Customer Reviews

Last/Ats-W: How to Prepare for the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written, with an Introduction to t (Barron's How to Prepare for the LAST/ATS)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read every section of this book pertaining to the LAST exam and took all the practice quizzes and tests. Not only did I find the book frustrating (because of numerous errors in the practices quizzes/tests and some truly absurd statements in the review material) but once I took the actual exam I felt like I had wasted a whole lot of time using the book. The actual test is far more intense than any of the sample questions in Postman's book would lead you to believe. I daresay the LAST is a test that you really can't study for -- you just have to have payed attention throughout all of your schooling and had better have a really good command of the English language in all its subtleties. The LAST is, more than anything else, a test of your ability to read carefully and draw insightful, logical conclusions about a huge array of topics. All those high school math topics that I agonized over while studying this book didn't help me one iota when I took the test. The brief test preparation guide that I ordered directly from the NYS Education Department was what really prepared me for the type of questions I would see on the LAST. (As for the kind of errors I found... see for instance page 244: a piano is a percussion instrument! like a "symbol" is! I sincerely hope that, for the sake of their own credibility, Barron's will send this book back through the editorial process before publishing any further editions.)

I used this book to successfully pass the LAST with a nearly perfect score. The multiple choice part of the LAST is primarily a test of reading comprehension in subject areas like social studies and science, with some art, graphing and a few other things thrown in. It is not test of your knowledge. The practice tests in the book were very much like the actual test I took.

This book gives excellent study tips and steps for writing the essay. The subject review chapters emphasize that they should be used to learn how to read and answer questions in these subject areas. I think this is the key to this test. I recommend this book if you are preparing for the LAST.

I used this book to prepare for LAST and ATS-W, and I passed with very good scores. It took me about a month to prepare for both at the same time.

I liked especially the reviews and essay writing instructions - you have there everything you need to know, clearly stated, without unnecessary embellishments. Very easy to digest and memorize.

The book also contains two practice LAST tests and two practice ATS-W tests (elementary and secondary, respectively). All tests have explained answers.

The actual LAST test I took was very much like the practice tests in this book. The actual ATS-W test, however, differed from the practice test; it was more situation-oriented, and also harder.

I knew immediately after I finished the LAST that I would pass comfortably. However, after the ATS-W I found myself for the first time in the unenviable position of having no idea how I did: I wouldn't have been surprised by a score of 100, or 300.

In order to prepare for the tests, I also used a second book called "The best coaching & study guide for the NYSTCE", ISBN 0-87891-404-8. The reviews in it were unnecessarily verbose and complicated, I think. That is why I didn't use them. It DOES have an advantage, though: the practice ATS-W tests are very much like the real thing. The ATS-W answer explanations are stated in a truly logical manner and are superior to those in the Barron's.

The study guides from the NY State Education Department are of NO value except for the 5 sample questions you can find in there, and the essay examples and essay scoring explanations. They offer no more than a tiny taste of the real thing.

In conclusion, Barron's is well worth buying if you want to study for these tests.

I got this book just before the October test and it was a life saver. It is the best book to prepare for the LAST ATS-W. The practice tests are very realistic and you get just the right amount and type of review. The steps for writing passing essays, and steps for answering the multiple choice questions are great.

This book just nails these tests and the back of the book shows you how look for a job in New York State and lists EVERY school district in the state with the number of schools enrollment and phone numbers.

I took the LAST and the ATSW this past Saturday. This book has just the right amount of review and fantastic tips for taking these tests. The practice tests in the book were very similar to the real tests. Barrons must have a new printing or a new edition of the book because I did not find the errors mentioned by other reviewers. I recommend this as the best book for these tests.

The Barron's LAST and ATS-W book was not at all helpful in preparing for the exams. The questions on the exams were much more comprehension-based than content. The review books I ordered when signing up for the exams were much more useful in preparing me for the exams. Stick with those!

Overall, this work is understandable. The exam has a number of
lengthy paragraphs followed by a single question. Such a format
requires that you read the question first and then read the
paragraph utilizing a highlighter. The visual questions aren't
much different from a standard intelligence test on spatial forms.
The math and science are very straight-forward. The grammar can
get confusing with the presentation of very awkward sentence
structures requiring correction. Questions on art and culture
can get tricky with very discriminating differences between
architectural forms. Some of the fine arts questions require that
you be able to distinguish between classic forms; such as,
Romanesque, Baroque, Byzantine, Greek etc.

This test will measure very general knowledge in the arts and
sciences. The format gets very awkward in spots. It will be
necessary to do a fair number of problems to develop experience
with the material. The Postman work is well organized. The
problems are challenging. A criticism of the work is that the
problem sets are somewhat limited in number although the level
of difficulty is appropriate. This book should be utilized in
conjunction with others on the subject. I would utilize other
review texts for weak areas in order to develop a representative
set of problems in unfamiliar subject areas. Testing on amorphous
spatial forms and problems contrasting classic architectural
differences typify new or unfamiliar material for the candidate
reviewing the material for the first time.

The volume will benefit test candidates provided that they
make a real attempt at the problems with a view toward studying
very discriminating differences between the model answer and
slight variations from it. This volume is not a reader. It contains numerous problems which depict the material to be tested. Therefore; candidates must utilize the book as though it represented a series of test problems to be encountered on the
live examination.

This book is well worth the money spent - but beware of mistakes in the answer keys! One blatant error is on an art related question. There are five possible answers (a-e) but only four options (a-d). (e) is clearly the right answer, the written explanation even says so!!!

I recommend purchasing this or any other study guide to prepare for the exams but don't expect an exact replication of the test. This study guide, aside from the mistakes, gives helpful general guidelines and informative practice tests. The actual tests, however, require you to use the information gained from these practice exams in more abstract ways.

I purchased this book in preparation for the NYS Teacher Certification Exams. I was hoping for it to be as good as the other reviewers said it was. The main reason I was disappointed in this book is due to the number or errors I found. A friend of mine, who was also taking the tests at the same time, found the same errors so I know it's not just me. Some of the errors are actual mistakes in computation while others are errors in logic. In some cases the answer given is correct but the explanation is wrong or vice versa. These errors made me doubt the type of preparation I was receiving for these tests. Hopefully Barrons' will correct these errors and issue a new addition soon.

I used this book to successfully prtepare for thesew tests. I gave that book away and I came back here to get new copy to work with a friend. This book deserves praise. The copies I have was error free. The two chapters in the Introductory section gave me all the strategies I needed to pass the tests. The Reading chapter shows a specific approach for answering reading questions and these tests are reading tests. The English and Writing chapter shows how to write the essays. The Mathematics chapter in this new copy recommends a short cut review. The ATSW chapter gives a very good review for that test. There are four realistic practice tests. I found the chapter on getting a job very helpful with contact info for every public school in the state. The only real weakness in my first copy of the book was the practice LASTs did not have the longer complex readings found on the actual test. The tests in this new copy include those longer readings. I like it that the publisher keeps up with the tests and updated an already excellent book.