Customer Reviews

CLEP College Algebra with CD (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the CLEP Exam (Test Preps)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book was really helpful to me in my quest to pass the College Algebra CLEP. The problems on the CLEP were very similar to the problems in the three practice tests in the end of the book. There are a few typos, especially in the third test. You wonder how in the world they got there, then realize that it was a typo.

In some parts, I had a tough time grasping the concepts, and the book didn't explain things the best. For those things I used this free and excellent resource:

http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra/index.htm

Courtesy of West Texas A&M University.

This book is definitely worth the price, especially for the three practice tests it contains.

Using these two resources, I achieved a 71 on the College Algebra CLEP.

I have bought and studied numerous CLEP guides, and this one has been the best! I was a bit rusty, being out of school for four years, but the guide had 3 practice exams, detailed solutions at the end of each section, and an overview of all the topics that helped me get a perfect score! I don't recommend any of Jack Rudman's CLEP guides however...they go into too much detail instead of effectively teaching what is actually going to be on the test.

I have just recently successfully taken the CLEP college algebra (computer based test) exam after preparation with this book. There are a few annoying typos (which are significant because they affect some of the questions and answers in the practice tests). However, this is still a very good book for test preparation. This book does assume you have some knowledge of college algebra. The best feature of this book is the three practice tests that are provided. If you attempt all the tests and carefully review your mistakes and then retake all the tests until you get most of the questions right, this would be a pretty effective exam strategy. The review material is not as good as the tests. For general review purposes and to brush up on weak areas I suggest another book also by REA: Super Review Algebra and Trigonometry. Eventhough that book is intended for the CLEP algebra and trigonometry exam, the algebra portion provides a truly excellent review for the CLEP college algebra exam as the review material is presented in a much clearer, simpler, and more pleasing format that encourages learning. I strongly suggest the use of both these books for their relative merits. I got a great score and I did not have to use any other preparation at all except for these two inexpensive REA books.

I took a clep test yesterday. It was pretty easy. This book really helped me a lot. I also bought other books for college algebra but they were actually more difficult than actual test.
If you buy this book and hit the book, you will definitely pass the clep. Good luck!

Although this book is good to use to brush up on your Algebra skills, it doesn't really help all that much with the actual College Algebra CLEP Test. The book was good at covering the gambit of College Algebra, but lacks in helping to explain the more complex quadratic systems, and graphing problems. It was also weak in helping to explain quadratic sytems using fractions. I still recommend this book over all others that I've seen, but take my advice and get a good College Algebra book to help study the areas of complex systems of equations.

This is the best book. It helped me to get a perfect score on the CLEP. Without it I never could have down it. I knew nothing and this book taught me everything. Trust me you have got to get it if you are taking the CLEP.

This book helped me crack CLEP Algebra with a good grade. CLEP exam was pretty easy. The practice tests were extreemly useful. I would highly recommend referring this book for the CLEP Algebra exam. I had also bought other books for the test, but they were more difficult that the test. CLEP College algebra is enough to crack the test if u know the basics of algebra.

(This review covers the CD-less edition of the book.)

Let's start with a crucial warning. Contrary to claims elsewhere, this book alone will not prepare you to get a "perfect score," as it fails to address adequately a number of areas covered by the actual CLEP:

- Conic sections. No material whatsoever, save for one question on the practice tests. A big omission given the weight conic sections carry in the actual CLEP.
- Graphing, as noted by other reviewers. Its basic algebra knowledge is transferrable to graphing, of course, but hands-on practice helps greatly, and there are many more graphing problems on the actual CLEP than on the book's tests.
- Abstract problems that test understanding of concepts. Most of the practice problems offered are of the work-through "find x" variety.
- Matrices and their determinants.
- Logarithms. While there is some material on the subject, it's less substantial then necessary. There's also nothing on the concept of "e" and how logarithms and exponents undo each other.
- Geometric series and summation notation. Again, the coverage could be more substantial considering its weight on the exam.

On the plus side, the book does boast a good at-a-glance review of factoring sums and differences of squares and a thorough explanation of how to solve linear systems simultaneously and how and when to use the quadratic equation and its discriminant. Its algebra overview, though incomplete, does hit on a number of topics coherently, and the three practice tests are a considerable help - particularly given the step-by-step walkthroughs provided for all the solutions.

Oddly, though, the book does contain a few errors. A couple typos pepper the solutions; pg. 75 confuses "domain" and "range" in defining the terms, and the example "function" is not one at all. The three sample tests are also oddly skewed toward certain subjects; one features a disproportionate number of a + bi questions, for example, whereas another is tilted heavily toward basic factoring. Your score might differ substantially from one exam to the other; it'd be nice if the question distribution were more representative.

If you're preparing for the test, this book's not a _bad_ aid; it does offer a good review of many algebraic concepts, and it will improve your score. (It also seems to be the only CLEP College Algebra exam guide widely available in bookstores.) Its errors and omissions, though, are hard to excuse given the cover price (over $30 for a trade paperback on newsprint). My recommendation: pay the $10 for the College Board's exam guide, which contains sample questions far closer to those on the actual test, and get a couple old $5 textbooks from the used section.

Purchased this book because my daughter has had great success with the biology, english, and literature rea clep books. This book contained multiple errors that needless confused by daughter. I asked for an errata twice from the publisher but my requests were ignored. After studying this book my daughter received a 57 on the Algebra CLEP exam. At most schools this would have been high enough to receive credit, however her University required a score of 60 to receive credit. One area she found that the book did not cover as completely as needed was in factoring/simplifying polynomials and fractions based on polynomials. If you need a high score to receive credit (above 57) I would not recommend this book.

This book is excellent. It will provide you with the practice that you will need on the exam. The book covers nearly all of the questions that are on the exam and provides good explanations about the answers. Make sure that you will have sufficient knowledge of algebra before attempting this exam. This book will get you ready but it won't teach you everything.