Showing posts sorted by relevance for query CLEP. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query CLEP. Sort by date Show all posts

Son Passed First CLEP Exam!

My son took the Analyzing and Interpreting Lit Clep this morning and scored a 52. You need 50 to pass. His score counts as a C (unofficially) for a college course, and since he is only 15 and in the 10th grade, I assigned him a B for his grade portfolio. He did do additional work for me while studying for the test... We will call it extra credit.

This was supposed to be the easiest of all CLEPs, but I disagree. It is only easy if your child or student is an avid reader of literature. While my son IS an avid reader, he does not do poetry, or "literature". He mostly sticks to big, honkin' manuals. I think it might be easy for my daughter who does like novels with flowery language, so I will plan for her to take it in the spring.

He is going to spend the next 6 weeks working towards the SAT with math review and working on his essay skills. After that we will tackle the History 1 CLEP.



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Colleges with best return on investment that accept CLEP

A colleague of mine at Examiner.com just wrote the article Smart Money magazine ranks colleges with "payback ratio"

As many homeschoolers take CLEP exams in high school to put a few credits under their belt and to prove their worth, I thought I would compare this list to the list of CLEP colleges. The number in parenthesis is return on investment.


Public Colleges


University of Georgia(338%) YES
Texas A&M (315%)YES
University of Texas yes
Austin (306%) yES, WITH FEES
Georgia Tech (263%) yes
University of Washington (225%) NO


Liberal Arts College


Washington and Lee (165%) NO
University of Richmond (130%),YES
Lafayette College (115%),NO
College of the Holy Cross (114%),YES
Bucknell (114%)YES

Ivy Leage

Princeton (132%), YES
Dartmouth (131%), YES
Yale (127%),NO
Harvard (124%),LIMITED
University of Pennsylvania (124%) YES

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Preparing to take the CLEP History 1 Exam

You may remember that we are planning to take a CLEP approach to homeschool high school.   Originally, I started working with my 15 year old son, who passed the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature Exam, and before long my 13 year old wanted in on the fun. 

We are now getting ready to take the History 1 Exam because my kids have a great grasp on history thanks to their Fine Arts and History program at Artios Academies. 

I had them use Hippocampus.com to watch the history videos and take the quizzes.  My daughter finished ahead of schedule so I had her take the short (65) question exam from the large blue College Board CLEP book.  She did exceedingly well, answering 2/3 of the questions right when you need to answer 50% right to pass the test. Her unofficial score was equivalent to a B in a college level class!  She hasn't even started using the recommended REA test prep book yet.  My kids will take the test in about 2 weeks, giving them time for more review and practice tests.
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Tentative plan for my rising sophomore

 If you read my last post, you will know that my son is a rising Jr.  My 13 year old daughter is only 1 year behind him.  Her plan for finishing high school is a little less clear.  I do know that while he is taking the calculus  and physics route with plans to study computer science and graphics, she is a much more a practical thinking person (versus theoretical) who wants to be an actor and costume designer.  Plus she is already frustrated with Algebra, so I am worried about Algebra 2 and Calculus.  After a conversation with her and my husband, here is how I think it will go:

Grade 10:
~*Continue Algebra 1, then study for Algebra Clep Test.  This will equate to Algebra 1 plus College level Algebra 1
~Biology (non majors biology hippocampus)
~Spanish 2
~Intro to Chinese
~Modern Literature
~Study for US History 1 Clep Exam & then do US History 2
~Artios Academies for chorus, Christian World View, Musical Theater, Musical Theater Dance, Voice Lessons

Grade 11
~*Geometry?  Teaching Textbooks?
~Chemistry
~Chinese 2
~Grammar/ Lit: Analyzing and Interpreting Lit CLEP
~US History 2
~Artios Academies electives in Theater and Music

Grade 12
~ *Maybe Personal Finance or perhaps Algebra 2
~American or English Literature
~Artios Academies electives in Theater and Music and a Senior Project

I would love some input in the flexibility of homeschool math and College admissions!

*This is a work in progress... I have already several things since I have posted this.

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Attempting Spanish on our own

My son, and his friend took Spanish last year in a local classroom setting.  Not getting the results they hoped for we are going it on our own.  

The action plan: 

Review Spanish 1 and tackle Spanish 2 over the summer.  Then take the Clep Exam at the end of September.

We are using:
Learner.org free tutorial, Destinos (A telanovella that teaches spanish), plus the accompanying book that we ordered used from Amazon.com.
Rosetta Stone to teach pronunciation.
If they need more help, we will hire a Spanish tutor for the last month of study before taking the Spanish Clep Exam.

My daughter who has not taken Spanish 1 will follow the same program, but at a slower pace, hopefully taking the test next summer. 

Wish us luck, and if you have any experience preparing for the Spanish Clep exam, please leave a comment with tips and suggestions.


Homeschooling the college student

My son's freshman year of college is almost over.  Hubby and I drove up the the school yesterday to bring home a load of items that he would not be using this week, to make our Wednesday run to pick him up easier.  We discussed grades and GPA and he admitted that he struggles with the size of his course load.  He would like to take some CLEP exams over the summer to knock some of the liberal arts classes out of the way, allowing him a smaller course load next year.  I am in agreement, and called the school to check it out.  He just needs his advisors permission, so that is almost settled.

With summer jobs scarce in my area it is more likely that my college bound daughter, and my college boy will be homeschooling over the summer, taking CLEP exams that their school allows so they can have an easier time next year. I doubt they will need much help from me, or any nagging at all, but it is good to know they still have a little homeschooler left in them.




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College Prep Homeschooling: 8th grade History and Language Arts

The series continues- College Prep Homeschooling: 8th-grade history and language arts.

I teach these two subjects as one cohesive unit.  Find out how. Find out why.



 Here are the notes from the video

White paper on weaving literature into social studies; https://britannicalearn.com/wp-conten... Book lists for novels set in other countries for children and teens. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books... In addition to reading for Language Arts, students should be using a grammar/writing workbook. Here are some good options. Editor in Chief, Critical Thinking Company https://amzn.to/2y1AeFT SAT Reading and Writing Prep https://amzn.to/2Mgtlnc Holt McDougal World Geography https://amzn.to/2JEpHBM (Teachers version) Holt McDougal World History https://amzn.to/2Mgr3EC The Critical Thinking Company, World History Detective https://amzn.to/2y1AeFT Sparknotes.com has online questions that your student can answer for many of the novels you can choose. Summary: Tying Language Arts and History together. 1. Choose a book textbook or history curriculum. 2. Go through the table of contents and pick books according to the geographical area and possibly the time period being covered. At least one book per unit or for every 3 or 4 chapters. 3. Have the student read the books at the same pace that they go through the history units 4. Use unit tests and a final term paper to grade history. 5. Use a language arts/grammar and writing workbook or test prep book to grade the students language arts, in addition to questions and answer on the novels or book reports. Also grade on final term paper looking specifically at grammar, and format of the paper. CLEP by college board, https://clep.collegeboard.org/about-c... *Disclosure: I will use affiliate links from time to time, including Amazon links. I endeavor to always find the lowest price for anything I recommend and I only link to items I believe in.

Free Algebra resources


Master Math
Master Math teaches middle school math from grade six through Algebra 1.  It is a full, stand alone curriculum great for homeschooling, but I have found that it is also a great supplement for whatever curriculum you may already be using.
It it's core it is a free program but the creator of these math videos and accompanying program also does online tutoring should you need it and you can purchase more practice problems as well.


CK12 free open source algebraWhether you are homeschooling, or if your kids just need help with Algebra, check out this open source algebra book.   
If that is not Awesome enough Khan Academy has recorded instructional videos to coordinate with this book.  Yay!  Here is the first page of the Khan Academy playlist.   This set of videos is currently at the very bottom of the Khan Academy playlist page.

Virtual Math Lab from West Texas A&MCollege Algebra by West Texas A&M has full online math classes for:
Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra    (can be used for passing the College CLEP)Math for the SciencesGRE Math, and Thea and Accuplacer Math.


Algebra 2 at Glencoe.com Take advantage of the study tools meant to supplement the Glencoe Algebra  2 book.  Purchase the book new or used for just a few dollars and use the online extra examples, self-check quizzes, vocabulary review and chapter tests.  When you get a problem wrong, the website not only gives you the right answer, but refers back to the page in the textbook that will explain the problem.


Glencoe Algebra 1 Online Study Tools With or without the addition of the textbook, that you can purchase at Amazon, for just a few dollars, The Glencoe Algebra 1 online study tools will walk your student through each and every step of Algebra 1.  They can use self check quizzes, learn vocabulary and take advantage of extra examples, and do chapter tests online.  The tests and quizzes are graded.


Algebra 2 onlineIt took me a year to find an Algebra 2 online course.... just in time for my daughter to start it.  My son had to use a textbook.  Anyway, here it is. http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/math/hcpsalgebra2/  It is provided by Henrico County Public Schools, Virginia  


FREE Math Workbooks and (subscription) Math HelpHotmath.com has a few FREE online workbooks to help students practice math problems. They include Middle School mathPre AlgebraAlgebra 1Algebra 2,Precaluclus, and Calculus. In addition to the free workbooks, hotmath.com is also a subscription website where you can view solution to the question is any number of math textbooks that you may already own such as Algebra 1 (Applications, Equations, & Graphs) or McDougal Littell Algebra 2: Pupil's Edition. They support over 300 textbooks. They also have subscription based video lessons.


College Algebra Book OnlineIf you are studying for an Algebra Clep or math AP exam, you may purchase an expensive college math textbook or you can download this free online college algebra book. 
The Online Textbook Was Written By:
We are two college mathematics professors who grew weary of forcing our students to purchase expensive college algebra textbooks whose mathematical content has slowly degraded over the years. Our solution? Write our own. The twist? We made our college algebra book free and we distribute it as a .pdf file under the Creative Commons License.


AAAmath.com
I am surprised that I never listed AAAmath.com before. I had been using it as long as I have been homeschooling to help the kids figure out concepts in their math books or online program that was not clear. This site does a great job of explaining difficult concepts clearly.


Quick Math
How do you get to the answer?
I you want to know how to work out a problem step by step, visit quickmath.com.

QuickMath is an automated service for answering common math problems over
the internet.
Think of it as an online calculator that solves equations and
does all sorts of algebra and calculus problems - instantly and automatically!
When you submit a question to QuickMath, it is processed by Mathematica, the
largest and most powerful computer algebra package available today. The answer
is then sent back to you and displayed right there on your browser, usually
within a couple of seconds.
Best of all, QuickMath is 100% free !

Free College prep courses
The University of California has college prep courses available online. 
University of California College Prep publishes free high-quality online courses and content to benefit California students, with a special emphasis on helping underserved students gain college eligibility. We make our UC-approved Advanced Placement® and college prep courses freely available to California students, teachers and schools. Our courses are aligned to California content standards and are College Board certified. Start with our Courses, explore Tools to support them, and see how University of California online courses can provide Solutions to California educational challenges.

Khan Academy UPDATE


Khan Academy delivers math and finance tutorials through Youtube videos. It is well detailed and my kids say it is very easy to follow. In addition to that, they have a free, adaptive math program available here. I can't believe this is free. I spent 2 hours on the site today, just testing myself and could not stop. The site finds your level and fills your learning gaps. Plus it progresses you through math seamlessly.

Update on this years curriculum for Jr. Son

 I gave a preview of this school year two months ago.  I think we have the final schedule down now:

Grade ll:


oh my... that's alot.   His work schedule is 6-7 hours a day 4 days a week, plus 10 hours on Tuesdays for the Fine Arts Program.

** edit... changed BJ Spanish 2 Book to Rosetta Stone Workbook for continuity.
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Video courses for clep exams

This site tells you which Anneberg media video courses to use when studying for CLEP exams

http://www.freeuniv.com/outside/annenres.html

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Random Clep info: practice tests

Yesterday I wrote about preparing my kids to start taking CLEPs.

For that reason, I will be compiling information that I may be able to use later... If you can use it too... then great!

Anyway, here is a site you can use to take practice tests for CLEP and PETERSON exams

http://tinyurl.com/94dgbb


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This years Academic Plan for Sophomore Daughter Grade 10

Update on this Years Curriculum for Jr. Daughter


Grade 10:

Like my son's schedule in the previous post, this looks overwhelming at first glance... but she's had busier years. 

Her work schedule will be 4 days a week for core lessons  and music practice 6-8 hours and all day Tuesday at Artios Academies.

I am also planning monthly Science and Evironmental Museum field trips.

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Advanced Math Resources


Free Video Lectures for Middle School, Highschool, AP and College Level

FreeVideoLectures.com has compiled college lectures from numerous colleges on different subjects

There is almost too much to list, but I'll give it a shot:

Math: Arithmetic,  Singapore Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Trignonometry, Calculus, college math, linear algebra, university calculus, and more

Science: high school and college biology, Anatomy, physics, public health, and more

Literature lectures such as Holocaust in Film and Literature, Nobel Prize Winners, The American Novel since 1945

Social Studies subjects such as Political Science, African American studies, Economic Geography



Free Video Lectures at 

http://www.learnerstv.com

This site eliminates the need to search the entire internet for videos.

It sit has compiled video lessons from all over the internet.

You will find: every subject imaginable

LearnersTV offers free learning resources for students on various subject categories. Following is the current list of subjects available as on Monday, August 22, 2011. We will be adding more subjects in future.
Subject Categories

Biology | Physics | Chemistry | Maths-Statistics | Computer-Science | Medical-Science | Dentistry |Engineering | Accounting | Management 



Virtual Math Lab from West Texas A&M

College Algebra by West Texas A&M has full online math classes for:  

Beginning Algebra  Intermediate Algebra College Algebra    (can be used for passing the College CLEP)Math for the Sciences GRE Math, and Thea and Accuplacer Math It looks like a great program!


Ready for Calculus, Part 2

I can't believe I spent the night fretting over this.  I was up from 1 till 4 doing research on whether or not he really needs to take calculus. 

I asked the question to one of my homeschooling groups and heard back from the wife of a school counselor... he suggested pre-calculus. (even though he took trig?)... I guess Pre-calculus will be easy for him. 

They're still homeschoolers at heart

I'm really happy to have my college age kids home!  As much as I want them near me, I was dreading the tornado that was sure to accompany their return.

But believe it or not, I came in this morning from the gym to find a clean kitchen.. and now they are organizing their college bins and belongings in the basement until August when they leave again...  #proud.

I need to get my job done now and get them materials for the CLEP & DSST exams they plan to take this summer, so they can get to studying.   I wish they had taken more of them during their high school years, but they just weren't ready.   Well, they're ready now! After comparing learning from a professor vs learning on their own...  wherever possible, they would much rather learn on their own.

Good for them... they're still homeschoolers at heart.

2011-2012 Curriculum Choices

 I just updated our curriculum choices page

As I see it, homeschooling will be pretty laid back and also pretty hands off next year.

My daughter will be a Jr.  She will squeezing Geometry in over the Summer and into the fall, in time to take the PSAT, which she will also put some speficic effort into studying for it over the summer. She may take the College Math CLEP at the end of the school year, as it seems easy to pass after taking the SAT.

For language arts, I will count the work she does towards her PSAT & SAT studies and she will also take a fiction writing course at her homeschool program.

For science, she will take the online MIT course Kitchen Chemistry.

We are skipping history this year opting to study government during her Sr. year, an election year.

She will continue to work on Spanish (2a) and Mandarin (1b).

Then there's a slew of arts electives such as voice, drama, instruments, art...

*If she starts at a decent hour she will be done with her work by lunch and can work on her electives and independent stuff... not holding my breath.  I am considering not regulating her sleep patterns next year to see what happens.


My son will be a SR.  ACK!!

He has few requirements and has opted to take them as a dual enrollment student at the local college.  We are working on his applications now, but it looks good.  The dual enrolled classes will probably be:

  • Intro to Physics (Fall)
  • Personal Finance (Fall)
  • Spanish 101 (Spring)

In addition to that, he is taking a Journalism class at the homeschool program, and a few arts related electives.

*My job with my son is to ask questions and perhaps guide organization.  Oh, and to make sure he gets his drivers license. 







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We need a one-room schoolhouse mentality

 In speaking to a homeschooling mom whose 18 year old homeschooler could really use one more year to be ready for college, but because of his age and the fact that he has done 4+ years at highschool level, he is determined to graduate and head to college, it dawned on my that we need a one-room school house mentality.

If you ever read Little House on the Prairie, you might remember that grade levels were not so cut and dry.  The child finished school when they had completed the required work.  It was not unusual to graduate young.  It was not unusual to graduate at an older age.

You'd think that as homeschoolers, we'd have a little more flexibility where grade levels were concerned, but ...not so much if the goal is college.  It is not possible to put a six year span on a transcript and call it high school.  The goal college would call that a less-than-rigorous program and put them out of the running for competitive colleges.

To counter this problem, we can do this for younger grades up to grade 8.  We can set a bar of where we want the child to be before they start high school level.  For instance, they may need to be through Algebra in math, and their reading and writing would have to be at a certain level, as well as geography and basic science knowledge.  Once they have reached those guidelines, the child is ready for a high school curriculum, which you can do in the traditional 4 years.  If they are above average advanced, they can dual enroll in their senior year or use CLEP exams to accelerate their education.


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Always Adjusting

I woke up this morning feeling overwhelmed.

Yesterday I mapped out the last 3 months of the school year on a calendar and realized that for my daughter who is in a play, has a year end performance coming up, and an arts competition, we are close to overbooked for the month of March.  The more this fact sank in, the more frantic I became.

Today at a play rehearsal it hit my.  We are homeschoolers.  I can back off during the month of March and everything would come out fine.

When I say back off, I mean take time off from the classes she does at home.  As of next week when she takes the History 1 CLEP exam, all that will be left for the year is math, science, and a little Spanish.

Well, I already planned for math to go through the whole summer.  Spanish is no bother for her she enjoys it,  but why not back off of math and science until he schedule lightens up.

Yes... that's what we'll do.  What a wonderful idea.

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Online options for high school students

I don't know if my son will get accepted for dual enrollment for fall due to his late ACT Date and the later score release date.  For that reason, I have been exploring my other options for his senior year.  I have found two great possibilities.  

The first is Georgia Virtual School: http://www.gavirtualschool.org/
Not to be confused with Georgia Virtual Academy, Georgia Virtual School provides a teacher led, virtual classroom environment.  Apparently homeschooled students have now been approved by the state to take 6-half credits each semester for free.  I don't know how I feel about it because it is public school at home, and I preferred a college course, but it will help my son get his last high school requirements out of the way in one semester.  

The second is BYU independent study.  Kids can take college and high school level credits and the cost is cheaper than most virtual schools.  It is "a distance education program that offers almost 600 university, high school, junior high school and personal enrichment courses to people throughout the world. BYU is accredited as an institution by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). The BYU Independent Study High School Program is accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)."  I am really intrigued by this one. Since I found out about it, I am a lot less stressed about my son's senior year.  If he gets dual enrollment, great.  If not, he can do a combination of CLEP exams and online study.  

Is any of this even necessary?, you might ask.  Well the point of doing some dual enrollment in his Sr. year is to give him a taste of what college might be like.  He has taken course with teachers all along, but the last 2 years have been primarily for arts related courses.  I want him ready for an intensive college level class.



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Just call me a homeschool rebel.

 I've been homeschooling and blogging for nearly a decade now, and I am finally coming to terms with a realization that has been in front of my face all along.  I'd say the light truly came on when I read this blog over at Homeschool and Etc. She admitted that most homeschooling curriculum is kind of annoying.  I SOOOO AGREE!

I'm so sorry to tell this to any homeschoolers who just eat up the Bob Jones and Abeka homeschool materials.  I just find it grating.  The thing is, when I sit down to teach my kids, I want to teach them the material.  I don't

12 grade year of homeschooling, Finishing Strong

We are almost done with my college prep series. There will still be a video on completing the transcript.    Stay tuned... meanwhile, ...