CLEP Prep Guide

Anyone can take a CLEP test at one of over 1,800 testing centers across the United States and abroad. There are no age restrictions which makes them ideal for:

• High School Graduates

• College Students

• Home-schooled Students

• Military Personnel

• Continuing Education Students

1. Find out your institution's CLEP credit policy

Your first step is to find out if your institution accepts CLEP. Each institution sets its own policy: It decides which CLEP exams it will grant credit for and how many credits it will award. So talk to your admissions officer, academic advisor or test center administrator to learn more about your institution’s CLEP Policy. To find out if your institution accepts CLEP, use the College Board Institution Search tool.

2. Decide which exam(s) to take.

Browse through the different test descriptions to find the one that best matches your needs. Look at the required skills and knowledge for each exam so you know exactly what you'll be tested on. You can get a feel for the format and difficulty level of the examinations by reviewing sample questions with the College Board's CLEP Test Samples.

Taking and more importantly passing CLEP exams requires you to be in charge of your own learning. You may already have enough knowledge to pass the exam without further study, but ensure you check the required skills and knowledge beforehand to avoid any nasty surprises.

Study Guides & Resources

If you don't yet have the necessary skills and knowledge to pass the exam, you'll need to set out your own study program and time schedule to suit your needs. There are numerous ways you can gain the required knowledge through text books and courses, but the hardest part is probably knowing which are the best resources to use. The College Board has official Exam and Study Guides for purchase with useful information, practice questions and useful tips on preparing for the exams and answering the exam questions. They also suggest study resources for each of the CLEP exams which are primarily recommended text books. See The College Board's CLEP Study Tips and Test Preparation Guides .

Free Online Study Programs

There are also a considerable amount of high quality free online resources which can help prepare you for the CLEP exams. Knowing where to look and picking out the good ones from the bad is no easy feat, so MoocLab has done the hard work for you by matching the best free online resources with each CLEP exam to help you with your studies.

1. Register to take an exam

You can register to take an exam by creating an account on The College Board website. The registration platform will allow you to register for a CLEP exam 24/7, manage your personal information any time prior to taking the exam, search for test centers, select your score recipient institution, and purchase study materials. Once you register, make sure to print your registration ticket to present to the test center on test day.

2. Schedule your test day with a test center

CLEP exams are administered throughout the year at over 1,800 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. Once you find a conveniently located test center, contact them directly about registration and scheduling. Use the CLEP Test Center Search Tool to locate a test center near you. In addition to the non-refundable $80 exam fee, most test centers charge a nonrefundable administration fee, directly payable to the institution. Check with your test center and confirm the amount required and acceptable method of payment.

3. Take the Test

On the day of your exam, make sure you get to the Test Center in good time and that you bring the following with you:


• Your valid registration ticket
• Registration forms or printouts that are required by the test center. Make sure you have filled out all necessary paperwork in advance of your testing date.
• Administration fees: Bring administration fee to the test center. Each test center charges an additional fee and sets its own policy for payment.
• Identification: Your driver’s license, passport or other government-issued identification that includes your photograph and signature. You will be asked to show this identification to be admitted to the testing area. The last name on your ID must match the name on your registration ticket.

Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability, such as a learning or physical disability, which would prevent you from taking a CLEP exam under standard conditions, you may request accommodations at your preferred test center. Contact your preferred test center well in advance of the test date to make the necessary arrangements and to find out its deadline for submission of documentation and approval of accommodations. Accommodations that can be arranged directly with test centers include:

• ZoomText (screen magnification)
• Modifiable screen colors
• Use of a reader, amanuensis, or a sign language interpreter
• Extended time
• Untimed rest breaks
If the above accommodations do not meet your needs, contact CLEP Services for information about other nonstandard options at clep@info.collegeboard.org or 800-257-9558 before you register.

Most CLEP exam questions are multiple-choice and are scored by a computer. You receive one point for each correct answer. Points aren't deducted for wrong or skipped answers. This means that you should do your best to supply an answer for each question on a CLEP exam.

Some exams also require you to write one or more essays which are scored either by the institution giving the exam or by CLEP, depending on the particular test and the institution’s preference.

Essay Scoring Performed by CLEP

Essay responses scored by CLEP, such as College Composition, are reviewed by college English composition professors through the Educational Testing Service's Online Scoring Network (OSN), which distributes essays securely to readers in remote locations. The scores they apply account for 50 percent of the test-taker's overall exam score.

Essay Scoring Performed by Institutions

The American Literature, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, English Literature exams include optional essay sections, which institutions can choose to add to the multiple-choice sections. For these exams, candidates respond to two essay topics, spending approximately 45 minutes on each.

College Composition Modular contains approximately 90 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 90 minutes, and depending on the option chosen, two essays to be written in 70 minutes. Some colleges may opt to provide their own locally scored writing assessment.

Total exam scores fall between 20 and 80, with 50 being the lowest score for which course credit should be granted. To see whether you attained a score sufficient to receive college credit, compare your score to the score in the ACE Recommendations Credit-granting Table. The scores that appear in this table are the credit-granting scores recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE). Each college, however, reserves the right to set its own credit-granting policy, which may differ from that of ACE. If you have not already done so, contact your college as soon as possible to find out the score it requires to grant credit, the number of credit hours granted and the course(s) that can be bypassed with a satisfactory score.

Canceling Scores

If you don't want your scores reported, at the end of the exam, select the option to not be scored. Be aware: there's no way to cancel your scores once you've seen your instant score report. Also, there is no way to retrieve your score once you cancel it.

Normally, you'll receive your score report instantly — with the exception of the College Composition with Essay, which takes three to four weeks to deliver.

When you register for a CLEP exam on The College Board website, you can indicate the college, employer or certifying agency that you want to receive your CLEP test scores. There's no cost for the first transcript request — your exam fee covers it. If you haven't decided by the time you take the test which institution you want to receive your scores, leave that part blank.

If you did not indicate a score recipient institution at the time of your exam and you want to request your CLEP scores, you can do so by ordering a CLEP transcript. This transcript is a cumulative score report of all the CLEP exams you've taken and the scores you earned in the last 20 years.

The Defense Activity for Non Traditional Education Support (DANTES) provides funding for CLEP exams to eligible military service members, spouses and civil service employees. DANTES funds one CLEP exam in each of the 33 subject areas for the following groups:

• Military personnel (active duty, reserve, National Guard):

  Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Navy Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, Army and Air National Guard

• Spouses and civilian employees of:

  Air Force Reserve, Army Reserve, Coast Guard (active and reserve). Please note: Spouses and civilian employees of Air National Guard can no longer receive DANTES funding effective October 15, 2014.