I purchased this book based on other reviews and previous experience with REA books. Once again, they came through. I studied it and took all three practice tests yesterday, passed the CLEP with the equivalent of an A today. The book doesn't cover everything they ask on the test -- another reviewer goes into good detail about other questions, and likely got me that A -- but it definitely covers enough to pass.

Go clep this course. I purchased this book because of the massive amount of positive feedback- one of the best moves of my collegiate career. I studied the text for 1 day, took all 3 test preps, reviewed what I got wrong, and then took the exam. I did everything the day before the exam. After learning the concepts in the book, the exam was a breeze and I finished with a score of 70 (equivalent to an A) and with 15 minutes to spare. I could of scored higher if I would of learned which theories belonged to which sociologist- I never cared because most questions only ask you to identify an aspect of the theory or which element does not belong, and I did not want to memorize about 30 names in 1 day. This cost me about 5 points. No biggie.

Their were some questions which you will have to use a little bit of reasoning, for they were not covered in the clep review. One question asked for you to identify the whitecollar crime out of 5 choices. Another question asked which country has the lowest infant mortality rate- Russia, USA, Sweden, Uganda, Mexico. Answer Sweden. The answer USA is wrong, I knew this because the answer was too obvious. Another question asks what is the leading cause of death in USA. Their is a question asking what type of capitalism the US is (corporate, social democratic, state led, market-led). Their was a question asking about true capitalism. Their is a question where you must identify the difference between totalitarian and authoritarian dictatorships. Make sure you know drug and alcohol statistics and trends among teens today compared to teens 20 and 30 years ago. Make sure you also know the statistics and trends of the minorities. Make sure you know what a metropolis is. Their is a question which asks about demographic transition- how does the formation of the final stage come about. Their were 5 choices, 3 choices were easy to eliminate but the other 2 choices were difficult, low death rate comes first and low birth rate comes second or low birth rate comes first and low death rate comes second. I did not know the answer and guessed. Their was a question asking what would you call a group of people in a city who were asked to take a survey- a sample, a group, a test, etc. I had no idea what the answer was on that. You will have to identify an example of structural mobility characteristic out of 5 choices (the solution for the test I took was getting a college degree). Understand everything from Karl Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Freud, Mead, Cooley, Merton and Mills. Especially know Marx, Mills, Tonnies and Weber. I had 2 questions on Marx that were not in the clep book and guessed, 1 question on Mills and guessed,and 1 question on Weber and guessed. Their is a question about what is the most common family type in the USA- single parent, family, extended family, etc. I was able to narrow it down between family and extended family. I answered family- don't know if that was right. Their was a question asking which of the following is not a social science Economics, Religion, Psychology, Language, or Government. I said Language. It is either that or Religion. Make sure you understand some things not emphasized in the 3 practice tests, because their are question on the exam- primary and secondary deviances, groupthink, role distance, collective behavior theories, Peter principal, Parkinsons law, and economy sectors. Their were a few more difficult questions on the exam, but I am too tired to write them right now. Also, I forgot some of the questions.

I scored a 70 so that means I got 17 or 18 questions wrong. However, I must admit, in regards to practice test 2 and 3, I only got 3 or 4 questions wrong on each exam. What I am trying to say is that the test is harder than the practice tests.
Assuming you want to clep this course, I have given you some inside knowledge which should earn you an extra 4 or 5 points on the clep exam.

Bought this sociology clep book and read it thoroughly and made my own notes, took the 3 practice tests and reviewed the results.
I also purchased the text by Richard Schaffer and reviewed the chapters which was very useful. Aced the test with a 74.
Make a list of the theorists and what they proposed. I took the exam with confidence and 20 mins to spare.
The text book helped me on some questions that are not in the Clep book. Schaffer has some real good definitions, charts and chapter highlights at the end of each chapter, it is awesome.
After you study these two books, you can teach the class !!

A friend gave me the book saying she used it to score a "B" on the exam. I had never taken Sociology before but after studying this book for about 3 weeks, I also scored a "B" on the CLEP. This is the only book I used and I now have 3 more credits. Excellent resource! CLEP tests are also free for military and reserve members so go for it, you have nothing to loose.

I bought this book because of all the positive reviews from readers who had used it to successfully pass the CLEP exam. I study this book for about a month. It was like reading toast, it was that dry.

This afternoon I took my CLEP exam for Sociology and passed. I didn't use any other book or extra material. Overall the material was presented well and the order of topics/subjects was good. I was very pleased with my investment in this book.