This summer I took my first CLEP test. In this post, I want to tell you about my experience with the test. But first, what is CLEP? The College-Level Examination Programoffers an opportunity for anyone to receive college credit without taking a specific class. You simply take knowledge you already have and apply it to an exam that can count for college credit. This knowledge may be from a class on the subject, but this is not a requirement. While you can find CLEP prep courses, the only thing necessary to qualify for college credit with CLEP is a test score. In contrast, Advanced Placement (AP) classes generally include both a class and a test. Many times, if a college accepts a CLEP test for credit, the minimum score is 50 out of 80. CLEP tests are about $93, but in a little bit, I’ll talk about how you can potentially get a free test. Finally, you can either go to a CLEP testing center to take the test, or you can choose the remotely proctored option. I chose the latter. Now, let’s talk a bit about the College Algebra Exam.
Preparation
During the past school year (my sophomore year) I took Shormann’s Algebra II. Shormann is a unique math program in that at the end of the year, I was able to take an optional CLEP prep course. The Algebra II curriculum itself was designed to generally prepare me for the CLEP college algebra exam by teaching the concepts, but the prep course was specific to the test. It had review lessons and practice problems, as well as three practice tests. In addition to Shormann, I also used Modern States to review. Completion of a Modern States course awards a free test waiver, making a test that is usually about $93 free by reviewing through the Modern States program. I was very grateful to be able to take the test for free. However, I did feel like the Shormann course was a bit more helpful. Coming into the test I knew all the material, so I just wanted to review and get a feel for what the questions would be like. I felt like the content in Modern States was made to teach rather than review and while there were practice problems, I didn’t find them particularly helpful, as there weren’t very many and I didn’t feel like they reinforced the learned material. But that being said, I was able to take the test completely free, so I do think using the Modern States program was worth it. I also think it would definitely be helpful to use Modern States if you have no other resources for review.
Taking the Test
I took the College Algebra exam with remote proctoring. This meant that I had to be in a room alone, without anything that could be considered as help. I had an online proctor who was able to see me, but I was not able to see my proctor. In addition, I had to complete a room scan and use a Windows desktop to support the testing software. I had originally tried to use my dad’s work computer, but computers that are used for a job will sometimes block the testing software. With remote proctoring, you are not allowed to use paper and a pencil to work out the problems. Instead, you use a whiteboard and marker to take notes. At the end of the test, you must erase your whiteboard in view of the proctor. The time limit, which began when I pushed the Begin Test button, was 90 minutes. The entire process took me almost an hour and a half, with the test itself being just under an hour long. There were about 60 questions on the test. The CLEP College Algebra exam is designed so that a calculator is not required. In fact, you are not allowed to use your own calculator. However, for the sake of quicker calculations, they do provide a calculator that is built into the testing software. I believe I only used it about three or four times; the rest of the questions were more conceptually based than actually trying to calculate sums or products. As soon as I was finished my score appeared on the screen, and about a day later it was in my College Board CLEP account. Overall, I found the process fairly smooth and easy to navigate once I had the correct computer.
Hopefully, this post helped explain the College-Level Examination Program and the process behind the College Algebra exam!
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