Question about the different tests used to complete degrees!!

Hey Group,

Thanks so much for all of the help you have provided me with about my options with Charter Oak and Excelsior. As I may have already stated, I'm planning on trying to "test" my way out of the remaining requirements for my degree. Most of these, I assume, will be upper level tests. I was wondering if I might gain a little bit of information (maybe on a scale of 1-10) on the difficulty of each of the following kinds of tests:

CLEP-

EXCELSIOR-

DANTES-

Also, how widely accepted will a degree be many credits acquired through testing? Many of you, through my search of the site, seem to have gotten into good graduate programs with these degrees.

I prefer this method over many more classes and portfolio assessment. Portfolio Assessment, I feel, will take a few months in time. I DO WANT to register for some more physics classes (I have a interest in this area; but espescially Meterology and Astronomy) this summer, but those would be completed by early August. What are some of the quickest tests I can register for and likely pass? (Even though I will enroll with a college first so I can avoid credit duplication).

Cade

 

CLEP and DANTES exams are all lower level. Some ECE exams are upper.

 

Depending on the degree and the institution some DANTES are considered upper-level - MIS, for example (at least for Excelsior). However, CLEP are all lower-level exams.

 

Difficulty of the tests depends on which test you are taking. Some are difficult and some are easy.

You can check military personnel pass rates on exams at :
http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/danteshome.asp?Flag=True
On the left of the page go to Examination Programs, then Pass Rates, and then select which exams you want to see.

Also check
http://www.bain4weeks.com/examdifficultytables.html

 

Steve - Be sure you are looking at the correct book for COSC. They have changed the rankings of some of the Dantes tests. In one publication they show as upper level and in another publication they show as lower level. I almost screwed up on this because I was looking at the wrong thing. They have downgraded several dantes to lower credit.

 

They are easy if you know the answers

Seriously, History I, Intro to Social., Heres to Your Health, Intro to Law Enforcement, Intro to Criminal Justice were all very easy.

Bold ones were extremely easy; passed without any study

 

CadeTheNascarStar writes:

> Also, how widely accepted will a degree be many credits
> acquired through testing?

You have a brick-and-mortar Associate's in Business Administration, so over 50% of your final credits should be brick-and-mortar. I doubt many people who assessed your degree would complain about fewer than 49% of credits by testing.

> What are some of the quickest tests I can register for and
> likely pass?

Not having a coherent major may be more of a problem. When people ask you what you majored in, you'd better have an answer other than "Oh, I just took a combination of the easiest possible subjects."

> Many of you, through my search of the site, seem to have
> gotten into good graduate programs with these degrees.

Yes, but do you know what subject do you want to study in grad school? If, for example, you want to study physics, you'd bloody well better have an undergraduate major in physics or mathematics. If you want to do an MBA -- well, I know nothing about business, so I'll let somebody else advise you.

 

Re: Can you tell I'm prepping for the CLEP Microeconomics exam?

Not necessarily, although they're close. I pay $45 + $5 fee for a DANTES, and $50 + $30 fee for CLEP.

However, I'll grant that language, general and other 6 credit exams make it more cost-effective for CLEP...either way they're both a LOT less expensive than ECE or TECEP!

Cheers,
Mark

 

Doesn't really matter - many people pursue an MBA after a BA with no business experience (my fiancee has a music degree as her undergrad and a MBA/marketing as her masters). The only difference is that undergrad pre-reqs such as economics, accounting and other courses will be required before starting the program or in some cases as part of the program.

Cheers,
Mark

 

My experience

I took two clep tests in November to graduate from Baker College. Both were history exams. I think that subjects that rely mostly on memorization, i.e. history, can be easier that math or accounting (unless you're a wiz).

Any of these tests require as much preparation as you can give it. I borrowed history videos from early U.S. to modern day from the library and also borrowed a textbook from the library to prepare. It took me about a month.

The preparation did little to ease my anxiety on the day of the test, but once it started it was a piece of cake. I was the first one out each time and I passed.

Regarding Mark's reply, he is correct. You can major in anything for your undergrad, but you will need to do prerequisite classes to take classes in grad school.

For example, I have a BBA and was able to get into Nova's MBA with only having to take an accounting class. Other students have to take five prerequisite classes prior to taking classes requiring those prerequisites.

The best thing you can do is keep the best possible grades in whatever you are majoring in.

Good luck!

 

I have alot of hours by CLEP, DANTES, and Excelsior exam. I've also attended alot of colleges.

What I've found -- every college is different regarding acceptability of tests. Many (B&Ms) have a 30 hour limit on credit by exam.

Most understand and accept CLEP easily. Many won't even look at Excelsior exams. Some (such as the one I attend now) only accept specific exams -- others require departmental verification of knowledge.

Acceptability of the credential by other universities depends as much on that institutions opinion of the awarding college as it does on what they read in a transcript. Acceptability in the work world is another matter entirely -- how many actually even look at transcript to know what you tested out of and what you took traditionally?

Some colleges post exam credit to the transcript by course number -- ie: "CLEP Freshman Composition" becomes "English 101" -- these help "hide" the fact that it was an examination credit on the transcript.

Most important though -- I've found most registrars are not stupid and that my transcripts are complicated enough that they are rarely reviewed by an "assistant" but by the actual University Registrar. You can't often get away with BSing those folks....

I often respond to "you tested out of alot of classes..." with "I'd rather take challenging courses, so I test out of what I know already and take classes that can push me..." Academics seem to like answers like that.

 

Here is a list of exams I took and a score next to them. A "2" is basically an exam that can easily be passed without any study. A "5" is an exam that can be passed without study if you have a strong general knowledge of the subject. A "7" is an exam that can be passed if you study a little or have an indepth knowledge of the subject.

This is just my opinion. As you can see by the dates I took the exams, I did not study for most of them.


CLEP English - w/o essay 01-05-00 - 2
CLEP History I 01-17-00 - 5
CLEP Sociology 06-27-00 - 5
CLEP Analy and Interp Lit 07-25-00 - 5
CLEP General Math 10-05-00 - 5
CLEP Humanities 03-01-02 - 7

08-14-2002 DANTES Intro to Criminal Justice - 2
08-14-2002 DANTES Intro to Law Enforcement -2

09-04-2002 DANTES Intro to Computing -2
09-04-2002 DANTES Organizational Behav -5
09-04-2002 DANTES Envir and Humanity -5
09-09-2002 DANTES – HR Management -7
09-09-2002 DANTES Tech Writing -5
09-09-2002 DANTES Intro to Business -2
09-12-2002 DANTES Here’s to you Health -2

09-17-2002 CLEP History and Social Science -7

09-19-2002 ECE Labor relations -7
09-22-2002 DANTES Ethics -2
09-22-2002 DANTES MIS -2

09-26-2002 ECE Production/Operation Mgt -5
09-30-2002 CLEP English w/essay -3

11-11-2002 ECE Research Methods in Psy -7