Take Credit for What You Know!

Using College-Level Exams to Get a Jump-Start on College

Credibility: Prove What You Know

While diversity is one of homeschooling's greatest assets, it can also be perceived as a liability. Pity the poor college admissions officer who has to wade through hundreds of applications and transcripts each week! When dealing with an accredited public or private school, he has some idea of the standards each is using to assign grades. When dealing with a homeschooler's application, though, he has no idea how objectively or by what standards grades are assigned. It makes it difficult to measure a homeschooler against someone who has been more traditionally schooled. When a student is hoping for an acceptance letter, he doesn't want to be seen as a problem by the admissions officer!

So how can a student measurably and credibly demonstrate his learning? A parent-created high school transcript is a start, but it doesn't tell the whole story. When an admission officer sees on a transcript that a homeschooled student has taken English Literature and earned a ?B,' he has no way of knowing the scope and depth of the student's work. However, if the transcript lists a CLEP score along with the grade, the admissions officer immediately understands what the student has studied and how well he understood the material. This gives him an objective point of reference, and as a bonus, may also impress him.

Time: A Minute Saved is a (Credit) Hour Earned

I recently read a study reporting that it's taking longer than ever to earn a four-year college degree. Some students are juggling jobs and school, while others have had difficulty settling on a major. Imagine what an advantage a student would have if he or she entered college with a year or two of college credit accumulated during the high school years! This credit cushion would provide the student with several wonderful options: The student could:

• Choose to graduate early
• Spend a year exploring classes that look interesting
• Opt for a double major
• Spend time as an intern or volunteer
• Travel

By learning deeply and purposefully, and investing some time in testing during high school, a student can make the most of the high school years, and open up many interesting options for his or her future.

The beauty of the CLEP exams is that they don't cause a lot of extra work. Any high-school subject can be broadened and deepened to college-level, especially a subject in which the student has a natural interest. The exams measure whether a student has acquired knowledge and understanding that is approximately comparable to what he would learn in an introductory-level college course. If a student loves a subject and has read extensively on his own, he may be ready to pass a CLEP without much further study.

My two oldest sons took their first CLEPs at sixteen and fourteen. The oldest enjoys history, so he chose to take the "History of the United States I" exam, while the 14-year-old took the "Analyzing and Interpreting Literature" exam. Neither did any special studying before the exams, but both passed with remarkably high scores and percentile rankings. This doesn't mean that the exams are easy; it just means that it's possible to learn at a very high level by reading and studying independently. They each went on to accelerate their bachelor's degree through additional college-level exams.

When a student feels ready, it's convenient to take CLEP exams. They are offered at hundreds of test centers on college campuses nationwide. Most test centers are open to the public and offer a testing session at least once a month. The test itself lasts ninety minutes, and is taken on a computer. An hour and a half is not a bad time investment for 3-6 college credits. I especially loved the days when I spent three hours in a testing center and walked out with twelve credits for less than $150. You just can't beat that!

Money: A Penny Saved is a Dollar Earned

CLEP exams are an incredibly cheap way to earn college credit. Each exam costs $50 plus a test center fee of $15-20. That works out to less than thirty dollars per credit hour for three-credit exams, and less than twenty dollars per credit for six-credit exams. Compared with other credit-earning options such as distance learning or community college classes, CLEP exams come out way ahead! If a student happens to not score high enough to earn credit, the exam can be retaken again in six months. It's not nearly as expensive or time consuming as having to retake a whole class.

So What's The Catch?

It's true that the best things in life are free, but some of the cheap things are pretty good too. CLEPs are convenient - you can take them when you're ready. They're cheaper than most other ways of earning college credit. They're objective, they're widely accepted (most, though not all colleges accept at least some of the CLEPs - check first if you have your heart set on a particular college), and they make the most of your time. And your scores are maintained on a CLEP transcript for twenty years so that you can have them sent to any schools you wish at any time during those years. The only potential downside I see is the pain of missing out on all the introductory-level college courses that your fellow freshmen have to take, and starting out in more advanced classes. Wait? that's actually another asset. Higher-level classes are usually more specialized and interesting than the survey-level (introductory) courses.

As you can tell, I'm sold on the benefits of college-level exams, and CLEPs in particular. As outsiders in the education establishment, homeschoolers often face a credibility gap. While this needn't affect our educational choices, it's nice to be able to provide objective proof of learning in a way that is non-intrusive. CLEP exams are a cheap, accessible way of earning college credit and proving that homeschoolers can teach themselves nearly anything they want to know.

© 2002-2006 Janice Campbell
This article by Janice Campbell first appeared in the November/December 2001 issue of HELM magazine. Janice is an alternative education specialist, writer, and speaker, and the author of Transcripts Made Easy: Your Friendly Guide to High School Paperwork and Get a Jump Start on College! A Practical Guide for Teens.

• Simultaneous high school at home and enrollment in community college classes - Often, subject credits can be used for high school requirements and as established credits upon college entry. In fact, many homeschooled teens earn enough college credits prior to full-time attendance that questions about a high school diploma become moot points.
   
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Tests - Almost 3,000 colleges award three to twelve credits when students pass any of the thirty-four subject-specific CLEP tests prior to college entrance.
   
• Advanced Placement (AP) Tests - AP exams exist to see if a high school student can handle college-level work. A qualifying grade in any of the more than two dozen subject areas gain credit or advanced placement at thousands of colleges and universities.
   
• Both CLEP and AP tests save time and money. (Note: Since not all schools honor CLEP and AP, consult with admissions counselors as to their schools' policies.)