Like I said: different resources work for different people. TeacherGroupie's Law of Test Prep: For every resource that someone swears by, there will be someone else who swears at it.
Well, I only got into graduate school because of my great scores on the general GRE. My English GRE scores were a bit less than the guidelines. And that was 15 years ago! I have fits remembering dates, names, and labels. On the other hand, I can discuss literary imagery and style at length. Any suggestions? :thanks:Q
Subtest III is about literary imagery and style. (Well, mostly.) Play to your strengths: pick a Big Name from your favorite anthology, isolate the salient aspects of imagery and style, check what you found against what the anthology trumpets, and then figure out how the anthology-given label makes sense in terms of what you found. Repeat with another Big Name. If that doesn't work for you, let's keep talking.
Thanks for all the feedback on this and the other board. As soon as I have a chance to get organized and to take one of the sample tests, I may have more questions. ... to be continued ... Q
Single Subject Methodology Course Hey folks, I passed the CSET English with help from this board and also from the Orange County Office of Education CSET prep books. Good stuff! My question - now that I have passed, I found out that I need to take a single subject methodology course to get my credential (I already have a Ryan Multiple Subject). Anyone know where one for California is and can be taken on-line? Or know of one in the Los Angeles / San Gabriel Valley area? I need to take it asap. Thanks so much! Jennyscout
I scored pretty high on all four subsections and I would say that, yes, the questions in the sample tests are very similar to those on the real test. In preparation for the test, I also brushed up on how to actually take this kind of test, since I did not do so well on the SAT back in high school. I would suggest not only studying the content of the tests, but also the strategy behind taking the 4 different kinds of tests. Because I had made myself familiar with the style of each subsection, I was able to focus more on expressing what I knew regarding the content. :2up:
Jennyscout, if the county office of education can't refer you to a bunch of programs, it would be surprising. Dunno about online, though it's likely to be out there. Ask at the local CSUs, including Cal Poly; you'd have to take it as an Open University class, or however they're organizing that these days. Then there's National and almost any of the old liberal-arts colleges scattered along the base of the San Gabriel range and points east, notably Azusa Pacific, Biola, La Verne, Redlands, maybe Occidental - the first four are big players in the satellite-campus model; there's also Claremont Graduate University, a valley east of you, and I'm sure there are other programs I'm not now remembering.
A sample size of one proves little, but there's not much that inflates my ego quite like having a prediction confirmed... Seriously: test takers are broadly sensitized to things they didn't know, but good test takers seem to me more inclined to look for ways in which they do know what a question is asking.
Thanks TG! I saw a bunch of programs on the CTC website, but was just wondering where the least expensive class would be. I found out that University of Phoenix offers it for $575 in Jan. in a 3 week online format. National U. also does it in Jan but it's $1377! It makes me mad how expensive teacher classes are, plus all the fees we have to pay! Thanks again! js
(mildly) Professors have to eat, too... and so do department secretaries and librarians and even campus security. Seriously, and this is true in a wider context: the cheapest course is not always the best value.
yup, it's certainly true all those people have to eat. i'm just thinking of other professions (IT, engineering) which don't make the employee eat the costs of renewing their licenses. I have spent over 2K in a few months just taking CPR, Advanced Computers, Health, and Special Ed Mainstreaming and now Single Subject Methodology; this is not including Commission and CSET fees and books. And I agree, I have found on-line classes to not be that impressive, but I am pressed for time. I can't believe there is such a huge price difference between National and Phoenix when both classes are on-line. Phoenix is also charging $75 for an on-line textbook, meaning a hard copy won't even be available. $75 for an invisible book!
Jenny, I'd be wary of taking an important methodology course that only gives you three weeks to take it. Courses like Health and Computers are the only ones I'd make an exception to.
HT, I agree. It's crazy to think that the course would be only three weeks when colleges do it for a semester. It seems like such a money-making operation. UCLA also teaches the course on-line for $490 but their course runs over a month. JS
One guesses that a lower-priced program may involve fewer contact hours (teaching hours) than a higher-priced one, though of course much depends on the particular institution.
speaking of which, I took a pretty great advanced computers class at UCLA Extension. It meant 2 weekends, and we learned so much, a very productive class and it was fun. it was supposed to go till 4:30 pm but in truth it ended hours earlier. I was one of the last people to leave and I felt bad for keeping the instructor over by asking questions when he wanted to leave.
That's how I got my first computer and health requirement out of the way . I'm doing the same for my advanced computer one.
As noted elsewhere, John Smith, it depends on where you are. If you're planning to take CSET for a credential in English - which is the focus of this thread - there's a good deal of work ahead of you, it would seem. Other threads on this Single Subject Tests subforum deal with other CSET single subject exams. If your concern is CSET-Multiple Subjects, for elementary school teaching, you need the Multiple Subjects Tests subforum.
I am also an English Major who is looking to become a teacher for the high school level. Now if i am not mistaken i will only need to take the English portion of this test and nothing else am i correct?
Correct. You will want to check on your program requirements but I think the standard is CBEST + CSET (subject).
For eelyajekim, it would be CBEST (http://www.cbest.nesinc.com) plus the four subtests of CSET English (http://www.cset.nesinc.com/CS_testguide_Engopener.asp). (CSET isn't a single test, it's a program of tests.) But since you're an English major, eelyajekim, you might want to have a chat with the credential analyst at your county office of education, to see whether you can get CSET English waived.
Teacher Groupie, I have done a search on a book(?) that you recommended a while ago titled _Great Works Of Literature You Should Have Read Or May Have Forgotten_, but cannot find any information on it. Do you have an author name by chance? Also, I have yet to do a search on this wonderful message board for Subtest IV recommendations, which is the only subtest remaining that I need to take (and pass), but if you have any thoughts on must-read/must-study for IV, I'd be grateful to hear them. Thank you, Donna
I don't recall the post, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't referencing one specific book, donnaw: instead, I meant a class of books. If you're in a relatively large bookstore, plausible places to look for one include the literary-criticism shelves within the literature section, the test-preparation section, and the bargain section. It makes sense to browse the possibilities for the one that best fills the gaps in your knowledge. I don't believe in must-reads. For one thing, not everyone can find them. For another, not everyone has got the same gaps. And (whimpering) do I hafta give away all my professional secrets for free??
I'll check the literary-criticism shelves, I hadn't though of that. I am sure I will come across something along the lines of your facetiously titled suggestion. And, of course, you don't have to give away anything that you don't care to! Goodness, I hope my post wasn't the advice-seeking straw that finally broke the advice-giver's back. O the guilt! Not to mention the fear I have of the other board members were it known that I was the one who forever silenced TeacherGroupie. That would be one angry virtual mob. And, I haven't bothered you for a good four months now. Actually, that's only due to the fact that I couldn't access these message boards because of my brower/os combo (I.E./Vista), but still! It still counts as a reprieve, doesn't it? Anyway, you're probably right about the must reads. However, if there is a consulting fee I could pay to get it out of you, I just may consider it. Donna
I am simultaneously giggling and feeling abashed. It's an interesting combination to sustain. You're going to do fine on this thing. But we can certainly talk.
Start at the beginning of http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=31052, glee15... you'll find the resources posted as attachments.
It worked okay for me I tried the Bella Print materials and thought they were pretty helpful. Good for help with terms and literary timelines. The writing section wasn't bad either.
Wow! This site/forum is a virtual wellspring of valuable information and guidance. You do a splendid job here, TG. Please forgive me, I'm sure this has been answered previously, but I'm getting a bit cross-eyed in my attempts to establish how many multiple choice questions sections I & II consist of. The basis for my curiosity stems from a desire to estimate the necessary time requirements for each subset compared to the the 15 questions on the practice exams (30 questions = twice the time, etc.). For some reason, I've yet to come across a specific number on the net. This info would go a long way towards helping me decide how many and which of the the subsets to tackle in one sitting. Thanks in advance and keep up the good work! (and again, I beg forgiveness if my question is repetitive)
It's not repetitive, really, it's just that the answer is in the one doc on the CSET English page (http://www.cset.nesinc.com/CS_testguide_Engopener.asp) that people don't tend to bother with: the English General Information doc. Subtests I and II each consist of 50 multiple choice questions. Subtest I is literary analysis and composition and rhetoric, with the emphasis on the former; Subtest II is language structures, linguistics, literacy, and all that. Subtest III is two extended constructed responses, one literary analysis and one non-literary; Subtest IV is four short constructed responses, in speech, journalism, theatre, and creative writing. People who pair them often combine Subtests I and III, since they cover quite similar ground, but others like to combine Subtests I and II because both are multiple choice. Oh, and you're welcome. Got any content questions?
No BS, TG - I've downloaded/read every .pdf on that page except: * English General Examination Information -link - (cannot post link) CS english SMR pdf For some reason I've been unable to grab that one. The file gets 'hung up.' But it explains why I couldn't find the info. I regret coming across as lazy. Thanks for coming through. (oh, and I've already taken all four sub-tests - really not lazy, just needed the number )
What, moi? Did I say you were lazy? No, I mean next to nobody looks at the geninfo docs for any of the CSETs, in my experience - I think people discover that the subtest description docs together essentially duplicate the SMR doc, and then they infer that what's in the geninfo doc must similarly be covered elsewhere.
TeacherGroupie, thanks so much for the quick reply. I went ahead and found all of Elmer's study guides from your suggested thread. Thank you TeacherGroupie and thank you Elmer very much!
Hi there, is Elmer still supplying English CSET notes? I would understand if not, since it is a few years later... but if so... I would jump at the chance to view said study helps! Thank you so much! This forum is such an amazing resource!
