How to Take and Pass a CLEP Test
CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program and these tests can be a quick and easy way to accelerate your college degree. The series of 34 exams covers a wide variety of topics and many colleges will award anywhere from 3 to 12 credits for a passing score on an exam.
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Instructions
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Decide which exam you're going to take. If you are currently enrolled in college consult with your advisor to ensure that you will receive credit for the test you have chosen and the credit will be applicable to your degree.
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After you have decided which exam you are going to take the next step is to prepare for the test. The College Board oversees the CLEP program and they have all 34 exam descriptions available on their website. These descriptions outline what you will be tested on and what percentage of the exam each topic constitutes. For about $10 you can download a more in-depth study guide with a sample test. If you are considering taking more than one or two exams you may want to purchase "The Official CLEP Study Guide" which has study guides and sample questions for all of the tests.
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Now that you know what will be on the test, you will need to locate study materials. You local library is a good source for free materials. There are also many online resources for many of the topics covered by CLEP tests, some of these resources are listed on the College Board website. You will want to spend more time on topics that comprise a larger percentage of the exam and correspondingly less time on topics that make up a smaller percentage of the exam. Don't panic over the amount of material the exam seems to cover. You are not expected to know every single answer to every single question, you are just supposed to be able to do as well on the test as the average student who just completed a class on the topic would.
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After you feel confident in your preparation for the exam, there are several things you can do to make sure the actual exam goes well. The first is to download the "CLEP Sampler" from the College Board website. This is a simulation of the testing software used during the actual test and becoming familiar with it prior to taking an actual exam may help your score. The Peterson's website offers full length practice exams for some of the CLEP tests, you may want to consider using one of these to assess your readiness for the actual exam.
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On the actual day of the exam allow yourself plenty of time to get to the testing center. Remember to bring two forms of appropriate identification and an acceptable method of payment for the testing fees. When taking the actual exam don't leave any questions unanswered! There is no penalty for guessing and with all your studying you can usually narrow down the answer to two possible choices, so take your best guess!
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Tips & Warnings
You can locate the nearest testing center on the College Board website
If you are currently enrolled in college, always check that you will get credit for the exam before you take it!
