Help re: CLEP Test Computer Freeze

A tutee of mine took the College Math CLEP on Saturday. It was a test-anxiety dream come true: His computer froze, they unfroze it, it froze again, they put him on another computer, and it froze twice again. (His were the only freeze-ups, and he was the only one taking College Math.)

He's a middle school science teacher who needed a 50 to get the necessary additional math credits to teach algebra in his middle school this fall. He wound up with a 48.

According to the so-called tech support people, he didn't lose any time on the test clock, and the glitches were reported to ETS. Of course these were the same people who froze him up in the first place, so he's not just going to leave things in their hands and hope for the best. He's contacted ETS and will talk to the university test administrating office today.

It seems to me that

(a) he did lose time, even if the clock stopped when the computer froze, because four times he had to start all over with the question he was working on,

(b) when a computer freezes and is rebooted, all kinds of weird things can happen in the live memory, so it's possible that his input was partially garbled, and

(c) come on now.

Obviously, between the two of them, ETS and my university failed to deliver the product they contracted to. There's no way his score is comparable with those recorded under satisfactory test conditions. But the splits in both responsibility for the glitches and in awarding the credit worry me.

I can easily imagine a scenario in which the university says, "We're awfully sorry, but we can't arbitrarily award credit for a 48. Maybe if ETS adjusts the score or lets you retake the test . . . " Meanwhile ETS says, "Sorry, we can't arbitrarily adjust anyone's score or alter our re-take policy just because your university messed up."

Has anyone (God forbid) had a like experience? Or know of how one was resolved?

Ideally, a bunch of forum members took CLEP tests this Saturday and noticed computers freezing all around them, but that's a bit too much to hope for.

Thanks for any help.

Bill

 

I would tell him to try and appeal the decision to ETS (go over the heads of whoever he is talking to now). Not sure it would do any good, but its worth a shot.

Cheers.

 

Also, as a fallback, perhaps there is another exam he could take?

• PRAXIS exams? (http://www.ets.org/praxis/)
• CLEP College Algebra (a little higher level, but ...)
• DANTES Fundamentals of College Algebra (same as above)
• DANTES Business Mathematics (covers advanced topics such as quadratics, so it might count - who knows?)
• A "challenge" exam from a local community college? Have him contact a professor at a local college to see if he can work something out. And don't try just one school, try a few.

Cheers, and good luck!

 

I have appealed before and won my case.

Call the main # for The College Board and tell them (or have your friend do so) what happened.

He will have to write a letter about what happened.

It's worth a try.

 

Thanks, guys, for your quick, thoughtful, and encouraging posts.

unixman, I hope your DANTES mess clears up, and I'm sorry for your aggravation, especially at this point in your odyssey. At any rate, they messed up, not you. If anyone should feel ill-at-ease about the situation, it's DANTES.

It certainly is. Congratulations, skidadl.

I should have asked about favorable results in my first post, but when you won your case, what form did your victory take? A prompt free retake? A score bump?

I ask because this has to be resolved by the end of the month for my man to qualify for his scheduled teaching.

Thanks again,

Bill

 

I was able to retake the test right away.