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CLEP^® Advisement Manual

• The Basics
• The Exams and Scoring
• Score Reports and Credit Posting
• Other University Policies
• Overruling a Score
• Preparing for an Exam

The Basics

The College-Level Examination Program^® (CLEP^®) is a standardized credit-by-exam program sponsored by the College Board and Educational Testing Service (ETS). The program enables students to demonstrate knowledge in college-level subjects by taking multiple-choice (and in some cases, essay) examinations that test material generally covered in equivalent college courses. CLEP’s thirty-six computerized exams, each approximately ninety minutes in length, primarily test a student’s abilities in introductory course material.

Many colleges and universities recognize satisfactory performance on CLEP exams by granting course credit to the testing candidate. Hence, the program attracts students who wish to advance their course of study by receiving credit for subjects in which they are already familiar. Students also find the program beneficial because it saves time and tuition dollars. Saint Xavier University is among the 2,900 institutions that participate in the program and also serves as one of CLEP’s 1,400 testing centers.

SXU’s administrative unit for CLEP is the office of Advising and Educational Planning Services (AEPS). Since the AEPS gained this responsibility, the exam program has enjoyed growing interest by students (and academic program advisors) on campus.

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The Exams and Scoring

CLEP exams are available in the following general categories: Composition, Literature, and Humanities, Science and Mathematics, Foreign Languages, History and Social Sciences, and Business. All of the exams are administered in a computerized format (since July 1, 2001). (Some exams offer an optional handwritten essay section, but SXU does not require such essays.)

With the implementation of computerized testing, CLEP has provided a uniform scaled scoring method: each exam ranges from a score of 20-80. Additionally, CLEP also moved to "rights-only" scoring, meaning that only correct answers are tallied and factored into the final score. (Previously, a fraction of a point was deducted from the final score for each incorrect answer.) The number of correct answers (the raw score) is then scaled down into to the aforementioned range. Percentile rankings may also accompany the scaled score.

The American Council on Education (ACE) provides a recommended minimum score for each exam. As the exam program converted to computer and changed its scoring method, ACE too, changed the minimum score to 50 for all exams (slightly higher for four semesters of foreign language credit). It is, however, each institution’s right to set their own minimum scoring requirements.

Table 1 lists the exam titles and the equivalent course credit at SXU. Note that Saint Xavier’s minimum score is the same as ACE’s minimum score; however, the University only applies these scoring recommendations to exams taken in the computerized format. If a student should have taken a paper-and-pencil exam before July 1, 2001, the student must meet different scoring standards set by the University, which were not necessarily the same as ACE’s recommendations. Please consult Table 2 for SXU’s paper-and-pencil scoring requirements.

Table 1: CLEP^® Examinations, As Accepted by Saint Xavier University

(effective for computer-based tests)

All other subjects require a score in the 50^th percentile rank (this appears in a separate column on the candidate’s score report; it is not the actual scaled score).

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Score Reports and Credit Posting

Upon completing the exam, students may choose to report or cancel their scores before viewing them. A reported score will be displayed on the testing computer’s screen, and the candidate may obtain a printed copy from the testing administrator.

Testing candidates who select Saint Xavier as their score recipient have authorized CLEP to send an official score transcript to the University. Such reports are directed to the office of Advising and Educational planning Services, where the Assistant Director (in charge of testing administration) evaluates the scores. If the candidate has achieved the minimum score as specified in the preceding table(s), the Assistant Director will apply the appropriate equivalent course credit to the student’s academic record, provided that the candidate has earned at least twelve (12) semester hours of regular classroom credit.

If the student has not yet acquired the necessary twelve credit hours to have the CLEP credit posted, the AEPS will hold the candidate’s score report "in limbo" until the student has earned sufficient credit. In such cases, the credit is generally posted upon the end of term during which the student completed the twelve graded hours.

On the Colleague system, the CLEP credit entry will appear the same as a normal SXU course, except that the Status column will read "NC" for non-coursework. Additionally, students will only earn a grade of "Pass," and their GPA will not be affected.

If the test candidate does not pass an exam, his/her record will not be affected in any way. CLEP will not allow candidates to repeat the same exam title for six months.

The Assistant Director will mail a letter to SXU students that explains/confirms the test results (credit has been posted, held pending the completion of twelve credits, etc.).

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Other University Policies

Students cannot receive credit for a CLEP exam if they have already taken the respective course (be it at SXU or transferred in from elsewhere). For example, if a student has taken the course HIST-104: U.S. History since 1877, he/she cannot earn credit for the CLEP exam in History of the United States II because it carries the HIST-104 course equivalency (see Table 1). Students should be advised to select their CLEP exams carefully and to check with their academic advisor or the AEPS if unclear on what exams to take.

Similarly, students cannot use CLEP to replace a grade for a class previously taken. This includes classes for which the student dropped and received a "W" or "W7".

Though CLEP will allow students to take the same exam unlimited times (provided they wait six months in between), SXU will only allow a student to re-take the same exam once.

Recently, the University created a policy that requires students (except those in cohort groups) to complete any intended CLEP examinations prior to the semester they intend to graduate. (For example, if a student plans to graduate in Spring 2005, he/she may only take a CLEP test through Fall 2004.) While SXU allows students to use CLEP to accelerate their plan of study, the AEPS, along with other University administrators, do not intend for the program to be a last-minute resort for making up a forgotten graduation credit. In the past, students who have relied on CLEP for graduation have often been unsuccessful and have had to delay their graduation. By restricting the timing of CLEP, students will find that they have more time to review their options prior to graduating, particularly if they do not pass an exam.

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Overruling a Score

The dean of the school who maintains "ownership" of the exam in question is the only individual who can authorize the granting of credit to a candidate who has not achieved the minimum score as listed in Tables 1 and 2. Requesting an overruling should be discouraged.

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Preparing for an Exam

Information and study tips on all exam titles can be found in the CLEP Official Study Guide, available in bookstores as well as through CLEP’s Web site. CLEP’s on-line bookstore also sells, for a small fee, downloadable individual exam study guides (requires Adobe software to view). Additionally, students may wish to study college-level textbooks covering the subject.

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