DANTES Tests - Degree of Difficulty?

I would opinions on the degree of difficulty for the Contemporary Western Europe DANTES test. I have read one opinion that said it was so easy no studying was required and another that said it was difficult unless you knew the subject. Has anyone taken it recently? Also, need a recommended study book.

Also, need the same information for History of the Vietnam War, Race to Save the Planet and Physical Geology.

Thanks!

 

DANTES SUBJECT STANDARDIZED TESTS (DSST)VOLUME & PASS RATE FY01

DANTES SUBJECT STANDARDIZED TESTS (DSST)VOLUME & PASS RATE FY01

(Military Examinees Only)DSST Title Ace Score Credit Hours Volume Pass Rate %
A History of the Vietnam War 49 3B 729 34%
An Introduction to the Modern Middle East 44 3B 154 50%
Art of the Western World 48 3B 446 44%
Astronomy 48 3B 508 47%
Business Law II 52 3BU 292 12%
Business Mathematics 48 3B 623 69%
Contemporary Western Europe: 1946-1990 48 3B 99 31%
Criminal Justice 49 3B 1086 51%
Drug and Alcohol Abuse 49 3BU 2651 38%
Environment and Humanity: The Race to Save the Planet 46 3B 1360 61%
Ethics in America 46 3B 7684 66%
Foundations of Education 46 3B 194 62%
Fundamentals of College Algebra 47 3B 897 25%
Fundamentals of Counseling 45 3B 916 53%
General Anthropology 47 3B 210 40%
Here’s to Your Health 48 3B 3134 69%
Human Cultural Geography 48 3B 676 57%
Human Resource Management 46 3B 1081 65%
Introduction to Business 46 3B 1213 77%
Introduction to Computing 45 3B 3056 89%
Introduction to Law Enforcement 45 3B 1458 59%
Introduction to World Religions 49 3B 1135 56%
Lifespan Developmental Psychology 46 3B 314 45%
Management Information Systems 46 3BU 2146 78%
Money and Banking 48 3BU 485 13%
Organizational Behavior 48 3B 1919 45%
Personal Finance 46 3B 833 69%
Physical Geology 46 3B 347 23%
Principles of Finance 46 3BU 521 21%
Principles of Financial Accounting 49 3B 229 12%
Principles of Physical Science I 47 3B 629 45%
Principles of Public Speaking 47 3B 5594 88%
Principles of Statistics 48 3B 745 41%
Principles of Supervision 46 3B 4170 67%
Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union 45 3BU 585 50%
Technical Writing 46 3B 972 78%
The Civil War and Reconstruction 47 3BU 1271 48%

http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/examinations/dssts.htm

 

For the first, I read one relevant book (he's prolific) on the subject, "Europe in Our Time: A History, 1945-1992"
by Walter Laqueur. However, even this did not cover all the subjects I encountered on the exam;I did find the exam challenging--even with a great deal of prior reading in the subject matter (books on individual Euro countries, regular reading of The Economist magazine, etc.) But I got an "A" and I felt confident of doing that well with just this one textbook under my belt.

DANTES Vietnam?
In the 80s I'd read George C, Herring's "America's Longest War" once or twice. But if you want just one volume that covers all the material on the exam, go with "Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945 to 1990" by James Stuart Olson.
It goes in and out of print, but can be found through used book sources. (I'll read my copy if I decide to take this exam.) This brief review makes clear why it's a more balance treatment,
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312032633/qid=1042338778/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-8041117-5184133?v=glance&s=books

On the DANTES "Environement and Humanity"-- I took this last June, and perhaps because of previous study, found it easy. (I got an A.) I only needed a few days studying the AP guide ("A.P. Environmental Science Study Guide") sold online by "awesomeguides.com" in Florioda at
http://www.awesomeguides.com/ap_environmental_study_guide.htm
There's a newer revised edition out now.

Supplement this, if needed, with the "Race To Save The PLanet" study guide by Edward C. Wolf. There are many editions, but anyone should do. This item has excellent summary material on each episode of the progam, glossary of terms, thoughtful question lists, and nicely tied in quizes with answers for self-study. My copy is 184 pages.
I also have one of the textbooks tied in to the PBS series, "Environmental Science," by Miller which one can buy used and cheap. I gained security from having it to review, but one doesn't need it. It's padded and redundant but has lots of full color illustrations and diagrams. Stick to the study guide which I also reviewed. But I didn't need it, and only studied the Awesome Guide for the AP exam.

Finally, there now is a Barron's "How to Prepare for the AP Environmental Science Exam" by Gary S. Thorpe; I haven't seen it, so I can't evaluate it. I only know that they are generally reliable, and you may find this a better investment of time and money if you don't have previous reading in the subjes as I have.

Lastly, for DANTES Physical Geology, I'm reading "Geology: A Self-Teaching Guide" by Barbara W. Murck. It's recent (2001), came out in one of my favorite John Wiley & Sons book series (STG), It covers all the topics you need to know about in 12 chapters, each with a quize, list of technical terms and 3 additiona appendicies.

And for extensive illustrative and terminological reference I bought "The Field Guide To Geology: David Lambert (and the Diagram Group). This has been around since the 80s, and is in different editions, but seems unaltered, and thus any edition will satisfy!

GOOD LUCK to you!

--Orson

 

I took the Environment and Humanity: The Race to Save the Planet test without any study and passed with a 49, that is a "C" according to COSC. The test is each and a "C" can easily be earned without effort.

 

I agree, but...

I agree--it's one of the easier DANTES--or easy to middling difficulty. Not as hard as Contemporary Europe, but also not as easy as "Here's To Your Health," or the one on Human and Cultural Geography, or "Intro To Business"--the pass rates reported above fit this estimate.

Then again, I read newspapers, magazines, science periodicals, and books on biology and the environment. Would "Enviroment and Humanity" be "easy" for those who don't? (I'm not sure....)

--Orson
PS In my experience, the reported "pass rates" do reflect general level of difficulty. (The lone exception for myself was World Religions, which I found more challenging than anticipated.)