Earning College Credit - Part 1

Early on in our homeschooling journey, as I pondered over and considered how on earth I would ever get my kids prepared for their post-high school years, my investigations took me into areas that I didn't know existed. One of those areas was the College Level Exam Program.

Digging into the world of college credit and specifically CLEP was like opening up a can of worms. The topic lends itself to a series where I can walk you through what it is, who it's best suited for, and how it can be of benefit to your child.

I put together a presentation for my daughter's honor society club and will post the information from the slides here for your viewing pleasure.

What is the College Level Exam Program (CLEP)?

uA test on college level material specific to subject area (i.e, liberal arts, math, science, etc.) that can fulfill college level coursework typically at the Freshman or Sophomore college level (i.e., General education-type courses replacing 100/200 level courses)

uMultiple choice tests graded as pass or fail.

uA numeric score is generated based on the number of questions you get correct and then calculated using a scale that generates a scaled score. Generally, a scaled score of 50 is considered passing.

uUpon receiving a passing score on a CLEP test (50), the student has earned credit that can be used towards fulfillment of their degree requirement at a college(s) that accept the CLEP test scores.

uApproximately half of all colleges in the U.S. accept CLEP in some amount with 15 credits being a conservative number of CLEP credits accepted and 45 or more credits towards an associates degree for more generous colleges.

uIn terms of degrees of difficulty, they are multiple choice tests, so the answers are given, but the wording can be complex.

uA good curriculum of study could help you cover about 75% regarding content, but a good test prep will be needed to help you cover the remaining 25% to have confidence going into the test.

There are CLEP tests for a varying degree of subjects that include, but is not limited to American Literature, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, College Composition, American Government, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, etc. Go here for a complete list of all CLEPs available.

In Part 2 of this series I will discuss the benefits of the CLEP and an ideal approach for theses tests.

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