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Rating: 
Summary: Don't be fooled
Review: Don't be fooled by the thickness, or the breadth of the information in the table of contents. The content of this 'preparation' book is extremely weak, and does not offer adequate information on the MSAT, nor the CSET. It looks as though the publishers have submitted several reviews here--the consistency is highly suspect, and an obvious marker to the fraud of these illegitimate reviews. The book is heavy on fact--although arbitrary at that--and light on theory, and the latter is what you're tested on all subjects for the new CSET. In particular, the language and linguistic section of this book is astonishingly poor: "'The meaning of a word,' wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations, 'is its use in the language'; and by so writing, he revolutionized the study of language and linguistics." Anecdotal as this may be, it's completely insignificant to the topic you'll be tested on. I suggest you read other text books and primary sources to master the exam. Waste your money on this and rely on it solely to prepare for the exam and you'll find yourself without a passing score. You will have, however, a fine door stop, if you choose not to burn it in protest.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be fooled
Review: Don't be fooled by the thickness, or the breadth of the information in the table of contents. The content of this 'preparation' book is extremely weak, and does not offer adequate information on the MSAT, nor the CSET. It looks as though the publishers have submitted several reviews here--the consistency is highly suspect, and an obvious marker to the fraud of these illegitimate reviews. The book is heavy on fact--although arbitrary at that--and light on theory, and the latter is what you're tested on all subjects for the new CSET. In particular, the language and linguistic section of this book is astonishingly poor: "'The meaning of a word,' wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations, 'is its use in the language'; and by so writing, he revolutionized the study of language and linguistics." Anecdotal as this may be, it's completely insignificant to the topic you'll be tested on. I suggest you read other text books and primary sources to master the exam. Waste your money on this and rely on it solely to prepare for the exam and you'll find yourself without a passing score. You will have, however, a fine door stop, if you choose not to burn it in protest.
Rating: 
Summary: Some what helpful buyers beware!
Review: First the book is excellent for it's source of general information in Language arts, math, science, etc. However the questions in the mutiple choice and content knowledge are nothing close to the actual questions on the real exam. The Cliffnotes book is even worse. I studied from three books, Everything a 4th, 5th, and 6th grader needs to know. I studied for a 1.5 months and passed. I didn't study for the art section and human development section. The sections you need to focus on are Math, language arts, science,and social studies. These area are worth the most points. The key to passing the MSAT is to answer all the essay questions.
Please e-mail me and I can explain everything you need to know.
I also passed the R.I.C.A. and I can tell you about that as well.
Rating:
Summary: Some what helpful buyers beware!
Review: First the book is excellent for it's source of general information in Language arts, math, science, etc. However the questions in the mutiple choice and content knowledge are nothing close to the actual questions on the real exam. The Cliffnotes book is even worse. I studied from three books, Everything a 4th, 5th, and 6th grader needs to know. I studied for a 1.5 months and passed. I didn't study for the art section and human development section. The sections you need to focus on are Math, language arts, science,and social studies. These area are worth the most points. The key to passing the MSAT is to answer all the essay questions.
Please e-mail me and I can explain everything you need to know.
I also passed the R.I.C.A. and I can tell you about that as well.
Rating:
Summary: Not Helpful
Review: I really wanted this book to be useful in preparing for the MSAT exam, but I was thoroughly disappointed. The information in each section is very unorganized, which makes the book very difficult to even read, let alone absorb information from. The content covered is also problematic. Especially in the history section, some content (such as British rulers) is covered in way more detail than the test requires you to know, while other topics (such as Native American and Asian history) are barely mentioned or completely ignored. Even the kind of information in the book is not useful. Instead of giving the most important and useful information on a person or topic in a concise and organized way, this book meanders through subjects, mentioning an anectode about one person here, commenting on another topic there. I often felt as though I were talking to someone who was trying to prove how much they knew about a particular topic by throwing out random and often obscure facts to impress me. I also bought the practice exam with detailed answers produced by ETS, and found that much more useful. Although this test does not contain any review of the subjects covered by the MSAT, the detailed answers to multiple choice and essay questions give suggestions about what content to study. For me, making a topic list from the practice exams then looking up that information in subject-specific textbooks worked the best. I ended up setting aside the REA book in frustration, and hardly using it at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Good General preparation
Review: This book was a tremendous help. I used it as my primary study guide and I passed the exam on my first try! Give yourself plenty of time to read through it though - the information is highly condensed. I also used the Cliffs Notes book and the "What your ... needs to know" series. Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: A VERY comprehensive review book
Review: This book will definitely prepare you for the MSAT. I spent a month studying about every page of this study guide and passed the test with no problem. No study guide can prepare you for all possible questions on this test. This book will for sure refresh your memory on important key concepts though.
Rating:
Summary: a good history and social sciences review source
Review: While the MSAT is no longer being offered, I feel that those who will be taking the CSET will still benefit from the information contained in this book. If you struggle the most in history, this is the book for you. Half of the book (excluding the practice exams)is a detailed review of American and World History. It covers anything you could imagine would be asked on the exam in this section. The book also has a good math and literature section. The book's weak points are the other sections: science, art, and human development. I passed the MSAT on my first try using this book along with other books which I highly reccomend. Get the Cliffs Notes MSAT book which goes into less detail but is good to skim through as an outline to accompany the REA book. Finally, get the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade "What Your --- Grader Needs To Know" books for some more facts. The combination of these 5 books will help you succeed as long as you study hard and don't give up. I did it, and so can you. Good luck on the CSET!
Rating:
Summary: a good history and social sciences review source
Review: While the MSAT is no longer being offered, I feel that those who will be taking the CSET will still benefit from the information contained in this book. If you struggle the most in history, this is the book for you. Half of the book (excluding the practice exams)is a detailed review of American and World History. It covers anything you could imagine would be asked on the exam in this section. The book also has a good math and literature section. The book's weak points are the other sections: science, art, and human development. I passed the MSAT on my first try using this book along with other books which I highly reccomend. Get the Cliffs Notes MSAT book which goes into less detail but is good to skim through as an outline to accompany the REA book. Finally, get the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade "What Your --- Grader Needs To Know" books for some more facts. The combination of these 5 books will help you succeed as long as you study hard and don't give up. I did it, and so can you. Good luck on the CSET!
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