<p>About a month ago i found out about these exams from this forum. To follow up, i asked my teachers, peers, and even guidence couselors if they knew anything about these exams; they had no clue at all. In addition to that, this is by far the least viewed topic on cc forums. I just took my first exam this week after minimal studying and passed. Probably the easiest college credit i have (or will) ever earn. Essentially theyre the same thing as ap exam without essays. So why arent these exams widely publicized and promoted like AP exams are?</p>
<p>Sent from my YP-G1 using CC</p>
<p>Unlike the harder AP exam, there are fewer colleges that accept CLEP exams for credit. None of the Universities of California accept CLEP credit.</p>
<p>Lots of ancient history!</p>
<p>The CLEP exams traditionally were taken by students who were enrolled at their own home-state public institutions, and local not terribly famous private institutions. The AP exams began as a way for students from top private high schools to get out of intro level courses at Ivy and other top private universities. In other words, they served similar purposes, but in very different markets. Back in the last century, lots if my friends took a bunch of CLEP exams during freshman orientation before choosing classes at their colleges.</p>
<p>CLEP doesn’t get a lot of love here at CC because many of the people here aren’t targeting the colleges and universities that are most generous with CLEP credit, and because many if the students here are already loaded up with AP courses and expect a ton of AP credit.</p>
<p>Happykid earned 12 credits in her other language with a CLEP exam, thereby more than fulfilling the humanities requirement at her CC. Cheapest 12 credits she’ll ever earn. Unfortunately, the U she transferred to doesn’t award credit for CLEP language exams, so she will have to take their placement exam if she wants to take a literature class in that language.</p>
<p>Youre definatly correct about the average CC student not attending a college that accepts the credit, but then again, a CCer is not a typical college bound student. So that explains why this forum topic isnt popular, but it does not explain why the exams arent popular and promoted in high schools across america. There was a total of 4140 college and universities in the united states in 2005([Number</a> of U.S. Colleges and Universities and Degrees Awarded, 2005 | Infoplease.com](<a href=“Columbia Encyclopedia | Infoplease”>Number of U.S. Colleges and Universities and Degrees Awarded, 2005)). Clep credits are accepted in some “shape or form” at 2900 of these schools ([CLEP</a> - College Level Examination Program (CLEP) -Save Time. Save Money. Take CLEP | College Board CLEP Site](<a href=“http://clep.collegeboard.org/]CLEP”>http://clep.collegeboard.org/)). Chances are any given school does accept the credit is pretty high (especially if it’s a public institution). So why isnt it promoted in US high schools like APs are?</p>
<p>Looking at an old (no longer in print) College Board brochure designed to share the differences between AP and CLEP, here are a couple of sentences that I think help to answer your question:
- “The AP Program is a cooperative educational endeavor between secondary schools and colleges and universities.”
- “CLEP exams do not relate to a specifically designed college-level course taught in high school. Rather, CLEP exams test mastery of college-level material acquired through a variety of ways…” “CLEP does not offer a professional development component or a curriculum associated with the examinations.”</p>
<p>I have attempted to spread the word about CLEP exams in my area, not only to high school counselors but also to college students. I have yet to find the secret method of communication to this target audience.</p>
<p>My son was visiting a state school and the student tour guide was promoting the benefits of the CLEP test. What a blast from the past! Suddenly I was reminded of my high school days when we were encouraged to “CLEP out” of low level classes. I ended up going to a private school where CLEP was not accepted. Now AP is all the rage and it has a level of prestige associated with it, even for students who will end up attending a state school. High schools brag about how many AP classes they offer and students brag about how many they are taking. They are considered a higher level class even though they “teach to the test” in such a way that my son finds them intolerable.</p>