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      #1 (permalink)  
    Old 05-22-2006, 01:31 AM
    ShotoJuku's Avatar
    ShotoJuku ShotoJuku is offline
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    Default CLEP Algebra -vs- DANTES Algebra

    I'm in the midst of my second quest to complete just 2 credits for "quantitative reasoning" and am considering either the CLEP or DANTES Algebra exams.

    Does anyone have any personal experience with either of these and recommendations as to which one to lean towards first?

    THANKS!!
    __________________
    Brian R. Fey Sr.
    Psy.D - (Very Nearly and Insanely Enrolled)
    M.S. - Psychology
    B.S. - Criminal Justice
    A.S. - Administrative Management


    Shoto-Advice:
    "EC"
    "CCU"
    "Prayer"
    "A Pass is a Pass"
    "Slow and Steady - Wins the Race"
    “Sometimes The Easy Way Is Not Always The Best Way”
    "Passing a Petersons = Conquering a CLEP -or- Defeating a DSST"
    "The 5 R's of Study: Repetition - Re-Enforces - Recognition - Recall - Retention"
    "Always be Ready to Release Your Mind & Incorporate the Advice of Others into Your Plans."
    "Studying is much like Boiling Water, if it is not Heated Constantly it will Once Again Become Cold Water."

    Other Sources of CLEP & DSST Study Material
    REA Books, Comex Books, Pass Your Class Guides, Standard Deviants DVD's, Petersons Practice Exams, Dummies Books, Idiot's Guides .
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      #2 (permalink)  
    Old 05-22-2006, 02:23 PM
    snazzlefrag snazzlefrag is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ShotoJuku
    I'm in the midst of my second quest to complete just 2 credits for "quantitative reasoning" and am considering either the CLEP or DANTES Algebra exams.

    Does anyone have any personal experience with either of these and recommendations as to which one to lean towards first?

    THANKS!!

    ShotoJuku,

    I haven't taken either of these exams. However, if I were in your situation, I would go for DANTES Fundamentals of College Algebra. Here's why:

    1. It is a lower level of Algebra than the CLEP.
    2. It is not timed (ie, nowhere near as much pressure).
    3. You can use your OWN calculator.
    4. It fulfills Excelsior's Quantitative Requirements.

    The only downside I can see, is that you wouldn't receive your score immediately. But somebody in another thread just mentioned that you can pay DANTES an additional fee to expedite your scores (within a few days).

    This would be my number one choice between the two.

    I would also recommend that you at least consider the DANTES Statistics exam. It fulfills the Excelsior quantitative requirement, but is much more concept based than math based. As I have said elsewhere, I took care of learning the concepts as best I could, and my Texas Instruments BAII+ ($30) took care of the math for me. Math is TOTALLY not my thing, but I studied hard for this exam and was able to do very well.

    Anyway, the option is there for you if you need it,
    Snazzlefrag
    __________________
    My name is Rob
    So far, I have earned 139 credits (12 not used).

    Excelsior College
    - BS Psychology (15 credits - 5 courses/exams to go)
    - BS Business (9 credits - 3 courses/exams to go)
    ____________
    Upcoming: An UL business course of some kind.
    In-progress: ENG100 English Comp (PFC)
    Most Recently Completed: Tech Math I at PFC.
    Exams/Courses Passed To Date (42):
    - Courses (3): 1 ECE, 1 CSU, 1 PFC.
    - Exams (39): 24 DANTES, 15 CLEP.

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      #3 (permalink)  
    Old 05-22-2006, 03:48 PM
    upgray upgray is offline
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    I took the college algebra CLEP using the REA test prep book. It was a pretty serious exam. I used the REA book and got help from my smart wife. I guessed on all the graph identification questions (don't neglect studying the graph sections like i did) and scored in the mid 60's. The pass rates look nearly the same for the dantes and clep exams. It took some really committed studying, but it is not unrealistic. If it is easier to "teach yourself" statistics instead of algebra, maybe that's the way to go if they both count for what you need. The statistics exam is on my list; is it easy enough to do with instantcert? I was planning on using the idiot's guide and IC for it.

    Last edited by upgray : 05-22-2006 at 03:56 PM.
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      #4 (permalink)  
    Old 05-22-2006, 04:07 PM
    snazzlefrag snazzlefrag is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by upgray
    I took the college algebra CLEP using the REA test prep book. It was a pretty serious exam. I used the REA book and got help from my smart wife. I guessed on all the graph identification questions (don't neglect studying the graph sections like i did) and scored in the mid 60's. The pass rates look nearly the same for the dantes and clep exams. It took some really committed studying, but it is not unrealistic. If it is easier to "teach yourself" statistics instead of algebra, maybe that's the way to go if they both count for what you need. The statistics exam is on my list; is it easy enough to do with instantcert? I was planning on using the idiot's guide and IC for it.

    Upgray,

    Instantcert will provide you with all the concepts you will need. But you may also need to do some additional study in order to really grasp any concepts you are still unsure about.

    Here are a few links (I didn't use all of these....just pick and choose as needed to solidify the concepts in your mind).

    Online Study Guides:

    http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/

    http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguide...s/contents.asp

    http://www.sysurvey.com/tips/statistics/contents.htm

    http://estumpf.home.mindspring.com/M...tNotesMap.html

    http://www.quickmba.com/stats/

    http://sofia.fhda.edu/gallery/statistics/lessons.html


    Online Glossary of Terms:

    http://www.stats.gla.ac.uk/steps/glossary/alphabet.html


    Online Videos:

    http://www.learner.org/cgi-bin/swish-resource.cgi?si=0&query=Statistics&Submit=Search&m etaname=swishdefault


    Online Quizzes: (use the drop down to navigate)

    http://college.hmco.com/mathematics/...ite_index.html

    Hope this helps,
    Snazzlefrag
    __________________
    My name is Rob
    So far, I have earned 139 credits (12 not used).

    Excelsior College
    - BS Psychology (15 credits - 5 courses/exams to go)
    - BS Business (9 credits - 3 courses/exams to go)
    ____________
    Upcoming: An UL business course of some kind.
    In-progress: ENG100 English Comp (PFC)
    Most Recently Completed: Tech Math I at PFC.
    Exams/Courses Passed To Date (42):
    - Courses (3): 1 ECE, 1 CSU, 1 PFC.
    - Exams (39): 24 DANTES, 15 CLEP.

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      #5 (permalink)  
    Old 05-23-2006, 02:48 AM
    ShotoJuku's Avatar
    ShotoJuku ShotoJuku is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by snazzlefrag
    ShotoJuku,

    I haven't taken either of these exams. However, if I were in your situation, I would go for DANTES Fundamentals of College Algebra. Here's why:

    1. It is a lower level of Algebra than the CLEP.
    2. It is not timed (ie, nowhere near as much pressure).
    3. You can use your OWN calculator.
    4. It fulfills Excelsior's Quantitative Requirements.

    The only downside I can see, is that you wouldn't receive your score immediately. But somebody in another thread just mentioned that you can pay DANTES an additional fee to expedite your scores (within a few days).

    This would be my number one choice between the two.

    I would also recommend that you at least consider the DANTES Statistics exam. It fulfills the Excelsior quantitative requirement, but is much more concept based than math based. As I have said elsewhere, I took care of learning the concepts as best I could, and my Texas Instruments BAII+ ($30) took care of the math for me. Math is TOTALLY not my thing, but I studied hard for this exam and was able to do very well.

    Anyway, the option is there for you if you need it,
    Snazzlefrag


    Hey Rob - Thanks for the reply!

    I think that's the way I'll go this time, particularly as it looks as though the DANTES exam is based on "fundamentals" rather than and intermediate level that the CLEP exam looks like.

    At this point, time is no longer an issue and although I'll hate to play the DANTES waiting game the passing score for DANTES is a 47 compared to CLEP's 50 so it may very well worth the wait.

    Thanks for the suggestion!!!


    Quick Follow-up question: How many questions on the DANTES exam?? Didn't see it on their website.
    __________________
    Brian R. Fey Sr.
    Psy.D - (Very Nearly and Insanely Enrolled)
    M.S. - Psychology
    B.S. - Criminal Justice
    A.S. - Administrative Management


    Shoto-Advice:
    "EC"
    "CCU"
    "Prayer"
    "A Pass is a Pass"
    "Slow and Steady - Wins the Race"
    “Sometimes The Easy Way Is Not Always The Best Way”
    "Passing a Petersons = Conquering a CLEP -or- Defeating a DSST"
    "The 5 R's of Study: Repetition - Re-Enforces - Recognition - Recall - Retention"
    "Always be Ready to Release Your Mind & Incorporate the Advice of Others into Your Plans."
    "Studying is much like Boiling Water, if it is not Heated Constantly it will Once Again Become Cold Water."

    Other Sources of CLEP & DSST Study Material
    REA Books, Comex Books, Pass Your Class Guides, Standard Deviants DVD's, Petersons Practice Exams, Dummies Books, Idiot's Guides .

    Last edited by ShotoJuku : 05-23-2006 at 05:09 AM.
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      #6 (permalink)  
    Old 05-23-2006, 08:07 AM
    snazzlefrag snazzlefrag is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ShotoJuku
    Quick Follow-up question: How many questions on the DANTES exam?? Didn't see it on their website.

    Brian,

    According to their Technical Data Sheet, there are two versions of the exam. One has 78 questions, the other has 79:

    (http://www.getcollegecredit.com/pdfs..._SHEET0204.pdf)

    I know at first glance this might seem like a bit of a negative (compared to only 60 questions on the CLEP), but the more questions there are, the less any SINGLE answer is worth. This might actually help you since any question you get wrong will have slightly less of an impact on your overall score.
    __________________
    My name is Rob
    So far, I have earned 139 credits (12 not used).

    Excelsior College
    - BS Psychology (15 credits - 5 courses/exams to go)
    - BS Business (9 credits - 3 courses/exams to go)
    ____________
    Upcoming: An UL business course of some kind.
    In-progress: ENG100 English Comp (PFC)
    Most Recently Completed: Tech Math I at PFC.
    Exams/Courses Passed To Date (42):
    - Courses (3): 1 ECE, 1 CSU, 1 PFC.
    - Exams (39): 24 DANTES, 15 CLEP.

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      #7 (permalink)  
    Old 05-23-2006, 05:29 PM
    ShotoJuku's Avatar
    ShotoJuku ShotoJuku is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by snazzlefrag
    Brian,

    According to their Technical Data Sheet, there are two versions of the exam. One has 78 questions, the other has 79:

    (http://www.getcollegecredit.com/pdfs..._SHEET0204.pdf)

    I know at first glance this might seem like a bit of a negative (compared to only 60 questions on the CLEP), but the more questions there are, the less any SINGLE answer is worth. This might actually help you since any question you get wrong will have slightly less of an impact on your overall score.

    Either way, it's the path I've got to travel now and I hope it's a wide road leaving plenty of room to swerve -
    __________________
    Brian R. Fey Sr.
    Psy.D - (Very Nearly and Insanely Enrolled)
    M.S. - Psychology
    B.S. - Criminal Justice
    A.S. - Administrative Management


    Shoto-Advice:
    "EC"
    "CCU"
    "Prayer"
    "A Pass is a Pass"
    "Slow and Steady - Wins the Race"
    “Sometimes The Easy Way Is Not Always The Best Way”
    "Passing a Petersons = Conquering a CLEP -or- Defeating a DSST"
    "The 5 R's of Study: Repetition - Re-Enforces - Recognition - Recall - Retention"
    "Always be Ready to Release Your Mind & Incorporate the Advice of Others into Your Plans."
    "Studying is much like Boiling Water, if it is not Heated Constantly it will Once Again Become Cold Water."

    Other Sources of CLEP & DSST Study Material
    REA Books, Comex Books, Pass Your Class Guides, Standard Deviants DVD's, Petersons Practice Exams, Dummies Books, Idiot's Guides .
    Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
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      #8 (permalink)  
    Old 06-09-2006, 10:59 PM
    camillumi camillumi is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ShotoJuku
    I'm in the midst of my second quest to complete just 2 credits for "quantitative reasoning" and am considering either the CLEP or DANTES Algebra exams.

    Does anyone have any personal experience with either of these and recommendations as to which one to lean towards first?

    THANKS!!
    Brian-When I read your thread re: Dantes vs. Clep College Algebra, I was relieved. I first used the Dantes guidelines to study. I then switched to the Clep printout thinking they were the same. If it is true that Excelsior accepts the Dantes exam, I am confident that this would be my hands down first choice. It appears far more passable than the Clep. I could be wrong, of course, but reading about Lynda's experience this week was very informative. Was it you who mentioned that Excelsior College accepts the Dantes as well???? I hope this is the case!!! Thanks! Camillumi
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      #9 (permalink)  
    Old 06-10-2006, 12:25 AM
    snazzlefrag snazzlefrag is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camillumi
    Brian-When I read your thread re: Dantes vs. Clep College Algebra, I was relieved. I first used the Dantes guidelines to study. I then switched to the Clep printout thinking they were the same. If it is true that Excelsior accepts the Dantes exam, I am confident that this would be my hands down first choice. It appears far more passable than the Clep. I could be wrong, of course, but reading about Lynda's experience this week was very informative. Was it you who mentioned that Excelsior College accepts the Dantes as well???? I hope this is the case!!! Thanks! Camillumi

    Camillumi,

    Just to be clear....

    If you are doing a Business degree at Excelsior, you MUST pass the CLEP version of Algebra ("College Algebra").

    But if you are doing a Liberal Arts degree, Excelsior will accept the DANTES Algebra ("Fundamentals of College Algebra").

    DANTES Principles of Statistics will also fulfill the quantitative requirement for any Liberal Arts degree (ie, non-business). This is the path I would HIGHLY recommend for anyone who struggles with Algebra....providing you aren't going for a Business degree.

    If you are in any doubt as to which exam you are required to take, you should contact Excelsior. That way you won't waste any time or money doing an exam that you later find out won't meet your requirements.

    Hope that helps,
    Snazzlefrag
    __________________
    My name is Rob
    So far, I have earned 139 credits (12 not used).

    Excelsior College
    - BS Psychology (15 credits - 5 courses/exams to go)
    - BS Business (9 credits - 3 courses/exams to go)
    ____________
    Upcoming: An UL business course of some kind.
    In-progress: ENG100 English Comp (PFC)
    Most Recently Completed: Tech Math I at PFC.
    Exams/Courses Passed To Date (42):
    - Courses (3): 1 ECE, 1 CSU, 1 PFC.
    - Exams (39): 24 DANTES, 15 CLEP.

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      #10 (permalink)  
    Old 06-10-2006, 07:21 AM
    ShotoJuku's Avatar
    ShotoJuku ShotoJuku is offline
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    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camillumi
    Brian-When I read your thread re: Dantes vs. Clep College Algebra, I was relieved. I first used the Dantes guidelines to study. I then switched to the Clep printout thinking they were the same. If it is true that Excelsior accepts the Dantes exam, I am confident that this would be my hands down first choice. It appears far more passable than the Clep. I could be wrong, of course, but reading about Lynda's experience this week was very informative. Was it you who mentioned that Excelsior College accepts the Dantes as well???? I hope this is the case!!! Thanks! Camillumi


    Like Snazzlefrag said, different degree options have different requirements. When in doubt - ask your EC Advisor for recommendations and/or approvals BEFORE spinning your wheels. GOOD LUCK!!

    PS: Check out "Algebra Blues" thread too.
    __________________
    Brian R. Fey Sr.
    Psy.D - (Very Nearly and Insanely Enrolled)
    M.S. - Psychology
    B.S. - Criminal Justice
    A.S. - Administrative Management


    Shoto-Advice:
    "EC"
    "CCU"
    "Prayer"
    "A Pass is a Pass"
    "Slow and Steady - Wins the Race"
    “Sometimes The Easy Way Is Not Always The Best Way”
    "Passing a Petersons = Conquering a CLEP -or- Defeating a DSST"
    "The 5 R's of Study: Repetition - Re-Enforces - Recognition - Recall - Retention"
    "Always be Ready to Release Your Mind & Incorporate the Advice of Others into Your Plans."
    "Studying is much like Boiling Water, if it is not Heated Constantly it will Once Again Become Cold Water."

    Other Sources of CLEP & DSST Study Material
    REA Books, Comex Books, Pass Your Class Guides, Standard Deviants DVD's, Petersons Practice Exams, Dummies Books, Idiot's Guides .

    Last edited by ShotoJuku : 06-10-2006 at 07:25 AM.
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