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Not even worth borrowing from a library!!
I checked out this book from the library for my wife to read because she is going through the NBC process and was looking for help. Simply put, this book is pointless. All that is in it are horror stories that do nothing but make the reader even more stressed out. You could really judge this book by it's cover, just look at the woman in the picture she shows the stress that the NBC puts you through! This book does not help the reader in anyway to give any insight into the certification. I'd recommend checking out some of the other NBC guide books on amazon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

XAM Phys Ed K-12
Book had a few typos and errors in it.I used the book for a week and took my exam, Passed on the First attempt; so I think it helped me :) ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

Great study guide
The book is perfect for studying for the FTCE. Wish it came with flash cards though.

it is a GUIDE not a TEXT BOOK
TheFTCE Biology 6-12 is a guide to prepare one for the FL teacher certification exam. I read the reviews that said it was "full of typos and errors." I don't find factual errors but broad generalizations that could potentially be misleading. The key is using this as a guide and not a text. I start with the skill point listed, read the general review and then go to other sources for in-depth learning. Online I find animations, controversies, quizzes, many from online college biology courses. There are colleges and universities that make their content and quizzes available online to anyone. My point is that without the guide, I wouldn't really know WHAT to concentrate on. I use it as an outline and then I fill in the gaps and typos with my newfound knowledge. Of course, I haven't taken the test yet, so the efficacy of this approach remains unproven!

Virtually Useless
I was appalled at the number of grammatical, printing, logical, and just plain factual errors in this book. It was not the help I expected it to be. There were repeated paragraphs, misspelled words, typographical errors, pronouns that referred to incorrect nouns, incomplete sentences, and statements that were so confusing I had to clarify many things on the Internet before I could transfer them to my study note cards. I actually started marking pages in the book at around page 5 and there are over 20 flags in 122 pages of study material. Even the sample test and explanations were spaced erratically and, more often than not, confusing. By the time I reached the sample tests, I grew weary of flagging their mistakes.

Somehow, by studying the sample questions provided by the State of Florida and researching the web, I managed to pass this test in January of this year. I am now scheduled to take the Middle Grades General Science 5-9 FTCE test in July and need to find study material for that. I hesitate to purchase that study guide lest I waste another $60+ due to finding the same mistakes that caused me to research the material on my own. My dilemma is that there is no other suggested guide. I actually felt that I did more work with the Biology guide than I would have without it. Do they not employ a proofreader or fact checker? I emailed this same complaint to the publisher and have not yet heard from them.

I'm unsure if this information is right
Just got into the 2nd Competency and had to stop. There were too many spelling mistakes in this book and some of the information is just glanced over. I hope that's how the test will be. But I'm not sure. What got me to write this review was page 25:
"4. Pollution events:
There have been many pollution events in our history. The most infamous was the oil pollution in 1971 during the Gulf war in Kuwait. This single event affected marine life and birds. The oil spill on large scale gave no chance for the birds to survive. It was graphic, expensive, and an ecological disaster."
WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT!!!
This paragraph has made me question everything in this book. It's been 15 years since I took biology and I still know some of the stuff but I'm going to have ot get a double check for some of these names and dates.

Excellent test guide
Excellent resource and practice.Has actual test questions.Some minor errors but other books by this company have also helped me ace several tests.Worth the money. ... Read more

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This is the only introduction to teaching text that is specifically built around the new Texas standards for teacher certification. It is also the only Texas-specific book that combines practice with a solid grounding in theory (unlike available practice TExES books that provide only limited theoretical information). With Nath and Cohen's text as their guide, students will pass the Texas certification test--and also learn a great deal about effective teaching techniques. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Execellent and Useful Textbook
Actually, I bought the praxis book for my wife. She has high praises for the book. The book was in a execellent condtiton and very helpful to her. My wife also said she will advice anyone to buy this book. (Praxis Early Childhood/Education of Young Children 020,022) (Xam Praxis)

SERIOUSLY....not a good buy!
Similar to previous reviews, this book was NOT ALIGNED to the exam AT ALL. I studied this book inside and out, and I used next to none of it. The sample tests in the book were seriously not difficult and not a good preview of what to expect on the exam. COMPLETELY different! This book was definitely misleading to the real thing.

AND if you read this book, note how many grammatical errors and typos are in this book? That should've clued me in that this book is NOT A GOOD BUY! If you're going to be legit and published, at least proofread it.

Review
It was an aggravating experience, it took 26 days for the Item to arrive to me, It was extremely disappointing.

Great study guide
This was an excellent resource book to help prepare for the Praxis.I performed above average on the test.It took me all summer to study but the content was very informative.It is true that the practice tests were not that helpful-but are they ever? The strength for the practice tests however are as a great review for the content and teaching how to read test questions carefully also use the tests to pace your time on taking tests. I did further research on the computer but this book was my true tutorial.I highly recommend anyone taking the Praxis to use this book.

Praxis Early Childhood 022 Test Prep - Not!
This book was terrible.I took the Praxis Early Childhoold - Content Knowledge (022).This book was not aligned to the assessment at all.The book had two practice tests and they were nothing like the one that was posted on-line (in content or in the way the questions were worded).The one posted on-line when you sign up to take the Praxis is a good example of the way the questions will be worded and the way the questions feel.

I rate this as a no star but this program didn't let me do it.

As a math educator, there were statements made about mathematics instruction that concerned me greatly.I worried that if a beginning teacher read this and took it to heart, it would not be a good thing.

I assumed, since this was the only study guide I could find, that the author was authorized to put this book together and that it in fact prepared you for the test.This book was very spendy and only a fraction of the content helped me at all.Not happy at all!!!!!!!!!! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Good but not great
Good book but does not cover nearly the material needed to know for the test. Maybe a good start but get other resources before taking the test.

Best review on the market for GACE biology exam
Unfortunately, there is no text currently on the market (as of June 2009) which is a complete preparation for the Georgia GACE exam.The XAM GACE biology study guide is the BEST available.It provides a review of the subject matter and 150 questions which are representative of the actual test.


After a 23-year hiatus from biology, I found this text to be an excellent preparation for the GACE biology exams.I also used the Praxis Study Guide for the Sciences, but found XAM to be more representative of the actual multiple-choice questions.

I used XAM Biology and Google to prepare for the exam.Terms I googled to get more information (which were on the test): DNA transcription and translation, PCR, Hardy-Weinberg, krebs and calvin cycle, neurotransmitters, lysogenic, oxidation/reduction, DNA structure, biomes, enzyme-catalized reactions.

None of the tests on the market cover the essay portion of the exam (aka "constructed response").The essay samples on the GACE website are indicative of type and difficulty of actual essay test questions.The June 2009 exam essays covered the structure of chromosomes, experiment design to test for air pollution, abiotic factors effecting plants in a particular biome, and genotype/phenotype using a punnett square.

Bottom line, XAM biology is excellent reference for GACE exam.However, supplement this text with other resources and make certain you know concepts in detail!

GACE Review
This book did very little to prepare for the actual test.Less than 10% of the items in this book were relevant.

study guide
There is not a lot of information out there for Georgia's teacher examinations.This manual does a great job of walking you through each skill.It prepares you well for the exam, and then gives you a sample exam just to be sure.Nice work! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

Well, I passed...
I bought this book as my first study guide when trying to pass the Middle Grades General Science FTCE Summer 2010. This book is the 2009 version. I noticed no one on here said whether they passed after using this guide, they just reviewed the guide prior to either passing or failing. So I wanted to let people know that I studied from this guide and passed.

How much did this guide help with that? Probably alot. I was absolutely astounded to find out that this book is organized in the exact way the exam is. If you look up the DOE's guide to studying for this exam, they divide the testing material into categories called "Competencies" and subcategories called "Skills". This is exactly how this book is laid out with even the same titles for competencies and skills. It even goes into a bit of detail on the final section (stuff you really won't find elsewhere) which covers what to do in the science classroom (these are the questions I found to be the hardest on the actual exam). It gives a 125 question practice exam with every single answer explained and tells why the alternate answers are not correct (since the exam is multiple choice). Currently you need a 70% to pass this exam and when I first took the practice quiz before reading through the book I got 64.5%, but after reading the book I got it up to the required 70%. After reading through all the explanations though, I could have gotten near 100%.

How close was the actual exam to this guide? Not including the section at the end about what to do in the science classroom (ex: on what kind of animals can one experiment?) this guide's practice exam was actually harder than the FTCE itself! That's just what you want when studying (if you know this it helps too because you don't feel stupid getting only just above 70%)! That's right, the questions on this practice exam were harder than the actual exam, and I'm glad for that, because it really over prepared me for this test, meaning that when I sat down to take it and saw the questions I breezed through them because I had seen similar ones that were much harder.

Well, then, is there anything wrong with this guide? Oh yes. It is rife with spelling and grammatical errors as the other reviewers have pointed out. It is so very very bad. There are errors where they are listing things in a numbered list and #3 bleeds into #4 like they didn't know how to work Microsoft Word, spelling mistakes like "[Venules] are now carry waste products from the cells", and "...the current produced is is across th, you can calculate the current by...", as well as errors that just don't make any sense, for example: "Earth's galaxy is found in the Milky Way". Earth's galaxy IS the Milky Way. How can the Milky Way be found in the Milky Way?

All of this said, this is the best of two study guides I could find. The other was the Mometrix Media one (yellow and black cover) and it was pretty terrible, even though it didn't have nearly any errors. It was just a list of words and semi-definitions. Nothing about what to do as a science teacher or how to conduct experiments or what animals you can experiment on, etc.

I recommend this guide, but wish they would hire an actual spell checker so I could give it 5 Stars.

It is okay...
The book makes a nice study guide. Simple to read and to the point. It is a little on the pricey guide for being a study guide. There are some helpful study tips and a practice test included.

Not recommended - wasn't proofread very well
This study guide has quite a few grammar and spelling mistakes which detract from the veracity of the book. There are hardly any drawings or other illustrations to demonstrate concepts so visual learners beware! There are probably better alternatives to this study guide.

Don't buy this book!!!!!!!!!
This book is full of errors.The sample test answer key is all sporatically wrong.Information throughout the text contains errors, there are countless grammatical errors and misspelled words.
This is not just an annoyance ----- they get facts completely wrong.I contacted the publisher and they told me they are having a lot of problems with this book and offered to refund my money.
This book is not only a waste of money.Studying from it is a waste of time.

Good Study Guide
It covers a lot of the information that is actually on the test. It is easy to read and understand. I liked it and I would recommended. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

This text is questionable!!
I am very disappointed with this study guide!I took the practice test first to get a feel for what I really needed to study.The test and the answer key do not match and one question even states a counselor does not have to report child abuse if it is commited by a grandparent if they do not live in the same household.Some of the questions and correct answers make me question the entire book!
I would not only not recommend this study guide, I would warn against it!
The writers and publisher should be ashamed! ... Read more

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FTCE Music K-12 Flashcard Study System uses repetitive methods of study to teach you how to break apart and quickly solve difficult test questions on the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations. Study after study has shown that spaced repetition is the most effective form of learning, and nothing beats flashcards when it comes to making repetitive learning fun and fast. Our flashcards enable you to study small, digestible bits of information that are easy to learn and give you exposure to the different question types and concepts. FTCE Music K-12 Flashcard Study System covers all of the most important topics that you'll need to know to be successful on test day. ... Read more

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The mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is to establish 'high and rigorous standards for what teachers should know and be able to do, to certify teachers who meet those standards, and to advance other education reforms for the purpose of improving student learning in American schools.' In response to a request from the U.S. Congress, the National Research Council developed a framework for evaluating programs that award advanced-level teacher certification and applied that framework in an evaluation of the impacts of the NBPTS. Specifically, this book addresses the impacts on students, teachers, and the educational system in this country."Assessing Accomplished Teaching" finds that teachers who earn board certification are more effective at improving their students' achievement than other teachers, but school systems vary greatly in the extent to which they recognize and make use of board-certified teachers.Many of the questions on the evaluation framework could not be answered because the data have not been collected, and the report makes recommendations for the kinds of research that are needed to fully evaluate the impacts of board certification by the NBPTS. ... Read more

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MTTC Integrated Science (Elementary) (93) Test Secrets helps you ace the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification, without weeks and months of endless studying. Our comprehensive MTTC Integrated Science (Elementary) (93) Test Secrets study guide is written by our exam experts, who painstakingly researched every topic and concept that you need to know to ace your test.Our original research reveals specific weaknesses that you can exploit to increase your exam score more than you've ever imagined.MTTC Integrated Science (Elementary) (93) Test Secrets includes: The 5 Secret Keys to MTTC Success: Time is Your Greatest Enemy, Guessing is Not Guesswork, Practice Smarter, Not Harder, Prepare, Don't Procrastinate, Test Yourself; Introduction to the MTTC Series including: MTTC Assessment Explanation, Two Kinds of MTTC Assessments; A comprehensive General Strategy review including: Make Predictions, Answer the Question, Benchmark, Valid Information, Avoid 'Fact Traps', Milk the Question, The Trap of Familiarity, Eliminate Answers, Tough Questions, Brainstorm, Read Carefully, Face Value, Prefixes, Hedge Phrases, Switchback Words, New Information, Time Management, Contextual Clues, Don't Panic, Pace Yourself, Answer Selection, Check Your Work, Beware of Directly Quoted Answers, Slang, Extreme Statements, Answer Choice Families; Along with a complete, in-depth study guide for your specific MTTC exam, plus other special tips and secrets to help you prepare for your exam... ... Read more

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More like a large vocab list...
This study guide was helpful in that it gave a detailed vocabulary list of all the terms the website lists as something you need to know.However, some of the terms repeat throughout the book, and there are some spelling/grammatical mistakes.Overall it was a helpful way to review for the test. ... Read more

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This study guide is an excellent tool for anyone taking the English Language Arts (ELA) TExES exam with the ultimate objective of passing the exam on the first try.

The author's straightforward approach promotes and reinforces learning on many levels through a wide variety of written exercises to help reduce the anxiety typically felt when attempting this high-stakes exam. Along with its review of Test Field 117 (English Language Arts and Reading 4-8) and Test Field 131 (English Language Arts/Reading 8-12), this study guide also includes practical activities that address a broad area of English language. This book shows readers how to connect state-mandated certification requirements to the content of English and reading courses. The material is highly selective and is aimed at showing readers how to prepare effectively, efficiently, and pragmatically for the 4-8 and 8-12 ELA/Reading TExES exams and for the language arts components of the other exams.

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This updated text will help examinees prepare for the Texas Teacher Certification (TExES) exam #131 for English Language Arts and Reading, Grades 8-12. Each chapter of the book covers a competency that will be tested on the exam. Bonus test questions have been added to this second edition. ... Read more

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Much-Needed Everyday Literary Knowledge
I edited and proofread this textbook and was amazed at the abundance of information this book offers that is key knowledge for anyone to have in everyday life. There is so much more to this book than essential grammar and usage training. Background information of America's most influential classical authors, excerpts of key literature, the historical evolution of the English language, tips for developing your metacognitive awareness, and ways to improve your oral communication skills are just some of the topics covered. This book is an invaluable tool for any person that even wants to engage in an educated discussion of literature. It's not only a necessary read to pass the TExES exam, but applicable to the culture of oral and written discourse.

Helpful preparation for English teachers
This book provides everything you need to study for the certification exam in English, Language Arts and Reading for Grades 8-12. It gives a complete list of literary terms and definitions, a review of American and British literature and so much more. It provides everything you need to study in one book. This second edition book also includes a new set of practice questions written in the same style and format as the real exam. ... Read more

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Simplistic and Inaccurate
I was very disappointed with the XAMonline e-book on Earth Science I purchased. I am currently a biology teacher and was hoping it would prepare me for the Earth Science CSET. I found several errors while reading this e-book.It suggested that Mars is closer to the sun than the Earth and that the Kuiper belt is the region from the Sun to Neptune.
I also found the sample test questions to be overly simplistic and very different from examples I have seen on the CSET website.I haven't used any other XAMonline products but I would not recommend the Earth Science book and would strongly suggest looking for positive recommendations before buying any study guide. ... Read more