CLEP- History II, I and beyond...

Question

Has anyone taken history 2 CLEP? Your thoughts?

I bought the Peterson practice tests and I got a 49 and 52 respectively. I don't think those are equivalent to what I would get on the actual CLEP either. Its the actual percentage (out of 100) of questions I got right (test is scored out of 80 and I don't know how to convert the score).

I also studied the instantcert website questions. I thought I knew history better, d**n. The Qs are so specific. There are so many policy questions its ridiculous. Anyone have any advice?

Is History 1 easier? I currently need 9 CLEP credits. What are the "easiest to take/study for?

Answer 1

I took the History II test and it was not easy.  In fact, I've taken 4 CLEPs so far and this was probably the hardest.  They aren't designed to be easy.  The problem with the history tests is that they could include pretty much anything that's happened during that time frame in history.  I used InstantCert & then studied information on Presidential platforms, policies, laws.  Know the acts & amendments and what they accomplished.  There were also a fair number of questions related to civil rights and literary works.  You'll also want to know the major court cases.  This test covers a lot of ground, so make sure that you're thoroughly prepared.

The actual CLEP is scored exactly the way the Peterson's tests are scored.  However, in many instances, the Peterson's tests are slightly harder than the real thing.  Your school probably requires a 50 to pass (check with them to be sure), so if you're scoring near that on the Peterson's tests, you may be ready.

The two that I've taken that were pretty easy were Analyzing & Interpreting Literature & Intro. to Sociology.  A&I Lit is one that you can't really study for, except to brush up on literary devices, which you can easily find online.  Other than that, you just need to be good at reading and interpreting literary writing.  The Sociology CLEP was easy for me to.  I do have a background in Psychology, which I think helped me a lot, but I've heard other people say that they didn't think this test was too difficult.

Good luck on your CLEPs!