happymomof1

I'm helping Happykid prep for the CLEP Spanish exam. We have the official CLEP material from the College Board, as well as Barrons AP and SAT II, and Princeton Review AP and SAT II materials. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

SGP

What I have heard: Peterson's tests are much easier than the CLEP. The best resources are the REA CLEP book w/CDs as well as the CollegeBoard practice tests. I've heard that the listening portion is surprisingly difficult because the speakers have heavy accents and talk very fast. The REA resources match the language (slang) you'll see.

happymomof1

Thanks! I'll look for that material.

HomeschoolingMom

D used Rosatta Stone software, the REA guide and also listened to audio books in Spanish, sometimes following along in the Spanish print version of the book. She started with familiar children's books and worked her way into longer adult level books. This method improved her listening skills because the speakers in the test are very fast. She passed Spanish CLEP just before starting 9th grade.

SGP

There is an online study program that has CLEP prep:
SpanishHour: Our 50 Day Program

This program has favorable review from college professors and they have a no-risk trial. It's worth checking out.

SGP

I have a discount code for SpanishHour worth $5 off the first month: 63112

happymomof1

Update:

Happykid didn't have time for extensive grammar review, so we concentrated on being certain that she was familiar with the types of questions on the exam. She used review materials for the SAT II with listening, the SAT II without listening, and the AP Spanish Language exam published by the College Board, Princeton Review, and Barrons. She also, worked through the questions in the official CLEP guide from the College Board. After the exam, she reported that there were no surprises. Her only comment about the testing environment was about noise. The testing room only has one computer station which means that only one person tests at a time. Because of that, she did not need to use a head set for the listening portions. However, other people in the building were conversing in the hallway, so she found herself repeating everything out loud so that she could better concentrate. This might not be an option in a larger testing center.

We chose the small testing location because the proctor there is very flexible and can supervise the exams at any time when she is in the office - including some evening slots. Other locations in our area have as few as one exam date each month, and the slots fill up very quickly. Even with the noise factor, Happykid says that she is happy with that location and would recommend it to others.

Good luck to all of you!

BuckeyeatHeart

Congratulations to your daughter! Her experience brings up a good point -- candidates who are taking any of the CLEP foreign language exams should be provided with audio headphones due to the listening section. It does not matter if there is only one computer or several. If you are a candidate who is interested in taking one of the foreign language exams, this should be a question to ask the proctor as you are calling your local test centers.

TXArchitect

My DD got a 4 on AP Spanish...primarily, she thinks, because of difficulty with the spoken section (heavy accents/rapid delivery)...

Would the CLEP be similar, more difficult, or less difficult?

In short, would it be worth taking the CLEP? She is planning on attending 'BAMA or a similar school that grants more credit for CLEP than AP exams.

BuckeyeatHeart

TXArchitect, that is a good score on the AP Spanish exam! Isn't the top score a 5? I have not heard of any university that grants more credit for CLEP exams vs. AP exams -- it is usually the other way around. Have you double-checked this?

One of the great benefits of the CLEP foreign language exams is the possibility of earning 4 semesters worth of credit if your university grants credit based on Level 1 and Level 2 scores. Maybe this is what you are referring to when you said your university grants more credit...

I would suggest trying some CLEP spanish practice tests. You can either download one (for $10) from the CLEP website, or you can also find them designed by other companies available in book form or online. I am not certain if any of them will have practice for the two listening sections. Just realize that the reading/grammer section makes up the bigger portion of the overall test -- 60 minutes vs. two 15-minute listening sections.

Many people seem to be confused about the foreign language exams, thinking there are two exams -- one for each "level." This is not the case; there is one exam and the final score determines whether you achieved level 1 or level 2. ACE (American Council on Education) recommends a 50 as the minimum score for level 1 Spanish and 63 as the minimum score for level 2 Spanish (perfect score is 80). You will want to double-check the policy of your university as these cut-off scores can be different.

TXArchitect

Thank you, BatH, this is very informative.

I am going to have DD consider taking the CLEP...she would get more credit hours if she did very well...

I appreciate your response!

SexyStache

@TXArchitect - How did your DD do on the CLEP? When I was a high school I scored a 3 on the AP test. Then two years later when I took the CLEP I got a score of 58, without any studying. I think the AP test was harder than the CLEP.