I scored a 62 on the U.S. History 1 CLEP.
If you like history it’s not a difficult test. If you’re a history dummy, don’t worry, easy route memorization will see you through it. If you’re American, you already have had the benefit of covering the material. It’s the same material you learned in your textbooks from elementary school, junior high and high school, and it will all come back to you once you hit your study materials. Studying for this one will be nothing but review for you.
Don’t waste your time watching hours of the History channel, not if you don’t want too and you’re just looking to pass as quickly as possible. To make the most out of your study hours, use Instant Cert. Go through the sets of cards until you’re sick in the head, then go through them a couple times more if you’re still unconfident. Me, I went through them twice a day for three days. If you don’t have that kind of time, do them once a day for six days.
Other then that, I read through Cliffs Quick Review twice while riding as a passenger in cars. I didn’t make any highlights or notes, I just read it. You don’t have to read this, you’ll be fine with Instant Cert alone since everything in the book is on the cards. But sometimes it’s good to mix things up and digest the information in a different format. A used copy is less than $10 with shipping, and it’s small too. Not a big time sink.
If you want other study materials, you have some options.
First, there is the REA guide. I find their format tedious, but they do have some practice tests in the back.
Second, for those who like videos, there is a promising set of videos on YouTube by CrashCourse. I haven’t watched them myself, but they have been recommended by others.
If your looking for the one best book to study with, the Cracking the AP US History Exam is a popular choice.
As always, just in case you found yourself here for the first time, I want to say the practice tests on Peterson’s are good. I like them better than those found in the back of the REA book because I’ve found that the difficulty level is closer to the actual test.
Here’s another US History 1 CLEP practice test if you sign up for free. I haven’t taken this specific one, but I did another and it was helpful.
On a final note, remember to group your history tests together for the best usage of your time. And if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty details of what questions to expect on the test, visit the exam specific feedback section of the degree forum, which you’ll gain access to after signing up with Instant Cert.
Cheers and good luck!
Olivia says
I just took my CLEP US History I exam today and scored a 72. To prepare, I incorporated several of the recommendations from this article. I spent 5 weeks preparing (spending about 20 minutes-1 hour in preparation during the weeknights). I read through the Cliff Notes book three times during this period ($6) and watched through the free Crash Course US History videos (22 in total) twice. Additionally, I bought and took CLEP’s practice exam the week of my exam ($10). If you are a diligent studier, there is no need to buy an expensive practice course. Make use of these incredible resources: they will serve you well. Note: I took US history in high school over 5 years ago. Before studying, I couldn’t even remember what the French and Indian war was! So, don’t loose faith. You can learn and pass if you use these resources!