Not that I want Isaiah to graduate early or even dual-enroll at the local college but the fact that he could potentially CLEP out of some of the college course, that is something of an interest to me. Considering that unless he holds down a full-time job, his daddy and I are paying for college, so the less classes we have to pay for the better! This is why I am so grateful that we have been reviewing SpeedyPrep. This review has enabled us (all) to take a peek into how CLEP testing works. And just how awesome SpeedyPrep can work on saving you valuable time and money on taking classes in college you may not need to take.
CLEP Test Preparation
I had a vague idea of what CLEP testing meant, but I never was able to take any CLEP tests myself. But as I edged my way closer to being a homeschool mama to a high schooler, I knew that I needed to learn more. Come to find out, there are certain classes that are required in college (I did know that) that you must take and pass. Some of these classes though are usually a long overview of what you may have taken in high school. ultimately, as a college student (or parent to a college student) you will have to pay out of pocket to take (and pass!) a class that you JUST TOOK IN HIGH SCHOOL. Thanks to the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) there is a much easier way to take those classes. For a small fee, you can CLEP that class, or in layman’s terms, you can take a test that covers the required “must know information”. If you can pass the CLEP test, you have saved yourself a small fortune of money, and your valuable time. (All college parents cheer with me!!)
Now that the option is out there to CLEP out of certain college classes, how exactly do you study for a CLEP test? SpeedyPrep, that’s how!
SpeedyPrep
With SpeedyPrep you will have access to the following courses that will assist you in preparing for the corresponding CLEP test:
- American Government
- American Literature
- Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
- Biology
- College Algebra
- College Composition
- College Mathematics
- English Literature
- Human Growth & Development
- Humanities
- Information Systems & Computer Applications
- Introductory Business Law
- Introductory Psychology
- Introductory Sociology
- Natural Sciences
- Principles of Macroeconomics
- Principles of Management
- Principles of Marketing
- Principles of Microeconomics
- Spanish
- United States History I
- United States History II
- Western Civilization I
- Western Civilization II
After you have chosen which course you would like to take, you will then be able to begin your study sessions. These study sessions are a small collection of questions in the form of digital flashcards. Once you click on your session, you will be asked a question pertaining to your chosen course. The questions for each “flashcard” are fill-in-the-blank questions. If you know the answer, type it in and hit the answer button. If you are correct the answer section turns green and provides a bit more information about the questions. If the answer is incorrect, your answer question will turn red, then will provide you with the correct answer.
This process continues until you reach the end of your study session. You will be shown a “score” that reflects your correct/incorrect answers. The beauty of SpeedyPrep is that if you do not know the answer, the system tells you the answer. Every single time. Repetition is the KEY to this program!
Once you master your study session (get 100%) then it is advisable to move on to the next study session in that course. Instead of just moving on though, you can have study session 1 and study session 2 running at the same time. Again, repetition is key to this program. The more times you are required to answer the same questions, the more times that you will answer it correctly.
There are videos that you can watch on some of your course study sessions. These are helpful for auditory leaners or someone that just needs the section broken down a bit more. The videos ARE NOT the sole purpose of the SpeedyPrep program, they are helpful additions. SpeedyPrep relies on the flashcards to teach you everything you will need to pass the CLEP test for your selected course of study.
Your progress bar will inch its way higher the more questions you answer correctly in your study sessions. Again, the progress bar will only advance by answering all of the questions correctly. The videos are for extra help, just watching the videos will not advance the progress bar. The goal is to master 90-100% of the course before you head off to take the corresponding CLEP test.
How This Worked for Us
If you know me, I am as truthful as they come. So here is the lowdown. My son and I totally did not take the extra time to really understand how SpeedyPrep worked before we jumped into this review. So please, please, please, make sure you go visit SpeedyPrep’s FAQs page before you dive right in. We did eventually figure out what we were doing incorrectly (hmmm, watching videos and not using the flashcards as intended) and things are now moving along very nicely!
That being said, we have both now figured out just how amazing SpeedyPrep is. I too have chosen a course on the site. Not only because I needed to fully understand how the site functions but because I am totally fascinated. The site is incredibly easy to navigate, easy to understand (when you read!), and I am so impressed how easy it is to learn using this program.
Once Isaiah was on the right track, he began to really see the beauty of the program. As a history buff, Isaiah chose to take Western Civilizations1, which has allowed him to test his knowledge of all things Roman and Greek. I am not sure that he will be ready to take a CLEP test next month, but he could easily be bale to take one over the summer. He sees this program almost like trivia. Once you learn the answers it will always be correct, so he just has to train his brain to learn the answers! He enjoys having the videos as backup though. Sometimes he can read a question over and over and it just won’t make any sense. Luckily he can take a few minutes and watch a video or two regarding the questions he is having a harder time grasping. The videos add background information and context, making them extremely beneficial. Then once he gets rolling again, the questions and answers turn into a game of trivia. “How many I can get correct this time?”
It is challenging but it is working. And that is the most important part.
SpeedyPrep teaches you everything you need to know (and much more!!) to pass a CLEP test. I am so grateful that we were able to review this program. It would be amazing to have Isaiah CLEP out of some of the college history courses. The young man knows more history than anyone else I have met. Saving his time and money by utilizing CLEP would be a wonderful thing for everyone involved!
Social Media
Twitter: www.twitter.com/speedyprep
Facebook: www.facebook.com/speedyprep
A number of my fellow Crew members reviewed this same product, go read more to see how they liked it:
I hope you enjoyed this latest review. Visit again soon to see what other goodies the kids and I have to share with you!
In His Grace,
Callie
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