Credit by Examination and Home Schooled Students

If you’ve ever considered how a homeschooler can graduate from secondary school and college at the same time, it is probably because they combined home school with earning college credit by examinations. CLEP examinations, DSST examinations and AP examinations can be used to accelerate through high school and college. There are three basic types of examinations used to earn college credit while home school learners at the secondary school stage. These are the same programs used by learners attending a physical high school as well.

1. The CLEP (College Level Examination Program) was designed by the College Board to allow scholars to gain credit for prior experience or knowledge. There are 33 examinations available that range from three to six credits per test. More than 2900 approved colleges and universities agree to these assessments as credit for classes, allowing learners to skip starting programs and get to the meat of their program. Home schoolers can take CLEP examinations at local colleges and universities.

credit_by_examination2. DSST examinations (formerly known as DANTES Subject Standardized Tests) were initially designed for the army and allowed servicemen to speed up their education while serving in the military. While these assessments are free for the army, citizens may also use these examinations instead of attending a traditional college class. Over 1200 schools agree to the 38 DSST examinations as credit for classes at their schools. Home schoolers and High School students are drawn to DSST examinations as they cover common topic like Astronomy, Personal Finance, and Introduction to World Religions that learners are likely to have some information about and may have to take as a core subject in college. Students must take the credit by examination at a university that provides the test.

3. AP programs with examinations are designed by the College Board and used widely in public schools to award high school learners with college credits. AP exams are often taken in the Spring as part of an official AP (Advanced Placement) class; however, home schoolers can still participate through independent study. You will also need to arrange to take the AP credit by examination at a college in your area that takes part in the AP program.

Difference Between AP and CLEP

Cost, accessibility, progression. All are great reasons to consider making higher education credit in your high school years. Advanced Placement and the CLEP are both subject-specific credit-by-exam programs provided by The College Board. DSST is provided by Parametric, another separate test-provider. College Board’s AP program was created in the 1950′s to provide a way for high-achieving kids to get a jump start on college work. In recent years, it has transformed into a huge program that gets to more than a thousand students each year. AP gets more advertising and is more well-known than CLEP because it is provided and promoted through public educational institutions. AP is recommended to high-achieving students as a way for them to show their educational ability and helps high schools increase their reputation. Examination content for both AP and CLEP is designed by a board of college teachers, many who sit on both test development committees.

CLEP

CLEP and DSST examinations are considered as a method to show expertise of content often trained in starting college-level programs. Since they are not associated with a high school course or program, these examinations are not promoted or well-known in those groups. As separate students, grownups and home schooled students are taking these examinations at an ever improving rate. As they keep growing in reputation, the test suppliers have observed and are actively reaching out to the home school market.

There are as many resemblances as there are variations between the examinations, but the most noticeable distinction is their availability: AP is provided in May, CLEP and DSST are provided year-round. While some institutions will specifically take AP examinations, it has become typical for institutions to reward credit for CLEP and DSST as well. Planning for AP, CLEP and DSST allows learners to develop the study abilities and critical thinking that prepares them for the conversion to college. They provide learners the assurance that they can efficiently manage college-level work, and provide them a jump-start towards achievement.

Advanced Placement Courses

One of the top topics on the thoughts of juniors and seniors as well are the popular Advanced Placement Courses. Advanced Placement Courses are college-level programs offered in secondary school. AP programs indicate what trained preliminary college programs are. These are available for the benefit of the best and smartest juniors and seniors who wish to ease up the stress of further education by removing some of the classes that otherwise they would be doing in college.  It allows learners to complete their daily activities with more complex programs when they get to the school as well.

The Advanced Placement Courses have consistent higher education testing and AP Examinations that will give them credit for the course on their college programs and cover letters and resumes.  Students who do well on AP Examinations can earn credit and/or placement into advanced programs in college. Not only are AP Sessions great for learners attempting to do well in higher education, they can also spend less by reducing quantity of courses learners who have attended AP applications actually take during the course of their college years. Although the attractive thought of taking less higher education courses for less cash is a very attractive idea.  The work that it requires to get into training alone is enough to have second thoughts.

AP Sessions are very essential if one desires to be effective in an aggressive profession.  The more experience you have or programs you take will help figure out how further education goes for an individual. Besides the benefits that one profits educationally during contribution in AP programs, there are also public and psychological benefits a person can obtain. Learners create assurance, by getting the feel of higher education level classes they are more ready to deal with what is ahead as they go to their chosen colleges.