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                  CLEP Out of College?

                           Sally Hanan

T                      Texas Home School Coalition Association REVIEW © November 2005

CLEP out of the first year of college? Save your parents a full year’s worth of college costs? It sounds great, and it can be done in Texas—to a certain degree (pun intended). 

What is CLEP?

The College Level Examination Program^® (CLEP) provides students of any age with the opportunity to demonstrate college-level achievement through a program of exams in undergraduate college courses.

In other words, CLEP tests enable a student to take an exam that tests his knowledge in a subject he has studied at the college level. Doing so proves that the student knows the course content and therefore does not need to take the class that teaches that material again.

How will taking CLEP tests benefit my child?

If a home schooled student can test for credit for enough freshman courses, the possibility exists of skipping the entire freshman year of college and entering as a sophomore. He can even test out of some sophomore classes. This means saving over a year’s worth of college tuition and miscellaneous expenses and also shortening the length of time it takes to complete a degree.

Do all Texas colleges accept all CLEP scores?

No, and this is disappointing, but there are still quite a few CLEP subjects that Texas colleges will accept in lieu of making the student take the freshman classes. The smaller colleges tend to accept more CLEP scores than the larger ones.  To see details of the available tests, go to www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/exams.html and click on test descriptions on that page.

At what age can my child begin taking CLEP exams, and how difficult are they?

Children can take these tests at any age, it seems, but most minds are not ready for them until at least age 14.

One mother, Lee, said this: “I find the CLEP questions to be very straightforward. They are hard questions in the sense that they ask pretty obscure things, but it's easy to understand what they are asking. I think the purpose is that you have to know the subject deeply in order to answer them correctly. Both my 17- and 15-year-old sons have done well on them, but the 15-year-old is a much more voracious learner than my 17-year-old and, therefore, probably knows as much, if not more.”

How will I know if my child is knowledgeable enough to take a CLEP exam?

This is difficult to answer, as home schoolers vary so much in the curriculum they choose for their children. To assess whether or not your child knows enough, buy the CLEP Official Study Guide. (It costs approximately $25 and contains practice tests for all 35 exams. It also contains some general information and tips on taking CLEP exams. It is available in most large bookstores.) If your child passes the practice test, the chances are that, with a little extra study, he should do well on the exam itself.

If, however, you are only thinking of having your child take one or two exams, it would be more economical to download the prep test in electronic format from www.store.collegeboard.com. Each one costs $10.

How long should my child study for a test, and how do I supplement what he is already learning?

Some parents have their child study for three months, others for one to two weeks. It all depends on how important the final score is.

Some parents recommend using a college-bound reading list and some college teaching tapes or books. Others simply have their child go over their current curriculum in greater detail. Local libraries usually have enough materials to cover what may be needed.

How much does it cost to take one exam? Where and how often are they conducted?

The total cost is $80. Of that cost, $25 covers the registration fee, and the other $55 is the examination fee. This is the price for each subject. Considering how much one can save on college fees, this cost is minor in comparison.*

The exams are now computerized and seem to be held, on average, once or twice weekly at local university testing centers. Results are given immediately after taking the exam. To ascertain the specific requirements for your local center, try entering your city name and CLEP into the search bar of your favorite online search engine, or call your local college or university.

To how many colleges may the test scores be sent?

If you know your child’s future college, on the registration form ask to have all scores sent to that school. If you want them sent to various colleges, it will cost you approximately $20 per extra college after the first one. The College Board’s suggestion, which follows, seems simplest:

Obtaining CLEP Transcripts: If you did not indicate a score recipient institution at the time of your exam and you want to request your CLEP scores, you can do so by ordering a CLEP Transcript. This Transcript is a cumulative score report of all the CLEP exams you have taken and the scores you earned in the last 20 years. 

Other things to consider:

• Most CLEP scores range from 20-80. A student must score approximately 50-55 on the exam. Score requirements and credit/hours given vary slightly for each college. (Converted score of 50—one point will be awarded for each correct answer. The raw score [the exact score received on the exam] will be converted and reported on a scale of 20-80.)

• Some colleges place limits on the credit given for CLEP scores.

• While bypassing coursework, credit for that work might not be given by the college toward one’s degree.

• A student usually cannot CLEP out of a college course he has previously failed at another campus.

• Even if your child takes CLEP exams for scores that are not counted by his chosen college toward graduation, the scores still inform admissions officials that he has covered the coursework and he may be initially placed into more advanced classes.

In summary, CLEPing out of college subjects is a great idea but is not always possible.  However, do not despair; there are always the AP (Advanced Placement) exams.…

To find out more, visit www.collegeboard.com/testing/ and click on ‘CLEP exam’ in the right hand column of College Board tests.

*Editor’s note. Check with the colleges/universities in your area to compare costs. Some may have lower costs but limited choices. Also, check for I.D. requirements.

 
The following bio was current as of the time this article was first published in the THSC REVIEW (2005):

Sally Hanan is a native Irishwoman who left her homeland to settle in Texas more than 10 years ago. Her two children have always been homeschooled. Sally writes for various magazines and books, is a lay-counselor at her church, owns a small business that manufactures educational phonic helps (www.eagermind.com), and teaches classes on prayer ministry in her free time.

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