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CLEP tests help save time
By Rivkela Brodsky
Daily Lobo (U. New Mexico)
(U-WIRE) ALBUQUERQUE,
N.M. - Students who believe they have already mastered the material
in a particular course can get credit for it without ever setting
foot in a classroom.
The College Level Examination
Program, or CLEP, is limited to introductory level courses in
34 subjects, including algebra, biology, Spanish and psychology,
said Magdalena Anaya-Rahberg, a testing assistant at the University
of New Mexico's Testing Center.
Passing the tests gets prerequisite
requirements waived for some classes, excluding English, according
to the center's Web site. The tests are designed to reward what
a student has learned through independent study, advanced high
school courses or personal development.
"It's a good idea for students
with time or money constraints," Anaya-Rahberg said. "It
saves them money because they don't have to buy the book and
it saves them time because they don't have to sit through that
introductory class."
She said UNM is one of 2,900 colleges
nationwide that grant credit for CLEP exams.
Ariel Foster, director of the
National College Board's College-Level Examination Program,
said a record 137,000 students took one or more of the tests
in 2002, a 20 percent increase over the previous year.
Foster called the increase "significant,"
attributing it to several factors, including "the downturn
in the economy and the rise in tuition."
She said recent changes in testing
procedures may have also contributed to the test's growth in
popularity.
In 2001, the board introduced
a computer version of the test, making it possible for students
to receive their results quickly, therefore allowing them to
make enrollment decisions immediately, Foster said.
Anaya-Rahberg said each CLEP exam
is about 90 minutes long, unless there is a writing portion
of the test, in which case the test has to be sent to the national
board and results take between two to three weeks.
According to the most recent issue
of The Chronicle of Higher Education, last year 12 percent of
the test's takers were younger than 19, about 27 percent were
19 to 22 and about 24 percent were at least 36 years old.
"Students should be really
knowledgeable on the subject to pass the test," Anaya-Rahberg
said." Don't waste your money if you're not completely
sure."
Anaya-Rahberg said UNM's Testing
Center has a CLEP preparation exam that describes the various
tests offered and includes a practice exam so students can gauge
whether they will do well on the exam.
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