Marathon day of testing.

[soltran]

To save cluttering up the Post your Test Results! thread with responses to questions regarding my marathon day of testing I thought I’d start a new thread.

As for how much prep time I took the simple answer is 40+ years. In the last few weeks I concentrated on accounting because of the feedback I had read in the forum and the fact that it was one of my core requirements and I also lightly reviewed some of the other material. My approach was pretty simple, if it was a core requirement I made sure I would pass, if it was an elective than I was willing to gamble.

The detailed approach and reasoning.

Principles of Accounting – I ran my own business in Aus for 7 years so accounting wasn’t exactly new to me. I supplemented my experience with Cliffs Quick Review Accounting Principles I and II and Instantcert and because the exam was a core requirement and worth 6 credits I spent a fair amount of time reviewing the material. I also completed the practice questions from DSST Official Test Preparation Guide – Principles of Financial Accounting and CLEP Official Study Guide 18th Edition -Principles of Accounting.

Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - According to what I had seen in the forum this exam wasn’t going to hold any demons and while it was worth 6 credits a failure wouldn’t have hurt too much as it was an elective. I did look at the practice questions in the REA book which helped with the confidence levels but wouldn’t have spent more than an hour or two preparing for this exam.

Principles of Supervision – Another elective so a failure wouldn’t have hurt too much and with my experience and the fact that I had done ok with Principles of Management I decided that I could attempt this exam without further preparation. I did do the study questions in the DSST Official Test Preparation Guide but that was all I did for this exam.

Organizational Behavior – This was a core requirement so I did spend an hour or so looking at the Rudman book as well as completing the practice questions in the DSST Official Test Preparation Guide. Other than that I was relying on what I had covered when doing principles of Management along with my previous experience.

Management Information Systems – I have a trade certificate in telecommunications and started in IT in the early 80s. The course was an elective though I never really doubted that I would pass it (even having been out of IT for about 6 years). I had the Rudman book but thought it pretty much a waste of time and went into this exam cold.

Principles of Physical Science – this was an exam that I hadn’t really planned on taking just yet but as time was on my side I decided to give it a go. I have the Rudman book and had looked at the first 3 or 4 practice tests in the book and hardly missed a question so as this was another non-critical elective I decided to go for it. Unfortunately those first few tests are nothing like what I found in the exam so while I passed (barely) it was more by good luck than good management. I will write a review about this exam for those that may be considering it in the future.

US History I – As I had passed the Social Science and History test and reviewed US history when preparing for that I was hoping that it wouldn’t take a lot more to prepare for the US History I exam. I have the REA book but hadn’t managed to pass any of the practice exams with the limited preparation I had put in. I had planned on taking this exam in a couple of weeks but still had over an hour left in the day to fit in another test and just decided to go for it. Again, it was a non-critical elective so failing wouldn’t have hurt too much.

I had been frustrated by not being able to get time off to test so I wanted to make the most of the time I had while I had it. I am also a born gambler, so risking the $80 for a CLEP exam or the $90 for a DSST exam wasn’t going to worry me too much. And like most gamblers, while I was on a winning streak I didn’t want it to end.

I had planned on only doing the first 4 or 5 exams, not expecting to have the time or desire to do any more but once I had started it was hard to stop. I approached it as just another day at the office; work for an hour or so, stop for a smoke, bathroom break etc and back to it. It was a long day and I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone that doesn’t have some background, either practical or theoretical, to call on but it is doable.

Best of luck to all

Regards

[Matymus]

Wow...nothing like another day at the office, eh? I'm just an underachiever over here....working on my measly couple of exams every month. So....what were your scores?

~ Matt

[soltran]

G'day

I had posted the scores in the "Post your Test Results" thread but here they are.

Principles of Accounting 70
A & I Literature 72
Principles of Supervision 56
Organizational Behavior 57
MIS 62
Principles of Physical Science 48 (Pass was a 47)
US History I 54

Regards

[sgloer]

Nice work Ron! Very impressive....