116 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Helped Me Pass the CSET On My First Try, June 14, 2004
This review is from: CSET: Multiple Subjects (Cliffs Test Prep) (Paperback)
I just received my scores for the CSET exam, and I passed ALL THREE subtests on my first try, and all taken on the same day, thanks in large part to Cliff's CSET test prep book by Jerry Bobrow and Stephen Fisher.
There was a test prep workshop that I enrolled in that recommended the MSAT book by Research & Education Association. However, the CSET exam replaces the MSAT exam; the reason given for using the older MSAT book was because it contained more detail in the history and literature sections. To this day, I never opened the MSAT book; rather, I used the Cliff's CSET book extensively.
Here is how the Cliff's CSET book worked for me:
First, I studied the CSET Web site (URL: http://www.cset.nesinc.com/) to find out exactly what the exam was all about. There is a link that provides you with a comprehensive outline of the subject matter requirements that you are responsible for on the CSET. Print this out and study it! THEN, I started reviewing Cliff's CSET book and saw how closely it mirrored the official CSET Web site's content requirements that would be tested for on the exam. It was this organization, and additional detail not found on the CSET official Web site, that helped me tremendously in preparing for the exam.
Second, after reviewing each section in the Cliff's CSET book, I referred to a series of books that provided additional detail. I have read complaints about this book not having enough detail from other reviews of this book. I also read reviews that recommended supplementing this lack of detail with a series of books by Hirsch: "What Your 4th (or 5th or 6th) Grader Needs to Know." When I took a look at these books, I said to myself, they are good resources if you have the time to sift through them all by grade. But I am a busy mom raising gradeschool children, trying to maximize my time studying in order to work towards obtaining my teaching credential. I am also 40-something with a several-year period break in my career to raise kids, and I don't remember a thing about what I learned in gradeschool. I referred to a series of books that were a TREMENDOUS help to me, and moreso in a shorter period of time: the "Everything You Need to Know About (World History, American History, Science, English, Geography, and Math) Homework" series by Anne Zeman and Kate Kelly. I purchased all six (there are more, but I focused only on the key subject areas). You can either buy them new or used, or check your local library. If you are a visual learner like I am, these books are for you.
Third, having reviewed the CSET Web site, reviewing all sections of the Cliff's CSET test prep book, reviewing content areas in more detail using the homework series of books, I then took the entire Practice Test 1 in the Cliff's book. For those that I missed, I read the detailed analysis of what the correct answers were, and why. The Cliff's book does an EXCELLENT job of explaining the answers to each question. Once I reviewed my mistakes, and tallied my scores, which the book tells you how to do, I then took Practice Test 2. I also made sure that I answered all of the practice essay exam questions. Again, the book does an EXCELLENT job of describing to you how to approach answering the essay questions. When you review the breakdown of the entire CSET exam, you will see that the essay questions are worth a lot of your score. But if you practice the ones in the book, you will realize that you do not have to write perfectly written prose to answer the question correctly. You can make a list of your answers or draw diagrams with labels if you want to, so long as you get the main points identified.
Finally, I then had two days to go before exam time - all five hours of it on an early Saturday morning. There were no surprises. And I had 10 minutes to spare to double check my exam booklets that I had answered every question.
The Cliff's CSET book guided my overall test taking strategy: I focused more on those content areas that were worth the most points (e.g., history, science, math, and language arts comprising Subtests I and II) and less on those areas that were worth less points (e.g., human development and the arts in Subtest III). But I did not ignore any of these subject areas.
I also kept reminding myself that this is an exam of what I should know as a future teacher of gradeschool kids, and NOT as a single subject high school teacher or college professor (those require different exams [grin]). This is why I found the homework series of books I mentioned above helpful; they kept me focused on what my appropriate level of understanding should be. And it made my studying actually quite fun. Otherwise, it is very easy to get overwhlemed with too much information. I only needed to pass the exam, not get 100%. Perfection was not my goal here; a passing score that demonstrated my basic level of competency was; and I achieved that.
I believe that if you focus your study around this book, you can easily test for what you know, identify what you don't know, list and prioritize the additional resources you need to refer to to get the additional content detail you require. Further, if you continue to work through the book's practice tests, it is highly probable that you will be well prepared, and with minimal surprises, when you take the actual exam.
Thank you Cliff's, and thank you Jerry Bobrow and Stephen Fisher for a very effective study guide. This book definitely took the "anxiety" out of the test for me.
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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Big disappointment!, October 20, 2003
This review is from: CSET: Multiple Subjects (Cliffs Test Prep) (Paperback)
First of all, let me say that this book, the CliffsTestPrep guide on the CSET, is a big disappointment. I waited 2 months for this book to be published, and when it finally came to my door i was overjoyed. I happily scanned through the pages, and by the time i got to the last page, i felt like there was something missing. The contents seemed very general and not thorough enough. The book was filled with outlines and reviews on the topics that were "supposed" to be on the test, however, it does not go in depth with these topics.
Nevertheless, i stuck with it anyways, since i had never taken the CSET before, and Cliffs had gotten me out of trouble many times in the past. So i studied this book religiously for 3 weeks. Then when it came time to take the CSET, i thought i was ready. I went into taking the CSET with confidence, and came out shattered. The topics that were covered in the book came reasonably close to the actual test, but it didn't matter because the questions in the test requires you to know more of the details... which was not provided in this book.
Let me give you a preview of Cliff's guide on the CSET. There are three parts to it. The first part is: Analysis of Exam Areas, which is pretty pointless, because this info could be downloaded off the CSET website. The second part is a review of the subject areas. And like i said earlier, was insufficient. Finally, the third part of the book consists of 2 practice exams with detailed answers. The only thing i thought was useful about this book.
I did not get my results yet, but it doesn't look good for me. If i didn't pass, i don't blame anyone but myself. I guess if there is an advice i can give you is to use more than one study aid. I don't recommend this book, but you can buy it for reviewing if you have extra money and time to spare. Hope this helps.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Same material as OLD MSAT, September 19, 2003
This review is from: CSET: Multiple Subjects (Cliffs Test Prep) (Paperback)
The Cliff's Notes covered the basic material of the new CSET, but I thought it wasn't as thorough as it should of been. The CSET test had questions that were not covered on this book. The route I took was to read some of Hirsch's work. It helped out more than the Cliff's. Also if you are a new CSET test taker, don't purchase any of the products from teaching solutions. I just read about it on the internet that it is a scam and a bogus product. I had just got mine, and I could tell you to save your money. It's a no go.
Hirsch's book is probably the best bet to go.
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