CLEP and Completion: The Causal Link

AACC

April 22, 2017

Introductions

Lynn Brown

Bossier Parish Community College

Testing Center Director

Michael Hurwitz

Senior Director, Policy Research

Suzanne McGurk

Director, Higher Education Engagement

CLEP Overview

CLEP Me Out of Here: The Impact of Prior Learning Assessments on College Completion

Bossier Parish and CLEP

Questions

3

Agenda

100 years old, not-for-profit , membership association

Created by higher education institutions to bring order to the college admissions process

Mission: To connect students to college success

6,000 member institutions

Members must be regionally accredited degree-granting higher education institutions, and K-12 schools and districts

Membership brings discounts on some products and events, but most importantly provides opportunities to lead the organization through governance participation

The College Board – History and Mission

CLEP Overview Suzanne McGurk

2017

• College Level Examination Program

• Credit-by-exam program that validates knowledge students already have and translates that learning into college credit that is commonly recognized.

• More than seven million exams taken since 1967

• 1,800 colleges administer CLEP

• 2,900 colleges grant credit for CLEP exams

• 177,000+ exams administered in 2015-16, including almost 57,000 administered to military service members

• Exam fee is $80; increasing to $85 July 1, 2017

What Is CLEP?

Composition and Literature • American Literature • Analyzing and Interpreting

Literature • College Composition • College Composition Modular • English Literature • Humanities

Science and Mathematics • Calculus • College Algebra • Precalculus • College Mathematics • Biology • Chemistry • Natural Sciences

World Languages • French Language • German Language • Spanish Language

CLEP Exam Titles

History and Social Sciences • 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 • Introduction Psychology • Introductory Sociology • Social Sciences and History • Western Civilization I • Western Civilization II Business • Information Systems • Principles of Management • Financial Accounting • Introductory Business Law • Principles of Marketing

Structure

• 33 computer-based exams

• Mostly multiple-choice, essays, and listening sections for world languages

• Most are approximately 90 minutes in length

• Freshman and Sophomore level credit awarded

Scoring

• Immediate score reports (except exams with essays)

• Exams are scored on a scale of 20–80. A score of 50 is considered a passing score by ACE

• Student must wait 3 months to retest

Structure and Scoring

High School Students/Graduates

• Where AP exams are not available

• Home-schooled students

Undergraduate College Students

• First-year students looking to accelerate their college path

• Juniors or seniors who have not met lower-division requirements

• Students who are fluent in Spanish, French, or German…Math,

Biology, etc.

• Transfer Students

• Credit recovery options needed due to accreditation or transfer

issues

• International students who need to translate their overseas

credit

Adult Students

• Military service members – CLEP exams are free

• Veterans – Depending on benefits, exam fees can be reimbursed

• Prior Learning Assessment option for workplace learning

All students struggling to finance their education

Identifying Test-Takers

10

2015-16

Age of AZ Test Takers

11

Education Level of AZ Test Takers 2015-16

12

CLEP Summary Reports 2015-16

59.38%

20.06%

8.90%

4.53%

2.63% 4.49%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1 2 3 4 5 6 or more

13

Average Number of Tests Taken per Student = 1.34 2015-16

CLEP Test Prep for Students • Exam descriptions

• Textbook recommendations

• Links to study web sites

• Downloadable At-a-Glance for each exam (free)

• Downloadable Study Guides for each exam ($10)

• CLEP Study Guide ($24.99)

• Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support

• A division of the Department of Defense

• Provides funding for military service members to take CLEP exams and other exams

• $0 cost for first attempt on all 33 exams

• On Base Test Centers:

• Typically do not charge an administrative fee.

• Fully-Funded Test Centers:

• Sites that do not charge DANTES test-takers an administrative fee but are reimbursed $25 per exam administered after the fact

DANTES Partnership

CLEP Test Information Guide (TIG)

www.collegeboard.org/clep/resourcecenter

• Include information about test development, content specifications, and sample questions for each exam

• Use this information to inform Faculty about test content

• Use this information to help you set and revise your CLEP policy

• TIGs are located in the CLEP Resource Center

• CLEP website: clep.collegeboard.org

• CLEP Resource Center

groups.collegeboard.org/clep

• Order free materials:

clep.collegeboard.org/testing/clep/materials

CLEP Services for Students and Colleges

What’s New?

What’s New?

What’s Next?

2017

For more information about AP, contact

Jason Langdon

Executive Director

jlangdon@collegeboard.org

For more information about CLEP, contact

Suzanne McGurk

Director

smcgurk@collegeboard.org

What’s Next?