polynomials Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Hello everyone, I have a son who is 15 and homeschooled. Recently, I've been looking into CLEP tests, and I've come across some websites that claim that CLEP tests can be used for a "dual enrollment" of sorts, and that for homeschooled students, CLEP tests can be used towards high school credits as well as college credits. Here are some of the websites I found that claim that: https://dualcreditathome.com/2014/08/list-dual-credit-homes-high-school-credits-students-transcript/ http://clepprep.tripod.com/cleplessonplans/id6.html So, my question is, does anyone here have any experience with this? Can CLEP scores actually be used to grant high school credit that will count towards a diploma? (We live in Canada, by the way, and homeschooling around here is slightly different than in America. Students here can actually earn accredited diplomas (the same diplomas that non-homeschooled students earn) if they complete a certain amount of high school credits and send their transcript to a regional distance learning provider. The Independent Learning Center, for instance, will grant a diploma upon completion of 30 high school credits.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 I don't really understand your question. My kids take a course and it goes on their transcript as a course credit. For certain classes, at the end of the course, they may opt to take a CLEP exam. Certain colleges may award credit for that course based on that score. For us, the exam and the course are simply connected bc they have opted to study and take the exam. The CLEP exam itself does not constitute a course. IOW, based on web comments, if my kids randomly sat down and studied for 5 days and then took the exam without actually having taken a course, no, I would not give them a course credit. But my kids also haven't found the exams "easy." They score very high, but they score very high bc they have taken a course. They simply review for the exam. I do not think they would do very well just cramming for the exam without the course. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 I didn't see anything in the first link that said you would be earning a high school diploma. In our state you would not earn a diploma, those are awarded by the school system. However, in this country you don't need a diploma very often so it really isn't an issue. What you put on your high school transcript is up to you and what college credits would be awarded by CLEP scores would be up to the specific colleges. We have never studied for an exam and counted that as a class. We take a class and sometimes add an exam (CLEP, SAT II, etc.) There is a general assumption that a certain number of hours have been completed in order to earn a high school credit (120-180 hours.) That doesn't mean it cannot be done differently in your homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 With the first link you shared (dual credit at home), the idea is that the student gets high school credit for completing a high school course. Then, does some supplemental study to prepare for the CLEP (and a few DSST) exam. After several CLEP exams are passed, the student then is told how to enroll at Charter Oak State College (in state of Connecticut) toward getting a bachelors in general studies. They are also told how to take a few online classes there to complete the degree. But the high school credits come from completion of high school course. Not from completion of exams. And it's somewhat dependent on the various homeschool laws in states in the US on who can and can't award completion of high school diploma requirements. If I understand the online handbook of NARHS (North Atlantic Regional High School) correctly, they will do a college credit conversion to award high school credit in several ways (not just taking class at the local college while in high school). They call it "Proficiency Credits" in their handbook. That organization is accredited high school in the US. They will use a passed CLEP exam as one way to have evidence to award high school course. Also in their handbook they discuss a law in their state (Maine) that says a college freshman student who has completed one year of college credits may be awarded a high school diploma. (There are some restrictions and other requirements with that. And there are some colleges that don't require high school completion to start courses, so it works in those places.) So I can see how someone could use lesson plans from the first link the OP shared to do that. You get enough CLEP passed, get admitted at a place like Charter Oak because of enough CLEP credit. The college accepts the CLEP for credit toward their degrees. Then the NARHS high school accepts that to award diploma. But agreeing with the experiences of 8fill, in that my children didn't pass CLEP exam until after they finished a high school course. So in that sense it didn't matter. We complete the high school course and it's on the transcript. Where I live, if the CLEP is passed, we can then list the high school course as "honors" on homeschool transcript. Then it's up to college if the exam awards credit. I have no idea how it works in other places. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 My 15 year old (will be 16 in January) is planning 2 CLEPs for the upcoming school year. I will include them as part of his high school plan/credits. In my state homeschool diplomas aren't really recognized. I have to jump through some regulation hoops for high school and CLEP would certainly satisfy that part. He does plan to matriculate at the local CC and they will take the CLEP credits there. So it'll save a bit of money. My thought is if the student is learning the material one way or another then it counts. There are lots of ways to go about it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 CLEP is for college credit - do not confuse with dual enrollment of course you can create or outsource a class that was "college level" and use that to fulfill HS grad reqs and then take a CLEP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 also see http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/648433-i-found-free-online-prep-courses-for-apclep/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 , I would not give them a course credit. But my kids also haven't found the exams "easy." They score very high, but they score very high bc they have taken a course. They simply review for the exam. I do not think they would do very well just cramming for the exam without the course. nor would it be beneficial for anyone. The opposite of a "Well Trained Mind"!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 nor would it be beneficial for anyone. The opposite of a "Well Trained Mind"!! Yep I did buy 2 prep books, but the bulk of the studying is going to be through learning the subject matter using other resources. My goal is to make sure he is prepared for college coursework. I suppose cramming is a skill (LOL), but it goes against my reasoning for homeschooling in the first place! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (We live in Canada, by the way, and homeschooling around here is slightly different than in America. Students here can actually earn accredited diplomas (the same diplomas that non-homeschooled students earn) if they complete a certain amount of high school credits and send their transcript to a regional distance learning provider. The Independent Learning Center, for instance, will grant a diploma upon completion of 30 high school credits.) see http://ontariohomeschool.org/highschool/ http://www.ilc.org/index-main.php We have similar organizations here in the states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 My oldest took the two Western History ones and tested out of 6 credits of humanities. He's an accounting major and wanted to focus on his business classes. He also got 6 credits for his AP Latin score in humanities, so other than a World Lit class he that needed for an international humanities credit and English 101/102, he didn't have to take any humanities. I listed his score on his transcript, but just kept course titles I had. He studied for two weeks with the REA books missed only 2-3 on each one. Not every college grants credit though, and if you transfer from a 2-year, you have to be aware that the 4-year may not accept CLEP credit. Thankfully DS's does! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Not every college grants credit though, and if you transfer from a 2-year, you have to be aware that the 4-year may not accept CLEP credit. Thankfully DS's does! For CLEPsters, it may be worthwhile to get an Associates degree or transfer certificate from the CC which typically should give you credit but not always Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I'm going to agree with others that a CLEP score does not equate to a high school credit, although I have known parents who treated it as such. There are families who use the "cram for a CLEP - take the CLEP - put the course on the transcript" system. I agree with those above that the creates the opposite of a "Well Trained Mind". Our goal in high school was to have our kids learn as much and as well as they could, not to prove they could take tests and forget all they had learned as soon as they put their pencil down. We could have sent them to public school for that :lol: . That said, we like others here, have used CLEPs. Ds took few CLEPs in subjects that his University would accept after taking a high school course over the subject and even one this summer just to meet a requirement he thought would be a waste of time (he passed that one with no studying after just trying a couple practice tests so clearly he was right). CLEPs are far from universally accepted, so make sure you look at the schools your children are interested in attending before spending a lot of money on exams. In fact, CLEPs can even be a disadvantage. For example, the nursing program dd is in accepts CLEPS, but students don't get quality points (credits * grade points for required prerequisites) for the them and quality points make up 60% of their admission score, so a student who has more than a couple of CLEPs can't get enough quality points to be competitive for admissions. So, while I am a fan of leveraging a student's learning to get quick inexpensive college credits, credit by exam is often not treated the same was as credit for taking a class and should be handled carefully and just because a student can pass a CLEP doesn't mean they should get a high school credit if they haven't actually taken a corresponding class. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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