CLEP and CIAC:
Connecting Opportunities
for
California Higher Education
Thank you panelists!
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David DeGroot
Patty Faiman
Estela Narrie
Cindy Parish
Allan Hancock College
CSU Northridge
Santa Monica College
San Bernardino Valley
College
CLEP Overview
• Credit-by-examination program serving a diverse group of students,
including adults, non-traditional learners, and military service
members
• More than seven million exams taken since 1967
• 1,700+ colleges administer CLEP
• 211,000 exams administered in 2009–10, including 76,500
administered to military service members
• Exam fee = $77.00
• New website- http://clep.collegeboard.org
33 CLEP Examinations
History and Social Sciences
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American Government
History of the United States I
History of the United States II
Human Growth and Development
Introduction to Educational Psychology
Principles of Macroeconomics
Principles of Microeconomics
Introductory Psychology
Introductory Sociology
Social Sciences and History
Western Civilization I
Western Civilization II
Business
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Information Systems and Computer
Applications
Principles of Management
Financial Accounting
Introductory Business Law
Principles of Marketing
Composition and Literature
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American Literature
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
College Composition
College Composition Modular
English Literature
Humanities
Science and Mathematics
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Calculus
College Algebra
Precalculus
College Mathematics
Biology
Chemistry
Natural Sciences
Foreign Languages
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French Language
German Language
Spanish Language
About the CLEP Exams
Structure
 33 computer-based exams.
 Mostly multiple-choice, essays, and listening sections for foreign languages
 Most are approximately 90 minutes in length.
Scoring
 “Rights-only” scoring (no penalty for wrong answers).
 Immediate score reports (except exams with essays).
 Scores based on American Council of Education (ACE) recommendations for creditgranting.
Development
 More than 600 faculty contribute to the development of and standard-setting.
 Standing faculty committees oversee ongoing test development, shape content,
review data, set exam policies.
 Opportunities to participate in College Board ACES Placement Validity studies,
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/validity/aces
Who Takes CLEP?
 Adults returning to college
 Military service members and
veterans
 Students who are fluent in
Spanish, French, or German
 Students at risk for stopping
out or struggling with
finances
 Students with high SAT or
ACT scores and
homeschooled
 Juniors or seniors who have
not met lower-division
requirements
 Transfer students
 Validate international student
academic competencies.
Military and Veterans
• CLEP exams are free for eligible
military service members
www.collegeboard.com/clepmilitary
• Military veterans may seek
reimbursement from the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs for
exam and fees
www.collegeboard.com/clepveterans
Adult Students as
Percentage of Test Takers
Adults Are >60% of Exam Takers
For…
Adults Are <40% of Exam Takers
for…
Equal Share Exams
Accounting
Calculus
American Government
Business Law
Chemistry
American Literature
Educational Psych.
Freshman College Composition
Biology
English Comp. w/o essay
English Comp. w/ essay
College Mathematics
Humanities
English Literature
Financial Accounting
Human Growth & Dev.
French
Macroeconomics
Info. Systems & Apps.
German
Microeconomics
Interpretation of Lit.
Precalculus
U.S. History
Management
Spanish
Western Civilization
Marketing
Trigonometry
Natural Sciences
College Algebra
Psychology
Social Sciences & Hist.
Sociology
CSU Systemwide Credit for External Examinations
Coded Memorandum AA-2010-0
http://www.calstate.edu/AcadAff/codedmemos/AA-2010-09.pdf
• CSU Executive Order 1036, Section 1.2.4-CSU faculty determined
the passing scores, minimum units for credit and certification area
(for General Education Breadth and/or U.S. History, Constitution,
and American Ideals).
• Each CSU campus determines how to apply external examinations
toward credit in the major. For students not already certified in GE
and/or American Institutions, the campus also determines how to
apply credit toward the local degree requirements.
• Questions about this memo may be directed to Ken O’Donnell, State
University Associate Dean, Academic Programs and Policy:
562/951-4735, kodonnell@calstate.edu.
Questions for Panel
• OPEN DISCUSSION
How can I learn more about the
content covered in a CLEP exam?
Download Test Information Guides (TIGs). Each TIG
provides content information, sample questions,
information on test development processes, and
reliability and validity information.
The URL, login and password are as follows:
• URL: www.collegeboard.com/clepresourcecenter,
– Username: clepadmin2
– Password: CLEPmsa22# (case sensitive).
• More information on exam content(www.collegeboard.com/clep
New CLEP Composition
Exams
College Composition
College Composition Modular
Effective July 1, 2010
Has your institution set credit policy for the new
exams?
www.collegeboard.com/clepcomposition
Differences Between the Exams
Timing
Multiple choice
College Composition
College Composition Modular
120 minutes
90 minutes (multiple-choice
only)
Yes
Yes
Essays
Mandatory: Two typed
essays, created by CLEP
Optional: Two handwritten
essays, created by CLEP OR
essay created by your college
OR no essay
Essay scoring
CLEP scores the essays every
two weeks, student receives
score within 2-3 weeks
College scores the essays
College Comp Modular:
•Students can take the optional essays on a different date
•Essay order form available in the Resource Center and in the TCA Handbook.
Scoring and Standard Setting
What does the recommended credit-granting score of 50 represent?
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A scaled score of 50 is used as the passing score—equivalent to a C in the
comparable course—for all CLEP exams.
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Exams undergo a standard-setting study by a panel of college faculty who
teach the equivalent course.
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The panel determines the skills and knowledge that a typical C student can
demonstrate upon completing the comparable course.
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CLEP scaled score range is 20-80. The final credit-granting score
recommended by the panel is converted to a scaled score of 50.
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“What Your CLEP Score Means”,
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/clep/CLEP_scores.pdf
CLEP Test Development Committee Members
2010–11
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Dr. David Carlson, CSU – San Bernardino (American Literature)
Dr. Carolyn Brown, University of San Francisco (Analyzing/Interpreting Lit)
Dr. Frank Bauerle, UC Santa Cruz (College Mathematics)
Dr. Peter Tannenbaum, CSU Fresno (College Mathematics)
Does the College Board conduct
validity studies for CLEP?
• The College Board offers the Admitted Class Evaluation Service
(ACES) for the CLEP Placement Validity Study
• Provides helpful information for making course placement decisions.
• Analyze the performance of a group of current students in one or
more related courses in relation to test scores and other predictors.
• Correlate CLEP scores with grades in corresponding courses to
inform policy decisions.
• The service is free to all colleges. for more information, visit
professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/aces.pdf.
Where can I find information on
how CLEP relates to the concerns
of higher education?
• Website information provides resources, exam development
and exam descriptions, steps for building a program and
setting credit policy, tips for advising students, and topic
webinars, professionals.collegeboard.com/clep.
• Current research findings on CLEP candidate performance,
persistence and completionprofessionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/cb/clep
• New Professional Development Series-CLEP WEBINARShttp://www.collegeboard.org/cleptraining
How do CLEP exams compare to
Advanced Placement (AP)
exams?
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AP and CLEP are both College Board programs.
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Both AP and CLEP exams rely on robust content and assessment
frameworks-measuring the academic proficiency and knowledge
expected of students completing comparable college-level coursework.
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CLEP is administered on-demand in a computer-based format (CBT),
while AP exams are administered to high school students in a paperand-pencil format once a year.
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AP exams are associated with a rigorous high school course and
curriculum, whereas CLEP is designed to measure what test takers
have learned from previous coursework, experience or prior studies;
allowing test takers to prepare for the exams independently.
Next Steps
• Visit your website. Can you find credit granting info about CLEP?
Be sure CLEP testing and credit granting policies are transparenteasy to find and understand.
• Review your test center information posted on the CLEP website
at www.collegeboard.com/CLEPtestcenters. Submit changes
through the Resource Center.
• Review the CLEP Security Checklist and evaluate procedures at
your test center.
• Order CLEP summary reports and discuss with key policy makers
and/or the administration at your college.
• Order free CLEP materials for summer orientation.
Connecting Students to CLEP
on Your Campus
Faculty &
Advisers
Admissions
Office
Test Center
Registrar’s
Office
Students
Adult &/or
Veterans
Office
CLEP Contacts and Resources
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CLEP Services (transcripts, retesting, payments)
• Phone
(800) 257-9558 or (609) 771-7865
• Fax
(610) 628-3726
• E-mail CLEP@info.collegeboard.org
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New Professional Development Series-CLEP WEBINARShttp://www.collegeboard.org/cleptraining
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CLEP for Military and Veterans
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/military.html
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/veterans.html
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Technical Support - Call if you have software-related issues during installation
and test administration (8 am – 8 pm EST)
• Phone (800) 241-5357 or (609) 406-5620
• Fax
(610) 628-3719
• E-mail CLEPCenter_Establishment@ets.org
Contact
Brett Miller
Senior Assessment Manager
The College Board
Cell: 650-339-0338
Fax: 212-253-4061
bmiller@collegeboard.org
CLEP Email: clep@collegeboard.org