I decided to take this test after looking at the CLEP American Gov't and figuring that I was better off taking a test that (1) appeared easier, and (2) would give me a grade. Well, I suspect it was easier--and it did give me a grade, but this test was second only to the DSST Statistics in terms of unpredictability of outcome.

I did more outright guessing on Statistics than on any other exam I took and took the entire two hours and got a 60. I took less than an hour on Criminal Justice, knew the answer to as many, if not more of the questions than on any other test I took (only 5 outright guesses) and I got....a 57!

I saw that score and I was excited I passed and stunned the score was in the 50's. I hadn't even looked to see where the the EC cut-offs were for scoring an A, B or C. I was happy it was over and that I passed, but I would have been a bit bummed if I scored a B--since I knew I must've been within a point or two of an A.

I got in the car and looked at my trusty EC assessment guide and saw that the cut-off for an A was.......56! JEEZ!!

That was a little TOO close for comfort. I would LOVE to see what my actual score (out of the 90 questions) was. I expected my scaled score would have at least been in the mid-60's.

If I cared more, I'd ask them to hand-grade to see what that looked like. I don't know exactly what happened. Maybe I lost the bet on all the questions I narrowed down to two (30 of them). I'm usually more fortunate, I think, but since we never see the results, who knows? Maybe I didn't really know the answer to the 55 I thought I knew. Maybe I fell victim to every almost correct but not the best answer. Maybe so many folks do well that you have to get 80% or better correct to start scoring in the 60's.

I'll never know and after I stop typing, I won't think about it again.

I used only InstantCert and the Specific Exam Feedback to prepare (and the five questions in the DSST Fact Sheet—at least one which was on the exam!). There was not a lot of specific feedback on this exam in the "Specific Exam Feedback" section, but what was there was helpful and accurate.

Here are some of the concepts you should know well:

• Know all of the important court decisions (Mapp vs. Ohio, Gideon vs. Wainwright, Powell vs. Alabama, etc.) There were at least four to six questions on those and you had to know them cold. InstantCert had all but one.
  
• Know what makes police departments unique amongst large organizations.
  
• Know as much as you can about trends (Crime—growing? Slowing? A lot? A little? Why?) (Prisons—growing? Shrinking? A lot? A little? Why?) (Police—Popular? Diversifying?) I don’t know where exactly you get this kind of data—hurt me a little in HG&D too—but if you can find a source, use it.
  
• Parole vs. Probation – many questions required distinguishing and understanding the differences between the two in a variety of scenarios—front-end and back-end
  
• Know what the UCR is and what is and what is not a Part I crime.
  
• Know all of the Latin words (mens rea, etc.)
  
• Know the history of the police department and the main players in it’s development. Make sure you remember at least the centuries in which they occurred. The test requires you to know that cold.
  
• Know the various forms of juvenile deviance.
  
• Know where the “firsts” were (police dept., juvenile hall, etc.)
  
• Know what happens at arraignment based on what the plea (or lack thereof) is.

InstantCert was really on point for this exam. Supplemental sources, particularly for recent trends and a little more UCR, may be able to get you a few extra correct answers.

Hope that helps.

I scheduled DSST and ECE Ethics for next Wednesday. After this result, I may have bit off a little too much so I better get crackin'.

__________________
Michael

CLEP - ISCA 68, Sociology 72, Psych 73, A&I Lit 61, HG&D 65, Ed Psych 70, Marketing 72, Management 69, Macroeconomics 63, Microeconomics 67
DSST - Intro to Comp 66, MIS 61, Supervision 67, Counseling 58 - no study!, Personal Finance 67, Statistics 60, Criminal Justice 57, Ethics 58, Finance 63 (All A's at EC)
COC - 2007 (Community College) - Acctg I&II 10c, Work/Study 4c, Intro to Research (Info Lit req) 1c, Society and Rock & Roll 3c, Fund of Music 3c, Guitar I & II - 4c, Bass Guitar I - 2c
ECE - Ethics (A), HRM (B), Organizational Behavior (B) | CSU - Operations Mgmt. (A) | TECEP - Business Policy 80 (CR)

My Excelsior Degree Journey

Bachelor of Science in General Business, cum laude
Excelsior College

Congratulations and thank you for the feedback! I am taking Criminal Justice and Intro to Law Enforcement for my next (and last) two exams. I have been studying IC like crazy for both, as I am scheduled to take them next month.

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Machelle

HG&D - 62
Ed. Psych - 57
Humanities - 59
A&I Literature - 59
Here's To Your Health - 59
Fund. of Counseling - 49
Criminal Justice - 55
Intro to Law Enforcement - 51

Good luck! FYI, I put some more feedback in the Specific Exam Feedback section for your viewing pleasure.

__________________
Michael

CLEP - ISCA 68, Sociology 72, Psych 73, A&I Lit 61, HG&D 65, Ed Psych 70, Marketing 72, Management 69, Macroeconomics 63, Microeconomics 67
DSST - Intro to Comp 66, MIS 61, Supervision 67, Counseling 58 - no study!, Personal Finance 67, Statistics 60, Criminal Justice 57, Ethics 58, Finance 63 (All A's at EC)
COC - 2007 (Community College) - Acctg I&II 10c, Work/Study 4c, Intro to Research (Info Lit req) 1c, Society and Rock & Roll 3c, Fund of Music 3c, Guitar I & II - 4c, Bass Guitar I - 2c
ECE - Ethics (A), HRM (B), Organizational Behavior (B) | CSU - Operations Mgmt. (A) | TECEP - Business Policy 80 (CR)

My Excelsior Degree Journey

Bachelor of Science in General Business, cum laude
Excelsior College

Congrats and nice feedback!

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Steve, Webmaster