Do we want to CLEP through high school?

[AmyontheFarm]

I originally wrote a long post with a bunch of questions but I decided it would be better to break the questions up to make it easier for responses.

 

We live in Canada. My son is in Grade 6 and I'm thinking ahead and starting to research this whole high school thing.

 

Second question, I've been told that instead of him studying for a high school credit in Biology, I should let him CLEP Biology. So, that he would only have to study a bit longer and he'd end up with a college credit instead of just a high school credit. Have other parents here had their children CLEP through highschool? What did you think of that process of CLEPing through Highschool?

[Holly IN]

You need to find out if colleges in your area actually accepts them. I know in Indiana NONE accepts CLEPed tests/subjects. They do accept AP or dual college if it fits their criteria.

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[regentrude]

You need to check with the college your student plans to attend whether they award credit for CLEP at all, and if so, at which level. It may be that they accept CLEP only for lower level intro courses, but not for the intro courses required for certain majors.

 

Most colleges want to see AP (for credit) or SAT II (to demonstrate high school level proficiency)

[AmyontheFarm]

I understand the CLEP is a college level test, I was wondering if a person could argue that if the student can pass the college level test, they should be awarded a high school credit for it. Since, the college level should be harder then the high school level to pass. Also, it would eliminate for a large portion the "Is this a Mommy grade?" because he would be tested by the CLEP exam and not by Mom. Our local college will accept CLEP for entry level (first year) courses, but not after that.

 

My only concern about the SAT is I'll have to fight to get him extra time to write the test. If we kept him in the school system they would take his IEP and all the testing they did on him and he would immediately get help for extra time, but since we've removed him, the only way he'll get that help is if we re-enroll him into the public system for high school again or fight a battle which I've been told will be extremely costly and an up hill battle. On another post, I've explained that he doesn't sound like he'll want to continue any schooling after "high school" because he want to come work on the farm.

[regentrude]

On another post, I've explained that he doesn't sound like he'll want to continue any schooling after "high school" because he want to come work on the farm.

 

In that case, I am puzzled why you would want to CLEP at all. If he is not going to college, who cares about substantiating mommy grades???

[Barbara H]

My thought is that in 6th grade you are still early in the game and I would keep options open as much as possible because I've seen so many kids change in really significant ways during the middle and high school years. Some who are positive they are not college bound do end up going to college.

 

CLEP is a fine option to keep in the mix. Some kids really like having goals to work toward and it can be a way to demonstrate mastery. Because colleges vary so widely in their policies toward accepting CLEP credit and because it doesn't work particularly well for many majors, I'd steer clear of making it your total approach for high school or college.

 

As far as the SAT essay, it is just one small part of the bigger test and it is the part of the test that is weighted least heavily for college. There are homeshcoolers who have not been enrolled in high school who have been successful getting accomidations for the SAT, so it isn't like high school enrollment is the ONLY way (and also, it isn't like high school enrollment is a guarentee they will get accomidations either).

[CourtneyBrooke]

I think using CLEPs to validate Mommy grades is an excellent option. For High Schoolers, I firmly believe that the best way to accomplish that is to first take the course- study the text, learn the vocabulary, etc- and then take the CLEP. That way he's actually learning the material and then has the CLEP score to prove it. YES, if a person passes the CLEP, they should receive High School credit.

 

If your college accepts the first year, I would take the standard CLEPs that duplicate courses already needed- Biology, Literature, History, etc.

 

6th grade is not too young to start planning. My daughter is 11 and will be taking her first two CLEPs at the end of the school year- Astronomy and Analyzing Literature- two courses we are taking this school year through BJU and Stobaugh, and using the CLEP to validate our learning. Next year we'll do Environment, History, more Lit, etc.

[Lori D.]

There has been a trend in recent years in which fewer colleges are accepting CLEPs. So you definitely have to research to see if the college you are interested in will even accept CLEPs, and if so, which ones. However, this changes from year to year, so if your student is still several years away from graduation, a CLEP that is acceptable today, may no longer be acceptable by the time the student graduates from high school.

 

AP* and dual enrollment** tend to be more widely accepted than CLEP.

 

An option involving CLEP tests that allows your student to use the last 2 years of high school taking all distance courses and CLEP tests to earn a Bachelor's degree while simultaneously completing the high school diploma is offered through College Plus. They have done all the work of lining up which classes are acceptable and which colleges will accept the CLEPS for awarding an all-distance learning 4-year degree. I personally know one student who successfully completed this, and two more who are in-process. It has been a great option for them, BUT, all three are highly self-motivated, disciplined learners, and academics-driven students. Absolutely must have this personality type to stick with the grueling year-round, two-year program to complete it.

 

 

At the very top of the high school board list of threads, check out the "stickie" on outsourcing -- in it are links to a ton of past threads on the various topics of CLEP, AP, dual enrollment, outsourcing, etc. which has loads of wisdom, past experience, and pros and cons.

 

Happy reading! ;) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

* = AP (Advanced Placement) courses are like high school honors courses, or early college courses, taken by the student in high school; at the end of learning the material, the student takes the test (must register online with College Board), and depending on what score the student receives, the student can earn some college credit. Again, not accepted by all colleges -- some recognize the AP designation and allow the student as a freshman to enter advanced courses but don't give college credit. Other colleges do both.

 

** = Dual Enrollment courses are courses taken through a university or more frequently through a community college, by a high school student, who then earns credit for the same class for both high school AND college. Frequently, the 4-unit and 5-unit college classes (foreign languages, sciences with labs) also award credit at the rate of a 1 semester = 1 year. In other words, a one semester college course (a 4-unit foreign language class, or 5-unit science class) covers enough material and takes enough time to equal one full-year high school level course. Again, investigate what will be accepted and what won't -- not all 4-year universities accept credits from community colleges. In that case, you student will still have earned the credit for the high school transcript, but the course wouldn't also count for college credit.

[Nan in Mass]

I can see why, if you think your son might not want to go to college, you want the high school degree that you award confirmed by some sort of outside courses. If he goes on to college, he will have a college degree and the high school one won't matter much (hopefully), but if he doesn't, then that high school degree is more important. If I were you, I, too,would be looking for ways to prove his high school level academic abilities in the eyes of the world. I think that is a very good idea if there is any possibility that he won't go on to college. Having had one student who got to the end of high school and suddenly refused to go to college, I am more aware now that one never really knows what is going to happen. (Ok - not very supportive of homeschooling and all the rights previous homeschoolers have fought for - I'm sorry. My mama-bear instincts want to be extra sure that there won't be some sort of snaffoo in the future if the homeschooling environment changes for the worse, for some reason.)

 

That said, there are a number of ways of confirming those abilities: outside teacher assessment, high school testing (the sort done by high schools to see where their students stand), state high school testing (like NY or Mass), a cover school (the sort that assesses student work each year), SAT 2s, ACTs, APs, CLEPs, DANTEs (think I got the name right), other exams (like the DELF/DALF for French given by France), other countries school-leaving exams (like the French bac and the British ones), correspondence courses, correspondence schools (like American School, K-12, or Keystone), high school classes at a high school in your area, CC or uni classes, or ... We opted to do several of these, but mostly we are relying on community college courses. I thought about CLEPs but I didn't want subjects covered in just a teach-to-the-test manner. At least with real courses at the community college, some of the extra learning that happens when one has to make presentations to live classmates or do labs and research papers or solve problems with classmates still happens. I thought that if mine were studying for CLEP exams, that would take all their time and they wouldn't have the time to do the "extras" on their own (extras in quotation marks because I don't consider them extras but important ingredients). I could have been wrong about that, but it wasn't something I wanted to find out the hard way. If I had wanted to pick a test to prove learning, I would have picked the SAT2s because I would have assumed that only the material usually covered in a high school class would be present, allowing my sons time to go down rabbit trails and work on projects and odd reading. I know that a good teacher could make it all happen at once, but I doubted our ability to be that efficient. You may be better at that than we are.

 

So - I think it depends what you want your child's high school education to look like. If you want it to thoroughily cover the basics of a college level class, then CLEPing might be great. If (like us) you are homeschooling to give your children a chance to go down lots of rabbit trails and work on their own projects, then it might not be a good idea.

 

Also, I have one student who would have shut down in the face of all that test prep, and one who might have loved the clearly defined goal and competative aspect. Whether this is a good idea probably depends a lot on the student themselves.

 

As far as whether the CLEPs really lead to college credit at every univerisity - the same argument can be made about community college classes when one transfers to a four-year school; maybe or maybe not. Even AP tests are this way. Even classes from other universities are this way.

 

Nan

[Lori D.]

What Nan said. :)

 

In other words, yes, look at CLEP. As Kinsa said in her post, it can be a great option! But also look at the numerous other options as well that would confirm homeschool grades. Each option has advantages/disadvantages. And you may find that some other option most closely meets all your goals. And, then again, CLEP might most closely meet your needs. :)

 

Make a list of your goals of why you're considering CLEP. Then research all those other options Nan mentioned (SAT or ACT test scores; AP; dual enrollment; SAT Subject Tests (also called SAT II); cover school (or "umbrella school") assessments; online courses/distance learning; etc.. List the pros and cons for each, and rank the options as to which most closely matches your goals -- AND has the fewest disadvantages for your family.

 

The real problem is not that it's hard to find ways to "prove" or support homeschool grades -- it's wading through all the options and choosing one! ;)

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[Punks in Ontario]

Would he be interested in going to Ridgetown to enhance his farming? I'm not sure about CLEPs, but I know of 2 homeschool grads who have gone there.

 

As far as CLEPs, as a Canadian, I'm a little stymied with the concept. It's been a while since I've looked into them, but I did see that Lakehead U accepts a limited number of them in their engineering program. LU does seem to allow for more credit from other sources than the average place. I haven't looked too much at community colleges yet, but I've had the impression they're not too interested in thinking outside the box.

 

I hope someone with some more Canadian info pipes up.

[Mom22ns]

You need to find out if colleges in your area actually accepts them. I know in Indiana NONE accepts CLEPed tests/subjects. They do accept AP or dual college if it fits their criteria.

'

 

 

I was surprised by this so I took a quick look and found it isn't true. Here is a link to Indiana State's clep credit policy and IU links to the same list from their website. It is a far more generous list than any of the MO colleges, and we're still planning to use some CLEPs.

 

Like the OP my ds would have a hard time with APs because of the writing. I'd have to get accommodations as well and didn't want to fight that battle. CLEP allows some confirmation of mommy grades and maybe even credit without the hassle for us. I understand it as a choice over APs and SAT2s for SN kids.

[AmyontheFarm]

Would he be interested in going to Ridgetown to enhance his farming? I'm not sure about CLEPs, but I know of 2 homeschool grads who have gone there.

 

As far as CLEPs, as a Canadian, I'm a little stymied with the concept. It's been a while since I've looked into them, but I did see that Lakehead U accepts a limited number of them in their engineering program. LU does seem to allow for more credit from other sources than the average place. I haven't looked too much at community colleges yet, but I've had the impression they're not too interested in thinking outside the box.

 

I hope someone with some more Canadian info pipes up.

 

He might be interested Ridgetown, that is an option, we are down by Windsor and I've heard that some people just commute everyday, but the thought of him traveling up the 401 daily scares me, I'd want him to live up there. I learnt about CLEP because our eldest dd asked to use College Plus for her college degree. There is a testing center 25-ish minutes across the border, so we've been there and she's doing well with the CLEP's but she also had a year of Bible college before she went down that road. So, she was older.

 

My son on the other hand would be 14 and doing CLEPs. I think I'll call College Plus! and ask them some questions. My husband wisely told me to relax, the decision doesn't need to be made immediately and a lot can happen before he reaches grade 9.

[AmyontheFarm]

Would he be interested in going to Ridgetown to enhance his farming? I'm not sure about CLEPs, but I know of 2 homeschool grads who have gone there.

 

As far as CLEPs, as a Canadian, I'm a little stymied with the concept. It's been a while since I've looked into them, but I did see that Lakehead U accepts a limited number of them in their engineering program. LU does seem to allow for more credit from other sources than the average place. I haven't looked too much at community colleges yet, but I've had the impression they're not too interested in thinking outside the box.

 

I hope someone with some more Canadian info pipes up.

 

He might be interested Ridgetown, that is an option, we are down by Windsor and I've heard that some people just commute everyday, but the thought of him traveling up the 401 daily scares me, I'd want him to live up there. I learnt about CLEP because our eldest dd asked to use College Plus for her college degree. There is a testing center 25-ish minutes across the border, so we've been there and she's doing well with the CLEP's but she also had a year of Bible college before she went down that road. So, she was older.

 

My son on the other hand would be 14 and doing CLEPs. I think I'll call College Plus! and ask them some questions. My husband wisely told me to relax, the decision doesn't need to be made immediately and a lot can happen before he reaches grade 9.

[Lori D.]

our eldest dd asked to use College Plus for her college degree... My son on the other hand would be 14 and doing CLEPs.

 

 

You might look into College Plus's special "College PREP" program for your 14yo DS -- it is a prep program for taking CLEPS -- learning how to study, learning how to take an online class, and then actually taking a CLEP for actual college credit.

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[AmyontheFarm]

Would he be interested in going to Ridgetown to enhance his farming? I'm not sure about CLEPs, but I know of 2 homeschool grads who have gone there.

 

As far as CLEPs, as a Canadian, I'm a little stymied with the concept. It's been a while since I've looked into them, but I did see that Lakehead U accepts a limited number of them in their engineering program. LU does seem to allow for more credit from other sources than the average place. I haven't looked too much at community colleges yet, but I've had the impression they're not too interested in thinking outside the box.

 

I hope someone with some more Canadian info pipes up.

 

 

He might be interested Ridgetown, that is an option, we are down by Windsor and I've heard that some people just commute everyday, but the thought of him traveling up the 401 daily scares me, I'd want him to live up there. I learnt about CLEP because our eldest dd asked to use College Plus for her college degree. There is a testing center 25-ish minutes across the border, so we've been there and she's doing well with the CLEP's but she also had a year of Bible college before she went down that road. So, she was older.

 

My son on the other hand would be 14 and doing CLEPs. I think I'll call College Plus! and ask them some questions. My husband wisely told me to relax, the decision doesn't need to be made immediately and a lot can happen before he reaches grade 9.

[Punks in Ontario]

 

He might be interested Ridgetown, that is an option, we are down by Windsor and I've heard that some people just commute everyday, but the thought of him traveling up the 401 daily scares me, I'd want him to live up there. I learnt about CLEP because our eldest dd asked to use College Plus for her college degree. There is a testing center 25-ish minutes across the border, so we've been there and she's doing well with the CLEP's but she also had a year of Bible college before she went down that road. So, she was older.

 

My son on the other hand would be 14 and doing CLEPs. I think I'll call College Plus! and ask them some questions. My husband wisely told me to relax, the decision doesn't need to be made immediately and a lot can happen before he reaches grade 9.

 

 

I'd be interested in how it turns out for your dd. I've thought about College Plus for my ds14. Unfortunately my guys are all STEM sorts and College Plus doesn't seem to be a good option for them. At this point this guy is more interested in working on a farm than school.. :glare: Academically, he's more than capable of doing the work.