Can someone elaborate on what this test is, where you’d take it and what it is used for? Daughter scored 5 on AP but from what I can tell this is different than that. She is also taking Spanish classes dual enrollment. She’d like to try and maximize what she can now.
Is CLEP used for this? Does it give you something more than the AP credit? She went to her guidance who didn’t know about test. (Insert eye roll here)
Any guidance or explanation appreciated.
Generally speaking CLEP is meant to validate learning and experience that may have happened outside a traditional accredited classroom setting. For instance, CLEP is used by people with military experience who may know lots about American history or government but don’t have an actual grade somewhere.
Homeschoolers also utilize CLEP. It’s a great way to validate your learning and test out of certain gen-ed requirements.
For AP grades that meet a university’s minimum requirements, you should not need CLEP. For DE at an accredited university, you should not need CLEP so long as the new school takes the transfer credit.
I have read that people CLEP out of foreign language to demonstrate proficiency in a way that is faster and easier than perhaps a class might be.
The guidance counselor probably doesn’t deal with CLEP very frequently because it’s not something that is utilized in most traditional high schools.
CLEP is a great option in certain circumstances. Be strategic about it, and research what score you need to get a “passing” grade at the target university. Generally with CLEP, colleges do not issue grades - it’s in there as a pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory. At UF (my son’s school) all your CLEPs have to be done by December of your first year. Other schools are generous with CLEP credits. If I’m not mistaken UA is quite generous.
Hope that helps. Again, all this is generally speaking!
See here: https://clep.collegeboard.org/ . You take the test at a local college or testing center. At our location a foreign language test was ~$90 5 years ago, but recently it was ~$120 per test. I am not sure if there are standard fees, or if each testing center can charge what they want to. Some tests might be a different cost.
You cannot get credit for both AP and CLEP for the same class. See here for UA’s credit by examination info: https://catalog.ua.edu/undergraduate/about/academic-regulations/policies/credit-by-examination/
The CLEP exam for foreign language is difficult (in my son’s opinion), but the credit rewards from UA are amazing if you score high enough.
Thank you, thank you both! It looks like the CLEP gives you 4 more credit hours than a 5 on AP if you can score above a 56. Worth the$100 dollars , IMHO. (Just checked local college)
Eye roll to my Dd’s guidance as they offer a full immersion program in our district. DD has been in it since 1st grade. Full Spanish Immersion grades 1-5. Then partial 6-8. Then advanced coursework in HS until you want to stop. Seems like an unusual learning environment that their knowledge of and about the CLEP would be useful.
She is DE right now. 450 level Spanish course. No idea if that is good or bad but know she wants to at least get a minor in SP, if not the major too. It’s possible she could squeak out what she needs score wise so we may try. Hey, why not?
I appreciate all the insight from all of you! What a resource!!
My son has completed all the requirements for a Spanish minor.
He completed DE credits for the 100 and 200 level courses (14 credits) and started with 300 level courses his freshman year.
To my knowledge neither CLEP or AP will provide credit for any 300/400 level courses.
My son did not take either test due to his DE, but I’ve read that the advantage of CLEP over simply taking UA’s language placement test is there is no reason to take additional language classes.
If you take the CLEP exam and score high enough you can get the 14 credits for the 100 and 200 level courses and not need to take any language classes, if you take the language placement test and test into the 300 level, you must successfully complete a 300 level course to get credit for the earlier courses.
If your daughter has strong language skills and is planning to take additional courses, then it seems that either the CLEP will duplicate her DE credits or she can just take the language placement test and then complete a higher level course to get the credit for the 100/200 level courses and the CLEP won’t provide an advantage.
You mentioned she’s in a 450 level DE course…a course equivalent to a UA 450 level course? If so, I don’t think there would be any reason to complete the CLEP. What UA equivalent courses does she have DE credit for?
I agree with jrcsmom. If she’s in a 450 level DE course and 450 is an upper level college course, then having CLEP credits for 100 and 200 level courses is superfluous. She could get credits for the 100 and 200 levels through placement credit if she’s going to continue with Spanish.
My daughter quit Spanish after junior year and had no desire to take a language in college. A couple weeks before she headed for Bama, she took the CLEP test (after not having had Spanish in over a year) and scored high enough to get 14 credits. Since she didn’t want to continue in Spanish, placement credit wasn’t an option, and she didn’t take AP Spanish, so CLEP was her only real option for getting foreign language credit and thus made total sense.
In your daughter’s situation, I’m not sure CLEP makes a lot of sense, unless she’s not planning to continue with a language. If that’s the case, then you have to examine how much other AP and DE credit she has. There’s a limit to how many FL/HU credits one needs, and what she’s already getting for AP Spanish might already put her at that limit. My daughter wasn’t able to use her entire 14 credits from Spanish CLEP; a bunch of them just went into general electives, which she didn’t need. They all counted for registration priority, though!