Hi guys I'm new here and got referred to this site from Reddit. My degree is in political science but I am getting my credential in English. I've been studying nonstop for my CSET exam that I'm taking late August but I can't stop freaking out about it. I see people say that the prep books and the practice questions don't help and at this point, I'm not sure what to study anymore. Has anyone here recently passed the CSET English and have any tips? Any resources? Also for how long did you study? I'm on a time crunch and have a month and a half. Thank you if anyone replies!!
I'm a really good test taker actually! I have a strong enough memory and use flashcards a lot. My only issue is not knowing if what I'm studying and memorizing is right because of all the mixed info all over the place
Ah. Then you may be overthinking. And being overly affected by the angst of people who have learned, and learned, AND learned, that they're rotten test takers. (Most of them are wrong, by the way. You'll see them among your future students: deal gently with them, please, but help them grow into their good brains, okay?) The correct multiple choice answer is sometimes the best, but more often it's the least worst: that is, it's what's left when one has eliminated all the other answers for being either grossly or somewhat stupid. I suspect you already knew that. The correct constructed response is the one in which the test taker (a) chooses a position that can be defended based on the stimulus, (b) defends that position based on evidence from the stimulus, and (c) does so using technical terminology from the pertinent subarea of English-and-language-arts-somewhat-broadly-construed. In other words, if you can make a convincing case for your non-standard analysis, the scorers will blink a couple of times, think, reread, smile, and pass you. And I for one think this is a strength of the system, not a weakness. Poli sci strikes me as an outstanding background for teaching English. Do please keep us in the loop, and do please not be a stranger here.
