Beating the CSET! Methods, Strategies, and Multiple Subjects Content for Beating the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (Subtests I-III) [Paperback]

Chris Nicholas Boosalis (Author), Charles Jackson (Contributor), Sam A. Marandos (Contributor), Erica Seropian Cardey (Contributor), Leslie Herod (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0205458092 | ISBN-13: 978-0205458097

/*0205458092, Boosalis, Beating the CSET!, 1e*/Beating the CSET! will help both pre-service and practicing teachers in California pass the CSET Multiple Subjects Subtests I - III. Because passing the CSET Multiple Subjects test is now required for an elementary credential in California, this new text has been designed to address the essential time-management methods, essay and multiple-choice strategies, and content that test takers must master in order to passSubtests One through Three of the exam. Unlike other preparation books, this text does not simply offer a copy of MSAT materials. Instead, the content, constructed-response and multiple-choice strategies, and special time-management models for the tests are all research based and tailored to CSET Multiple Subject content in great detail.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Beating the CSET! will help both pre-service and practicing teachers in California pass the CSET Multiple Subjects Subtests I - III.

Because passing the CSET Multiple Subjects test is now required for an elementary credential in California, this new text has been designed to address the essential time-management methods, essay and multiple-choice strategies, and content that test takers must master in order to pass Subtests One through Three of the exam. Unlike other preparation books, this text does not simply offer a copy of MSAT materials. Instead, the content, constructed-response and multiple-choice strategies, and special time-management models for the tests are all research based and tailored to CSET Multiple Subject content in great detail.

People who used Beating the CSET! report:

"I took all three sections of the CSET and passed- the first time! The invaluable time-management, scoring, essay and multiple-choice approaches all worked for each of the subtests, and the content is in abundance. I know for a fact that Beating the CSET! is the reason that I passed. Based on my success, I strongly recommend this book to everyone."
Sarah S., elementary teacher, McSwain Elementary School District

"Beating the CSET! helped me to manage my time during the test and provided guidelines and strategies that were helpful in making sure that I achieved a passing score. It also provided additional information as well as other resources to aide in my preparation. I highly recommend this text to anyone who wants to be prepared to pass this test the first time."
Lisa N., Teaching Specialist, Merced, California

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon (June 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205458092
• ISBN-13: 978-0205458097
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Corrections for the math chapter are available here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24502459/Math-Corrections-for-Chapters-14-19-v2

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware!, October 18, 2006

By 

Woody, the Teacher (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Beating the CSET! Methods, Strategies, and Multiple Subjects Content for Beating the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (Subtests I-III) (Paperback)

If you want a review of subjects you know pretty well, Beating the CSET may be a good choice. If, however, you're rusty or actually need to learn some material for the first time, don't buy this book. Why? Of all the books I have read the last 20 years (over 1,000...I read at least a book a week), this book has the most MISTAKES!

Some of the mistakes are simple, suggesting the publisher relied upon SpellCheck rather than carefully proofing the book: derivations instead of derivational, modifies instead of modifiers, class instead of clause, interaction instead of interjection. Others are of real concern. One table, for example, says that of the 11,000,000 people living in the US South in 1860, 4,000 were slaves. The reality is that approximately 4,000,000 southerners were slaves. Big difference! Another example: in explaining density, the book correctly says it found by dividing mass by volume. Unfortunately, in comparing the density of a brick and a block of balsa wood, it says that each has a volume of one foot by one foot. That's not volume; that's area!

These are just a few easy-to-relay examples. The book averages approximately one irritating typo per page and one significant error per subtopic (like semantics, physical science or plant biology).

I believe you're better off getting a book with practice tests (Beating the CSET has none), taking a test or two to figure out where you're weak, and reviewing a book that addresses each area of weakness (e.g., an SAT II review book).

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very effective, detailed and comprehensive, May 22, 2006

By 

Sandra Hightower "Greysandy" (Anaheim, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beating the CSET! Methods, Strategies, and Multiple Subjects Content for Beating the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (Subtests I-III) (Paperback)

I bought this book, along with the REA book with the CD and the Cliffs book. This is the best book out of the 3. If you only want to buy one book, I would recommend this one. I read this book last and I feel like it was very good in covering many subjects, and was especially helpful for the History & Social Studies section because it was organized in such a concise, easy manner with tables showing the key concepts. I was really lacking in knowledge in this area, and reading this book is what really helped me feel confident in taking the test. There are tables showing the main concepts such as causes of Civil war, the Constitution compared to Articles of Confederation, comparison of Egyptian geography culture, and scientific advances compared to Rome and Greece. The Human Dev, Art and PE sections were all excellent, and it contained a good explanation on reading music. The math section was good, but I am strong in math so I didn't study math at all. The science section was good with the right amount of detail, I was surprised how easy the science section of the CSET test was. The only thing that lacked was the low quality picture of cell division, but I didn't have any cell division questions on my CSET test. The reading acquisition and Language arts section was thorough but I have to say it was a bit long winded. There was almost too much information presented, so that I didn't absorb it as much as if it were shorter and more concise. I liked the Cliffs version better for language acquisition. There are no sample tests, but there are examples and answers of test questions in the very beginning chapter that are helpful. This book really has the most content included in it, it is long and the font is pretty small compared to the other books.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good CSet Book, August 27, 2005

By 

CSet Trainer "CSet Trainer" (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beating the CSET! Methods, Strategies, and Multiple Subjects Content for Beating the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (Subtests I-III) (Paperback)

I'm a CSet trainer in the valley. We use this text exclusively to prepare our candidates. They are very pleased with the book, the thoroughness of the information, and their final results. The author even sent us sample exam info, which was very valuable. Normally, I would not write a review of a test prep book, but its nice to find something of actual value and use out there.