Kaplan CSET: California Subject Examination for Teachers (Kaplan Cset: The California Subject Examination for Teachers) [Paperback]

Kaplan (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing; 3 edition (October 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419552813
• ISBN-13: 978-1419552816
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Passed all 3 sections in one testing! Used ONLY this book!, November 30, 2009

By 

Maluhia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kaplan CSET: California Subject Examination for Teachers (Kaplan Cset: The California Subject Examination for Teachers) (Paperback)

Yippee! I just got my scores about ten minutes ago and I passed!! I took all three sections at once and passed them all! The only study guide I used was this book!

Here's the deal; we've all learned this stuff before. We all recognize the word "isotope." But when is the last time you actually sat there and thought about what an isotope was? When was the last time you divided fractions? You don't need to be doing that for the first time in 5 years on the day of the test - you need to think about this stuff for the first time in 5 years a couple months BEFORE the test.

I checked this book out of the library 2 months before my CSET. I read all the review sections and took notes, and finished in a month. That left one month until the test - and I didn't review my notes again until the week before the test. The book has "tips" and "tricks" in every section about how to pass, followed by large sections of review. I only read the review sections.

I did feel a bit overwhelmed upon getting the book. It is about 500 pages. But just divide and concur. Take the practice online test from the actual CSET website and you'll begin to see what types of questions are asked. (FYI: I took the practice test from the CSET website and FAILED MISERABLY. Then I studied, and passed the real test! So this book DOES help!!! Don't be discouraged!) Anyway, the practice test will clue you in as to what subjects you really need to review. (For me, it was all of them except English!) The book is just so broad, but that is because the test is. I mean, it is as if there are 100 topics the, say, History subtest will tell you that you need to know, but it will only test you on 20 of them. That is overwhelming! But this book covers just about all 100 of those topics! Immediately after taking the test I felt like I had studied "too hard" and "too much" for the small number of topics actually covered. But since there was no way of knowing what those topics would be beforehand, it is a good thing I did!

I would definitely recommend this book. It worked for me!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful but lots of typos, January 18, 2009

By 

Molly Rose (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kaplan CSET: California Subject Examination for Teachers (Kaplan Cset: The California Subject Examination for Teachers) (Paperback)

My only preparation for the CSET was reading through this book, making flashcards and taking the practice tests, and I feel confident that I passed. However, I was frustrated by the number of typos in the book, including a few on the practice test questions and answers. While the book was sufficient for learning the material, I suspect there are better versions available.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Useful, but as mentioned, littered with mistakes, March 10, 2010

By 

k.tingler - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kaplan CSET: California Subject Examination for Teachers (Kaplan Cset: The California Subject Examination for Teachers) (Paperback)

Seeing as how it has been over a decade since I first learned the material covered on the CSET, this book serves as a good tool for brushing up on certain subject areas. I learn better by doing rather than simply reading/listening; so in my case, I found the practice tests the most useful. Based on the results of the practice tests, I kind of got an idea of what needed more review.

The problem, however, is that there are more than just a few typos within the answers and explanations for the practice tests. For example, I marked one of my answers wrong (on subtest 1) and flipped to the back to understand why. The explanation read:

16. C

The order of the writing process is prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading. The other three possibilities (A), (C), and (D) are incorrectly ordered.

Not only was the explanation in direct contradiction to the "correct" answer provided, but also the one answer left out, (B), if one logically assumes that must be the correct answer, doesn't even list the process in the right order -- the correct answer was (D), what I had marked initially. Granted, this is a fairly straightforward question that, even despite the confusion, can easily be figured out; this was only one example of the several typos I've come across.

Continuing on with the practice tests, I've come across some answers that are just flat-out wrong. One question asks to simplify the equation:

(x^2 - 5x + 1) - (x^2 + 4x + 7)

By the distributive property (the minus is distributed; - x^2 - 4x - 7), the equation simplifies out to -9x - 6. The book, however, ignores this property and explains "x^2 - x^2 combine to get 0; -5x and 4x combine to get -x; and 1 + 7 = 8. What you're left with is -x + 8."

That is wrong.

Anyways, the book's overall usefulness still outweighs these errors, but it's frustrating (and counterproductive, especially if you don't know any better) when you come across wrong answers in a book all about getting the right ones. If you're looking for a sole study guide to depend on, I can't say I would honestly recommend this one.

UPDATE: Apparently this book was useful enough. Like some others who've used only this book, I passed all 3 subtests on the first go. Granted, I had a pretty solid grasp on everything except history, chemistry, physics, and the arts; I guess this book can't be the worst guide you could choose. Just be wary if you do poorly on the practice tests -- there's a decent chance you got some wrong only because the book got them wrong.