Hello -- My name is Gary. I am your "virtual"
instructor on this website Internet class. Get ready, I'm going to talk to you
informally like you are already a student in my Internet class.... but before
I do, I'll tell you that there is a lot of information on this page. You
will get all of the reasons why various methods of study would be appropriate
for you. If you don't want to read that much, or your interest is only in the
Internet Review, use your "back" button, and click on the other choice:
What you get on-line with PMReview.
In order to become an agent in life and health products, you must pass the Alabama State exams.
This is the Progressive Master Review (PMR), an on-line review of the course material designed
to properly challenge you and prepare you for the exams!
How would you like to click on answer (a) to a question and find out WHY it is wrong, and click
on answer (b) and find out WHY it is right. That's what pmreview.com does. This is quite an
improvement over sample tests, and it's even better than a live-and-in-person classroom review
because of the large number of questions and the chance for you to study at your own speed!
There is a lot of information included at this site for your benefit. An explanation follows as to
why a review in this manner is an excellent method of covering the material. After the explanation,
you can click on the link to a sample page with five questions so you may have a good understanding of
the Progressive Master Review. This page with sample questions is available without a password to show
you how well this works and how easy it is to use.
One other thing: I have had comments from users of this service telling me
that they had initial reservations about this web page. "It sounds good but who wrote
it and what does he/she know? ... and how likely is it that this is any better than some of the
classes and materials I have already seen..." and so on. If you
would like to see see some actual e-mail messages received at pmreview.com
after students used the review, click on the appropriate main menu button
that says "Actual e-mail from Past Users."
Now back to the problem: the exams are harder than they used to be. It's true. Often
the questions are worded so that the examinee has difficulty choosing between the available answers.
It used to be assumed that if a student attended all of a classroom setting, listened intently,
answered all the questions in the textbook, and scored well on the in-class exams, it would be
a smooth transition to sit for the state test the next morning and do well as to a passing score.
That doesn't appear to be true any longer. It is now necessary to put in a considerable amount
of time studying after taking a class in order to pass.
As a student studying for the state exams, you have some choices:
- read the textbook so thoroughly you can answer any question.
- buy sets of "typical" questions available from various sources.
- buy other insurance texts to compare.
- buy or make flashcards with questions and answers.
- form a study group with other students.
- buy a computer program and run it from your home PC or office PC.
- ask questions of experienced people in your office.
- go through a state approved class again.
- attend a review session offered in various locations.
- study at your convenience at any time 24 hours per day via the Internet from your
home, office, or a friend's, using the Progressive Master Review.
To by-pass the explanation of 1 through 9, click here....
but I would really recommend at least reading number 7.
The first nine.... let's take these one at a time.
- First you need to know that repeated reading of the book, by itself, will do
wonders. However, one of the reasons people attend classes is to have the assistance
of a sharp instructor and other students to cover the topics from viewpoints other than
those presented in the book. The live-and-in-person communication in a good classroom is
very valuable. Reading, by itself, may not provide sufficient insight into the material.
- Sets of questions are excellent as long as they are current. There are two problems. You
are given the right answer, but you may not know why it is right, and you may not know why
the other answers are wrong! The second problem is that lists of questions circulating in
the industry are often not made from recent test session information, or from the current editions
textbooks, or even questions which are not specific to your state.
- Other texts are interesting, but they are dangerous when they may not have answers which
are specific to your state. Our suggestion is to stick with your approved textbook and stay
away from any others, at least until you pass the test.
- Flashcards, particularly if the student takes the time to make them from 4x6 index cards,
can be of great value. These are very well suited to law or definitions. We don't have flashcards.
The value will be greater if you make your own.
- Forming study groups is excellent, but in many cases, not convenient. It might also be that
none of the participants have a clue on some of the questions which come up. Still, it works
well to compare problem questions with others.
- Computer programs which have been available to this point can be useful but may not be as current
as you might expect. They also typically provide the right answer but don't supply much information
as to the wrong answers. One big problem: they may be generalized to work for a variety of states
but are not keyed to the peculiarities (there are plenty) of each state's exams.
- The answer to the seventh option above may surprise you. Asking questions of experienced people
in your office may be the worst of the options. The answers you receive from an experienced person
may be completely what you don't need to hear. Why? Because the test is over the material in the
textbook, and the book may not be reality, BUT IT IS THE BOOK. There is material in the book
which is supplied for the purpose of simplicity. Sometimes truth is missing because the real story
is more complicated than the level of the test. You don't need to know it. Not only that, if
you answer from "office experience," you may choose the wrong answer (see the following example).
Would you like a real-life situation? I worked with a woman a year or so ago. She was a very sharp,
capable, experienced insurance professional who had worked for more than ten years in
home-office settings with a large major insurance carrier in the northeast. This woman had worked
in a variety of departments. After moving, she had failed both parts of the state insurance exam
twice and was about to give it up. She knew too much. She argued with me about a number of the topics
in the book. She was right. However, that didn't help her pass the test. Learn the material from
a source very familiar with the state test! You can later learn reality at your office.
- Going through a class again can be OK (and very dreary). Plowing through the material a second time
can be a very dry way to spend more time. (Did it seem long the first time?... and you want to do it again?)
- Attending a class set up specifically for a crash review of the insurance class may be the best option
of the first nine mentioned above. It works fine. All in all, reviews are
excellent because the reasons behind the material and questions may be exactly what you need to hear.
The only major defect is that the review may not be located conveniently for you, and may not be at a time
which works well for you. And it may not be long enough to cover all the material you need to have reviewed.
- The tenth choice is the reason you have read thus far. The Internet review available
through PMR has almost all of the advantages of any of the other nine, and may not have any of the disadvantages.
The Progressive Master Review accomplishes the following:
- The material (question pool) covers the book thoroughly.
- The 800 questions are current.
- The review is "interactive" because the correct answer is given, and explained, and the "bad"
choices are also explained.
- It is like a "live" computer program continually updated.
- There is a complete section on test taking skills.
- The review is available 24 hours a day from any computer equipped for Internet use, from any location.
- Whereas a classroom review may be 4 or 6 or 8 hours, with the Progressive Master Review,
you still have hundreds of hours to go through the questions sitting in front of your computer.
- It accomplishes the above while being very economical. The cost is less than many other options.
And you can eat a chicken salad sandwich while working on the review.
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