Customer Reviews

CSET: English Subtests I-IV (REA) (CSET Teacher Certification Test Prep)

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This is definitely NOT the best teacher's prep for the CSET English! There are only a handful of study guides available for the CSET, and this one, the newest, is the worst I've seen. There is very little in the way of content review, and the sections on test-taking strategies are not very helpful. What is worse, the book is full of wrong information. I found many mistakes in the practice tests for subtest II, for example, where the author gives blatantly wrong definitions for several grammatical terms, including double-plural nouns and compound verbs. Moreover, his knowledge of the field of linguistics is appallingly limited, unforgivable in someone who is being paid to write about the subject. He places phonology and syntax within the field of applied linguistics (misleading - they belong primarily to pure linguistics), and his definition of philology ("the study of language in its cultural and social context") is actually the definition of sociolinguistics. Don't waste your money on this book. The study guides put out by the Orange County Dept. of Ed. are MUCH better.

I took the CSET today, and was amazed by how radically different the test was from the impression I had gotten of it from this book. The format and content were totally different. The book had a eurocentric viewpoint, whereas the test had questions from several different regions, cultures and time periods. The test also had many different textual excerpts with one to two questions on each, whereas the book had just a few with several questions on each. There was very limited review of potential content, and the review of the answers often simply restated the question. I now understand why this book was the only one on the shelf where I bought it.

This is the worst study aide out there. I am very disappointed, and fell as though it was a waste on money. The book is does not help the reader learn what is on the exam, it only stated things you should know and leaves the reader in the dark as to where the information can be found. The CD does not work and cannot be returned. A horrible waste of money. Opt for CliffNotes!

This is probably the worst "study guide" I have ever held in my hands. I can hardly call this a study guide. In fact, the guide on the CSET site offers more background than this overpriced and poorly written book. Shame on REA for even publishing it.

I bought this guide because there are only three books sold that cover the CSET:English exam. My bookstore had run out of the other two and so I bought this book to get a head start. It appears that this test guide took be one step backwards. There is practically NO review of the material covered in the subtests. The guide includes a walkthrough of how the test is formatted and what test-takers should be studying--the author refers the reader to old notes, anthologies, lecture slides, etc., but he reviews nothing in depth. There is no reviews of terms, literary time periods, and the two-page review of literary criticism is mediocre and incomplete. A study guide that directs me back to all my old books and notes shouldn't be called a guide at all--one might as well take a 6-week in-depth course.

I paid for the non-CD version because that's all the bookstore had, but the $15 I spent on this guide could have gone towards an AP English review book that would probably prepare me better. I'm using this guide for practice tests only. I paid for it, I might as well use it. Oh, did I mentioned that "linguistics" is misspelled in a chapter heading as "lunguistics"? Yeah, I'm not too sure I or anyone can rely on this book alone to pass the CSET. I recommend CliffsTestPrep CSET: English and Literary Terms SparkCharts for a more comprehensive review.