Customer Reviews

CLEP History of the United States II, 1865 to the present (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the CLEP (Test Preps)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I DID pass the History II CLEP, and the only thing I studied was the contents of this book, so it wasn't a complete waste. (Having just passed the CLEP hours ago, this is still very fresh in my mind.) But, while the book was better than nothing, meaning I don't think I could've passed the test without it, it seems very far off base as far as subject matter. The CLEP exams are changed every 6 months, so I can see there being some difficulty in keeping content fresh, but this is history we're talking about. How fresh does it need to be?

Lots of black history questions were asked, while this topic wasn't covered in near as much detail as the test itself reflected it should have been.

The first section of the book gives an overview of history from 1865 to present (2004), broken up into categories like Reconstruction, The Depression, World Wars, etc. But info isn't laid out in any sort of timeline, so I found myself jumping from info about the Carter Administration back to FDR and his New Deal, then back to the first George Bush. It made it more difficult to comprehensively read, what with all the past Kennedy's, Johnson's, Roosevelt's, Bushes, World Wars, etc. This back and forth frustrated me to no end, but perhaps someone else with a better grasp of history wouldn't mind. I would suggest a timeline of presidents from 1865 to present also.

I enjoy history, but have never had a good teacher in school, and detest remembering details like dates and names. However, I made flash cards based on the 2 practice tests and their answers, and drilled relentlessly for 3 weeks. The problem was evident 5 minutes into the test, however. Only about half of what I studied was even questioned. The other 50% of the CLEP questions were on topics this book did not even address.

While the 2 practice tests included in this book were helpful, and the explanation-answers even more helpful than the 'study guide' sections, I feel I would have been better prepared if I'd supplemented with another text book (it does recommend this, btw). Unless you know your history, or you graduated from high school recently, you might want to shop around, or supplement.

This book gives you all the information you need to pass the test, I passed with a 76 out of 80 after studying for 12 days, using only this book. The reason I did not give the book 5 stars is that the author makes several factual errors. One that comes to mind is saying that Sinclair Lewis wrote "The Jungle." Uh.... Ms. Marlowe, that would be Upton Sinclair. There are also some apparent editing issues, as there are contradictions such as the text saying that there is no evidence that Hayes won the presidential election by promising to end reconstruction, then in the sample test section it states that such deal was in fact made. And there are several other similar kinds of mistakes. Not anything that would keep you from passing though, so, I still recommend this book as a single-source for passing the test. A tip: no fact or name in this book is too trivial to remember. Try to get as much in your head as possible.

Update; 3/20/2007: I was suprised and happy to see that the author responded to this review and is very concerned about any errors. She is reviewing the material and will report any errors she finds to REA for correction. Thank you, Ms. Marlow for your committment to making this test guide the best that it can be.

As a response to a couple of reviewers who complained that the guide didn't cover all of the material on their test: You need to apply some common sense and test taking strategy to the test. No book can cover all of the questions that might be asked. But, the answers to most of the questions on the test I took were easily deduced from material I learned in the book. For example, a test question might ask, "Who said the following quote:" and then list 4 names. Usually, all four people were discussed in the book. In a typical case, 1 name would fit exactly, perhaps 2 names were people who would never have said such a thing and the fourth name was a person who could reasonably have made the statement, but lived 70 years earlier. Don't expect the book to cover every quote that people may have said. In most cases, the test writers do not intend for you to know by heart who said what. They do intend for you to use logic and good judgment and to know enough about the major players so that you can choose the correct answer.

Book could, and should be improved by publisher.

Half way through the test, I started thinking about "deleting" the results so that I could test again after getting better studying material.

The book did not cover a lot of what was on the test. What pulled me through with a 65 was my love of history, luck and the process of elimination.

Here is a hint: study up on American history between reconstruction and the great Depression. Much has happened to this country in that time period that is not common knowledge.

Good luck.

I just took the CLEP test for History II two days ago and was actually surprised by my score. After reading this book (twice) and practicing the questions, I felt prepared considering history is actually my worst subject. On the day of the test, however, my stomach dropped. I felt like at least half of the questions weren't covered by the material in the review section of this book. I agree with one of the previous reviews that it is hard to prepare material for a test that changes twice a year, but we're dealing with history. The two topics that repeated themselves the most on my test that I had felt were not covered properly are black history, and pragmatism.

My school doesn't assign grades for CLEP, just credit or no credit. I was surprised with my score only because by the time I had completed the 120 questions, I thought I had failed. I had to use a lot of reasoning skills to do as well as I did (which was barely above passing). This book can help you pass the test and receive credit. However, if you're worried about getting as high a score as possible, I highly recommend only using this book to supplement a different study guide.

I studied for about 2 weeks, hardcore. I made flash cards, I read Wikipedia, I paid $10 for the official College Board CLEP review questions (this helped crazy good, some of the questions were practically the same). I got 3 questions above passing, so 53 out of the 50 I needed. I wish I had found [...] sooner than I had, because those history videos rocked! The CLEP questions weren't THAT hard, but out of so much information, there are bound to be things you've just never heard of or read about. There was more about writers, musicians, & movies (like Birth of Nations & Dr. Strangelove)than I thought there would be. This book was a good "introduction" to studying for your CLEP. Just know your stuff! Knowing what each Act does isn't as important as knowing why they were implemented in the first place. When taking the practice questions, make sure you know what the wrong answers are too, especially the people.

As any CLEP, this book does not cover everything you will see in this exam. However, if you are good at tests, this is the book you need. I studied for 4 hours (read the material and did the first practice test. Then did a the practice test in the Offical CLEP Study Guide 17th Edition) and then took the test. I scored a 62 without using any other source for studying. I'm not suggesting the short study times I usually use, be your own judge and know your own abilities, but this book will help you pass this test.

The REA CLEP History of the US I study guide is in need of improvement and/or revision! The format of the book and the accompanying CD-ROM is
very usable...but the problem is that the information in it has little to
nothing to do with the real exam that was taken yesterday. The actual exam results were 20 points less than I scored on each of the 3 practice exams in the book. These practice exams and explanations gave a false
sense of readiness. I wish I would have used the actual study materials from the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). When I called REA about the difference between the study guide's practice exams and the actual exam....they said I should write a review online? So, I am alerting people to use other study materials than this REA study guide (published in 2006). It resulted in wasted time and money for me.

This book was very helpful. I also watch a lot of the History Channel! Use the College Board's CLEP Official Study Guide, 17th Edition it helps. The practice tests will let you know what to brush-up on. I scored a 69.

I purchased your CLEP Study Guides for US History I and US History II. I thought they were extremely helpful. I like the practice tests with the answers with explanations. It really helped me pass both tests. I recommend these books to anyone who will take the CLEP tests. The information and tests were almost identical to what was on the test. I agree with others to use other study guides. I would also purchase the CLEP Study Guides for $10 each that way you can get an idea what is on the tests.

I am very pleased with the materials found in this book. Although REA cannot anticipate what questions may asked on the actual CLEP exam, the explanation why the various choices of answers are correct or incorrect gave me enough background to pass the CLEP exam yesterday. Thanks for great tool !!!!!!