American govt CLEP

[Shark101]

I'm studying for the American govt clep exam and I'm using the american government cliff notes book as a supplement. Has anyone here just used just instantcert to pass this exam? Thanks

[sirjake]

Yes. I used nothing but InstantCert and got what to me was a disappointing 59. Of course, it's impossible to judge prior knowledge that might have come into the equation, but InstantCert was the only material I used immediately before the test.

[Shark101]

Yes. I used nothing but InstantCert and got what to me was a disappointing 59. Of course, it's impossible to judge prior knowledge that might have come into the equation, but InstantCert was the only material I used immediately before the test.

From what people say this is a hard test to get a high score on. How long did you study for this exam?

[sirjake]

I went through old blog posts last night to see what I got. I had taken Western Civ II and Social Sciences on a Friday afternoon, and American Gov. on Monday. I don't study on Sundays ("six days shall you labor and do all of your work..."), so I basically spent parts of Friday afternoon, Saturday, and the morning of Monday studying for American Government. I'd guess 8-12 hours total.

Naturally, if I had spent more than the probably 8-12 hours that I did study for it, I would have done better, but I was only shooting for a passing score.

[sunhazel2]

I went through old blog posts last night to see what I got. I had taken Western Civ II and Social Sciences on a Friday afternoon, and American Gov. on Monday. I don't study on Sundays ("six days shall you labor and do all of your work..."), so I basically spent parts of Friday afternoon, Saturday, and the morning of Monday studying for American Government. I'd guess 8-12 hours total.

Naturally, if I had spent more than the probably 8-12 hours that I did study for it, I would have done better, but I was only shooting for a passing score.

I am hoping test out of American Government - I am a bit worried...I feel pretty confident in the material on InstantCert - but I am fearful that the questions will be structured in a way that will confuse me (recovering from a head injury) because my thinking gets distorted if the information is presented differently. Any feedback is appreciated - I was planning on taking the Clep on this tomorrow, but I only have one shot at it and am afraid, especially after having just previewed some online test materials in which I did not do very well-the questions and answers are confusing - the websites I am speaking of are as follows: AMERICAN GOVERNMENT SAMPLE QUESTIONS and http://www.college.hmco.com/polisci/wils...e/students.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[PeteDude]

I wouldn't worry too much. There are some challenging spots on that exam, but with a little reading and some test prep you should be able to pass.

[sunhazel2]

Do you recall if there are any answers such as , a) I and II, b) I, II, and IV, etc.?

[PeteDude]

Do you recall if there are any answers such as , a) I and II, b) I, II, and IV, etc.?

Yes, vaguely-- on the survey-related questions.

[evelle]

I just took the American Gov. last weekend...using only IC and Petersons got a 58!!

Knowing all of the IC questions was helpful, but memorizing the questions on the 3 practice petersons test was BY FAR the most important thing i did to pass..

make sure you have a general knowledge of what each of the court cases dealt with, and what each of the constitutional amendments deal with.
Also, know a lot about the organization of committees and relationships and powers that the house and the senate have.

I can say that after taking the test, i felt like i really overstudied for it..based on how hard everyone said it was. It isn't *that* bad, but you really need to put the memorization work in to get a good score.

[snazzlefrag]

I just took the American Gov. last weekend...using only IC and Petersons got a 58!!

...

I can say that after taking the test, i felt like i really overstudied for it.

Evelle,

Since a passing score on this exam is 50, and you scored a 58, I would suggest that you didn't really overstudy at all. Eight points above the passing score is not bad, but you didn't end up with very much room for comfort. Had you studied any less, it is HIGHLY possible you would have missed a few more questions. With any exam that is based on a scaled score, missing a few extra questions could have meant the difference between a 58 (pass) and a 49 (fail).

With that in mind, I think you actually studied just about the right amount to get the passing score you did.

Congratulations,
Snazzlefrag