REA Guides have long been the gold standard for CLEP test prep. Did you know about the hidden gem on their website?
Continue reading “CLEP ProTip: Using Your REA Online Account”Author: Jenny Bergren
Steps to CLEP Home Proctoring
Last fall, I took a CLEP from home and wrote a review on how it went. Since then, my daughter has taken three CLEPs from home. Do we love the convenience? Yes! Have there been issues. A few. Today I will share the steps you can follow to take a CLEP at home for FREE!
Continue reading “Steps to CLEP Home Proctoring”Pro Tip: Ask for the Written Policy
“Don’t take any more CLEP exams. You’re wasting time and money.” That’s the shocking advice that my daughter recently received from her academic advisor at the local community college. What would make her say that?! Read on.
Continue reading “Pro Tip: Ask for the Written Policy”Take a CLEP at Home – A Review
The ability to take a CLEP at home is a great NEW advantage to many in our community. No more scheduling with an outside testing center and driving there. Now you can take one in your own home! Recently, I took a CLEP myself just to see how smooth the process is. I’ll share my experience and a few tips at the end.
Continue reading “Take a CLEP at Home – A Review”CLEP in Your Homeschool: 12 Steps for the Beginner
One of the best ways for your teen to earn college credit in high school is to incorporate CLEP exams into your planning. If you’re nervous about getting started, these 12 steps will get you up and running.
Continue reading “CLEP in Your Homeschool: 12 Steps for the Beginner”Take a CLEP for free!
Taking a CLEP Exam Using Modern States –
STEP by STEP instructions
The Hardest CLEP Ever…..or not
The Humanities CLEP has a reputation for being one of the hardest CLEP exams. It is, after all, an extremely broad test covering literature, poetry, art, architecture, philosophy, and music that spans over two centuries. That is a lot of material to cover! (A description of the exam is located at the end of this post.) Continue reading “The Hardest CLEP Ever…..or not”
CLEP Marketing
The Marketing exam is a great first CLEP for your teen. It is considered one of the easier CLEP tests. The content is manageable in a semester and is a great 1/2 credit elective for high school students that can yield three college credits.
If you want simple, select a textbook and simply have your teen read it. That will cover the curriculum. I found Glencoe Marketing Essentials to cover the majority of the topics on the CLEP test. Older books are easy to obtain inexpensively. Continue reading “CLEP Marketing”
THE 1st CLEP
The first CLEP exam is always nerve-wracking. You just don’t know what you don’t know! Below are a few tips to help you feel more prepared. Continue reading “THE 1st CLEP”
2019 Membership Survey Results
Thank you for participating in our membership survey earlier this year. I’m thrilled to share the results with you. Special thanks to Jenny Bergren (MN) for creating this awesome infographic!! -Jennifer Cook-DeRosa Continue reading “2019 Membership Survey Results”
Take a CLEP for free!
Taking a CLEP Exam Using Modern States –
STEP by STEP instructions
Continue reading “Take a CLEP for free!”Thomas Edison State University
Homeschooling for College Credit at Thomas Edison State University (NJ) Continue reading “Thomas Edison State University”
DSST Math for the Liberal Arts vs. CLEP College Mathematics
What is the difference between the DSST Math for the Liberal Arts and CLEP College Mathematics exam?
~a question asked by MANY homeschool moms
Exam Information
Continue reading “DSST Math for the Liberal Arts vs. CLEP College Mathematics”
Resource for DSST Math for the Liberal Arts
A very common question that parents ask is, “What should we use to study for the CLEP or DSST test?” A great way to find resources is to go directly to the source – the CLEP and DSST websites. That is exactly what I did to find the following resource for the DSST Math for the Liberal Arts test. This is a new test that came out January 2017 so there are no “tried and true” resources recommended by others. In fact, I couldn’t find any recommendations which propelled a search of my own.
A search of the DSST website led me to their Exam Facts Sheets. One of the resources listed on the DSST Math for the Liberal Arts Exam Sheet is Thinking Mathematically, Sixth Edition. The sixth edition (2014) of this book costs over $200 on Amazon. However, the fifth edition (2011) costs less than $10.
OLDER TEXTBOOK EDITIONS
You do not need the most current edition of textbooks. Older editions have much of the same content with generally only minor updates. You will also find more free resources available on the internet with older editions. Search for lectures on YouTube using the textbook title.
Thinking Mathematically, Fifth Edition
Robert Blitzer
ISBN 978-0-321-64585-2
How the Book is Organized
Each chapter is divided into several sections. Each section contains Examples (problems with solutions) and Checkpoints (problems for the student to work out). Answers to all Checkpoints are found in the back of the book. Additionally, there is an inexpensive DVD-Rom available with videos showing the solutions (more on that later).
At the end of each section is an Exercise Set that contains the following:
- Practice Exercises
- Practice Plus (additional practice)
- Application Exercises (word problems)
- Writing in Mathematics (essay questions)
- Critical Thinking Exercises
- Technology Exercises (not in every chapter, using a calculator, etc)
- Group Exercises
The answers for all of the odd problems in the Exercise Set are located in the back of the book.
At the end of each chapter is a Chapter Summary, Review, and Test. Answers to all review questions are in the back of the book. Answers and step-by-step solutions for the tests are found on the Blitzer ThinkingMathematically youtube channel.
Helpful Resources in the Book
Answers abound! A cheap, used math textbook is of no value without the answers, but in this situation, answers and solutions are readily available.
- Answers for Checkpoints, odd-numbered problems from the Exercise Set, and Review Questions are located in the back of the book.
- ThinkingMathematically youtube channel has answers and step-by-step solutions to the Chapter Tests. See the example below.
- An inexpensive (around $6) DVD-Rom (ISBN 978-0-321-64640-8) is available that features a set of complete lectures covering every Checkpoint and answers and step-by-step solutions to the Chapter Tests. WARNING: This is an older DVD (2011) and is intended for use on Windows XP or Vista or Mac OS 10.4. Using Windows 10, I was only able to access the Checkpoint videos. I copied the ones that worked into a file on my computer for easy access because the DVD menu didn’t work. Even though I was not able to access everything on the DVD, there were still 822 Checkpoint videos which will be very helpful!
Correlation Btw DSST and Thinking Mathematically
Completing a college textbook might seem daunting to your high schooler. But do they need to finish the whole textbook? No! As you can see from the chart below, 4 out of the 15 chapters do not cover content in the DSST exam. You would not need to work through them. In addition, chapters 6-12 cover 75% of the exam’s content so you would want to spend the bulk of your time in those seven chapters.
DSST Math for the Liberal Arts | Thinking Mathematically chapters |
1. Real Number Systems 11%* | 4, 5 |
2. Sets and Logic 16% | 2, 3 |
3. Metric system, conversions, and geometry 12% | 9, 10 |
4. Algebra, graphs, and functions 11% | 6, 7 |
5. Linear Systems and Inequalities 8% | 7 |
6. Exponents and Logarithms including Financial Literacy 22% | 8 |
7. Counting, Probability Theory, and Statistics 20% | 11, 12 |
* Percentages indicate the approximate amount of the exam devoted to this content area.
The following chapters have content not tested on the DSST: 1 Problem Solving and Critical Thinking 13 Mathematical Systems 14 Voting and Apportionment 15 Graph Theory |
The total that I paid for the book and DVD was $18.23! When you consider the teaching resources available – answers in the textbook, YouTube videos, and DVD-Rom – this could be a very inexpensive, self-teaching resource for the DSST Math for the Liberal Arts test.
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