some courses, you can just read the material without studying per se. I did this with a few courses. One advice, though: don't do this with math. With math, you have got to practice and practice and practice. When I was in high school, I remember that I tried to pass some math tests just by reading the material, and I guess I don't have to tell you what happenned with the results.

Best wishes,


Karlos Alberto "El Caballero" Lacaye
[email protected]

P.S.: I am sorry, but somehow I couldn't answer this question in its original thread, so I am starting a new one.

 

From thread "TO: Rich Douglas"
Original thread not accepting posts

Absolutely. You hit the nail on the head. It follows logically.

To my mind it would be unethical to use any bachelor's degree, ostensibly a testament to academic competence, which has been gained wholly or in part by nefarious means. Thankfully, I do not believe it possible to acquire a degree in this way (i.e. exclusively via exam technique alone).

I'm not re-igniting past fires - I think the claim was disproved beyond doubt in prior threads - but MCcflo99's question is perfectly valid. I do not believe we should avoid important topics simply because they risk generating heat. We can have a group hug later. I too would like to know IN DETAIL (for that is where the devil lies) how a 120 semester hour bachelor degree can be gained with no knowledge of the subjects being examined (for that is the claim).

I now permanently withdraw and leave the thread to the principals.

(Incidentally, I am NOT MCcflo99! I do not share a computer him. We do not work in the same office. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a lawyerly associate of MCcflo99).

 

Hrm. I got a bug in the other thread, too.

My thoughts, in response to Bill's perfectly reasonable question:

No, but it could definitely discredit the value of certain tests. As someone who earned his B.A. almost entirely by examination (114 of the 123 hours), I have a few opinions on this subject:

1. If you were a good student in high school in certain fields, and if you have good test-taking skills, you will pass the relevant CLEP General Examinations. No question.

2. If you try to pass a CLEP subject exam on testing skills alone, you will only pass by wild luck, ESP, inspiration, or automatic writing from your great uncle Herbert. I barely scraped by the CLEP subject exam in Western Civiization I after a very solid study regimen in the field and, while I'm not the sharpest flea in the lederhosen when it came to history, I was a pretty smart kid, and my test-taking skills have always been top-notch.

3. With DANTES, it depends on the exam. IMHO, almost anyone could pass Here's To Your Health, Human/Cultural Geography, or Business Mathematics -- but the DANTES World Religions exam is really quite difficult, and War and Peace in the Nuclear Age ain't no walk in the park, either.

Bottom line: Rather than thinking of this whole controversy in terms of testing versus non-testing (which I feel is a mistake, since we don't talk about teaching versus non-teaching), let's look at specific exams or exam series and evaluate them on a case by case basis. And if any specific exams or exam series are too easy to justify the amount of credit awarded, we should say so.

But to put CLEP General Exams and the University of London examinations in the same category would seem, to me, to be a significant mistake.



Peace,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

But the issue is not the difficulty or lack thereof of any particular exam, or whether the credit gained is justified, it is whether it is possible to gain a degree by passing the requisite 120 semester hours of testing exclusively by way of exam technique without regard to knowledge of the subject being examined. That is, in this context,
individual exam difficulty is irrelevant (CLEP, DANTES, GRE, RCE). Rich holds that the right exam technique alone is sufficient to pass all required exams with no regard to subject knowledge.

MCcflo99, said he bought Princeton Review Cracking the CLEP per Rich's recommendation but knew nothing of the subjects and found he could not score well in the exams. His question to Rich then is: "you say no subject knowledge is required to pass these exams, how then do I pass them? What specifically are these techniques to which you allude? Help me . . . please."

Seems to me MCcflo99 has asked a reasonable and obvious question. You say it can be done (technique but no knowledge), in detail, how can it be done?

I now withdraw and leave the thread to the principals. [Again]

 

Well, then, I'd have to disagree with him. I don't think it can be done (or if it can be, I'd like to know how--and would have liked to know how six years ago, when I was studying for these examinations).

Peace,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Bottom line: Rather than thinking of this whole controversy in terms of testing versus non-testing (which I feel is a mistake, since we don't talk about teaching versus non-teaching),

The "testing" vs "non-testing" issue is a red hearing.

let's look at specific exams or exam series and evaluate them on a case by case basis. And if any specific exams or exam series are too easy to justify the amount of credit awarded, we should say so.

Amen, the issue is not credit by exam but whether the exam is rigorous enough to warrant undergraduate credit and then whether the portfolio of credits warrant the award.

But to put CLEP General Exams and the University of London examinations in the same category would seem, to me, to be a significant mistake.

Well, yes and no. The first year general credit of American degrees are not part of a British degrees. I have examined some CLEP Exams and some UoL exams and I would agree that these are definetly not in the same category (I am sure anyone who does so would agree). However, if, as some have suggested, that either of these degrees are equally legitimate/credible/reputable (use whatever term you wish) why should they be in different categories?

Peace,

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