CLEP Calculus

[Shadowteer]

I passed the Calc test yesterday with a 58, and this forum was very helpful throughout my studies. In the spirit of keeping things going for future users, here's my take:

First, as everyone else says, get the REA practice tests. I didn't get the book (as others have noted typos) but the tests were invaluable, and only cost $10. As others will also say, the REA test is harder than the actual exam. If you can understand the REA material then you'll be in good shape for the real deal. To give you some perspective, I had almost identical practice test scores and real test scores to gatetwelve who posted back in 2014. I scored a 45% on the second REA practice test two days before my real exam, and a 58 on the real exam (of course, studying what I missed in between surely helped as well).

My original introduction to calculus was the 3rd edition of Hughes-Hallett's 'Applied Calculus'. I read and worked my way through the first seven chapters, which covers functions, introduces limits, and goes into good depth, application of, and practice with differentiation and integration. This is a great book that was readily digestible for me, and my prep for it was having taken college algebra in college (though many years prior). Now, not everything on the CLEP test (or a proper Calculus class) is covered in this text - I had to turn to other resources for deeper coverage on limits (e.g., L'Hospital's rule) and trigonometric identities. But, if you are looking for a good place to start, Applied Calculus is great.

I also used the College Board's practice test, and (as mentioned above) the REA practice tests. I spent about two weeks for many hours each day running through practice questions, reviewing any I missed, and then re-working them a day or two later. Passing this test is totally possible, as others on the form have shared. Just make sure to have a good text book to learn from, and then spend a solid chunk of time with the College Board's and REA's materials to familiarize yourself with the style of questions you will be answering. Good luck!