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Vancouver +1(604) 628-5783
February 3, 2021
Ashton Testing Services is proud to work with the College Board in delivering the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams. CLEP is administered by a US organization. At ATS, we strive to provide the tests people need in every part of the world and partnering with CLEP has allowed us to do just that. We want to share with you a little about CLEP, the purpose of their examinations, and how this benefits ATS test-takers.
CLEP has been around for over 50 years and has become the most widely trusted credit-by-examination (CBE) program with over 2,900 colleges and universities accepting it. CLEP is funded by the US government through the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES). DANTES provides no-cost education and career planning programs for US Armed Forces military members. CLEP exams are used by US Army, Navy, Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard members, as well as eligible spouses and civil service employees, to reach their education goals.
CBE programs allow students to receive college credit for prior learning by demonstrating their mastery of a course through an approved exam. CLEP is most widely acknowledged in the US, but there are many Canadian institutions that accept CLEP exams as well. CLEP offers examinations in 36 different topics. The most popular CLEP exams are language exams, which include American Literature, Spanish, and French.
CLEP tests are developed to be rigorous and relevant to their respective disciplines. Over 600 college faculty members from across the US contribute to the development of CLEP exams and testing standards. The exam development is headed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) who uses curriculum surveys and test development committees to ensure exams meet the high standards CLEP has in place.
Most CLEP exams are designed to correspond to one-semester courses, but there are several tests designed to correspond to one-year and two-year courses.
The purpose of the CLEP exams is to make it easier for degree seekers to earn college credits. By passing a CLEP exam, students can validate their knowledge, whether it comes from homeschooling, independent study, job experience, or education that would otherwise not be recognized by their post-secondary institution.
Taking a CLEP exam not only validates a student’s knowledge, it can save them time and money as well. Rather than paying course fees to sit through a course that you are already knowledgeable in, you can pay a much smaller exam fee and earn the same amount of college credits in a much shorter period of time. According to the College Board, students who earn 15 CLEP credits can save $5,000-$17,000 depending on the institution they have enrolled in. CLEP students earning bachelor’s degrees have reported earning their degrees in less time than expected and saving between 2.5 and 10 months of time.
CLEP examinations are shown to be beneficial to a student’s performance throughout their college or university experience. Studies have shown that CLEP students have significantly higher cumulative GPAs than non-CLEP students. CLEP students have higher rates of retention and graduation than non-CLEP students as well
The exact format of a CLEP exam varies depending on the topic, but most CLEP exams contain multiple-choice questions. Other common question formats are zone, shade, grid, scale, fraction, numeric entry, histogram, order-match questions, and some exams even have essay sections. CLEP language exams feature a listening section.
Our partnership with CLEP is based on our mutual vision of helping people realize their personal, professional, and academic goals through testing. Thanks to this partnership, ATS is the only testing centre in Western Canada that offers CLEP exams. We offer CLEP exams daily from Monday to Friday at our testing centre. Book your proctored CLEP exam with ATS today and take the next step towards your degree.