Here is what I liked about this volume:
- Great overview of the CLEP testing program
- Good information about the CLEP computer interface. Although it would have been better to get hands on experience directly (more on this on a later post)
- Clear, concise answers on the practice test questions
- It is an inexpensive book
- Great vocabulary list at the end of the book, including a very nice section on word roots (in my opinion, that alone was worth the price of the book)
- I also liked their "Math in a Nutshell" section
On the other hand, I found the subject reviews weak. To be fair, how can one adequately describe Humanities or Social Sciences or Natural Sciences, let alone all five subjects, in just a few pages? I do not think this book can be used as the only book for test prep, unless you have considerable background. As a review, it does an okay job.
What really works well is working through the practice tests (2 per subject) and reading the answers whether you get the questions right or wrong.
The information on how to write good essays was marginally useful in my experience. By the way and in case you have not heard, poor writing is the number one complaint among college professors: students do not know how to write! Any book that improves writing is a winner in my list.
Unfortunately, given the scope of the book, there was not much actual writing practice.
Given the scope of the task and the price of the book - I think the book is an A-.
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