Why have I failed two tests

[jm82792]

IC seems to do well for History from my experience.
REA is quality and is the primary body of my study.
IC helps with associations and I'm going to use it for Western Civ 2 because my scores went down without IC and just REA.

[ShotoJuku]

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Shoto-Advice:

:iagree:

[SIZE="3"]"[/SIZE]EC[SIZE="3"]"[/SIZE]
"CCU"
"Prayer"
"A Pass is a Pass"
"Slow and Steady - Wins the Race"
[B][I]“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"[/B][/I]
"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
[SIZE="3"]REA Books, Comex Books, Pass Your Class Guides, Standard Deviants DVD's, Petersons Practice Exams, [COLOR="Gold"]Dummies Books, Idiot's Guides [/COLOR]. [/SIZE]

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[SIZE="3"]Study Time: How I Did It…[/SIZE]

Pre-Study-Prep: Obtain or set up whatever materials I will need to study (IC Flashcards, REA Books, Standard Deviants Videos, Pass-Your-Class Guides, and Petersons Practice Exams.

Week One: Begin to read books, review flashcards, watch videos. Call your test center and make an appointment in advance as they sometimes require a few weeks advance notice)

Week Two: Re-read books, review flashcards, watch videos Take 1-2 practice exams

Week Three: Continue to review all materials, take additional/final practice exams. You should be passing these with room to spare. Take real exam at end of the week and PASS.

Note you should have at this point already acquired pre-study-prep materials for your next exam so as not to waste time.[/COLOR]

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[Maniac Craniac]

Other free resources: Free Clep Prep.com Apple - iTunes U - Learn anything, anywhere, anytime. Free-Ed.Net

My advice is to look at the exam content guide (or whatever CLEP and DSST call them), and use it to make an outline (or mindmap, cornell notes, etc., whatever works for you) based on information you find from your various sources.

This works very well for me. I don't know how other people's memory works, but I tend to remember how the information looks on the textbook pages, rather than the individual facts themselves. Putting things into an outline gives me a more organized and simplified image to try to pull up in my head. If this is how you remember things (and how most people do :confused as well, then this should be your study method.

[DutchMom]

Don't feel too bad. I took the Here's To Your Health test cold last May and failed it by 30 points with a score of 370. This was before I knew about InstantCert. I just recently took this test again and passed it with a 408 using only IC. And I could not have done it without IC. Most of the Here's To Your Health is common sense, but there are a few terms that you have to study for and IC helps you do that. For this test I also used the Internet website for the Discovery Channel. There is some good information on there about sex and the human body which really helped me to understand a few things I didn't know about, (and I'm not ashamed to admit that, either!) I also failed the Fundamentals Of Counseling test by 1 point, yes I said 1 point! (47/48) The Fundamentals Of Counseling I studied with InstantCert, but I don't blame IC because I wouldn't have done that well without IC. I didn't study enough or take the time to really blow it out of the water, so to speak. Which is what I should have done in the first place. I also failed the Substance Abuse test by 5 points back in September, this was before I knew about IC. And I did study for this one for 2 months using another source. I'm scheduled to take that test again in April because you can take it over again if you fail it, only after a six months waiting period. So, you are not alone in your quest! I would definitely use other sources than IC, although for $20.00 a month this has been the best source of info for these tests that I've found so far. You still need to supplement your sources. I like the History & the Discovery Channel websites. Those have a wealth of knowledge! Good Luck! And remember, you are not alone! We'll get through this together!

DutchMom

[STG]

DutchMom you're my hero lol...after I failed my first test I took, I was so upset I didn't take another test till a year later.

[Popcorn]

You walked in the door with enough confidence in yourself to take a College Level Test. THAT is an Accomplishment many never achieve!

These are College Level Credit Tests!!!!!!!

This is not Easy, no matter how many posts say "I got an A with no studying".
Personally, I don't believe those, because if it sounds too good to be true, then it might not be true.
IMHO, Take those posts with a "Grain of Salt". I learned that the hard way. However, something has also inspired you and me (here).

You may have learned more about yourself, and what you have decided to do For your Life, to Change your Life. That is an amazing thing about humans. We are willing to Try, Grow, Learn, Try Harder, Grow More. Our Spirit determines and changes our lives!

Your Desire is Evident. Now, you need Enough information to balance your desires. Shake it off.

[FinancialWorld]

I totally agree Popcorn. Just because the people said they took the test without studying didn't mean they had no prior knowledge. They may already know a great deal about the subject or have recently studied the subject (or they are just really smart). I've never taken a test cold (maybe I should =) ). Just do what works for you. Everyone is different.

[ryoder]

I also used speedy prep.com for my first few tests along with the REA books. Instantcert has many more subjects covered but the material on speedy prep helped me pass macro,micro,management,marketing and psychology.

[creative]

These are College Level Credit Tests!!!!!!!

This is not Easy, no matter how many posts say "I got an A with no studying".

I totally agree Popcorn!! I think the posts that say "I got an A without studying" are an exception to the rule, not the norm. I think those posts are VERY misleading to many newbies to this forum. I remember when I first read those posts and thought-- wow, I can have my bachelors wrapped up in a few weeks--- NO WAY-- once I took my first test I knew it was not going to be easy. I do believe there are people who don't study and pull off an A.... however, we don't know all the variables behind it-- maybe they have experience in this area, maybe they recently took other tests that overlap the material, maybe they recently had this material in high school, maybe they have photographic memory. Who knows. But I venture to say that the vast majority of people on here are regular students that need to do it the "old fashioned way" and that requires putting in the work to study etc. It takes awhile to find your "style" of studying and how to set up a routine that works for you. After a few tests, I had a system that worked for me. I just want to encourage the OP to hang in there!! You haven't done anything "wrong". A lot of great tips in this thread!!

[Keishabj1]

Thank you DutchMom and thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice. We all will get through this!