Credit By Exam | Distance Learning Systems (DLSI)

Why High Schools Should Focus on Credit by Exam

What is “credit by exam,” such as CLEP, DSST, and AP? It represents a test one can take and earn college credits at participating universities. Some examinations can be taken at any age, while others have some age limitations. Here’s why credit by exam should be the focus on a high school?

Reduce College debt – This is the #1 reason we are concentrating on getting college credit without taking college classes! If we can pay $100 per examination, each being worth either three or six credits, it significantly reduces down the cost of a university education.

Pose a challenge – Since an honor student generally has done quite well in school, she is used to placing in 50% effort. This is a risky habit to pick up and giving her the task of passing a college level examination helps her step up her game.

Reduce the period of time in college – The earlier he or she can get started in “real life,” the more experience he or she can have as he or she gets to her primary adulthood. As a 30 year old, he or she could have ten years experience in a given field rather than six or eight. Decreasing the period of time in college also decreases some of the contact with the insane college lifestyle, in which many teenagers leave their principles for what seems fun and interesting in the moment.

Take a course once – There are many programs that a student would rather not do, such as Literature. Some students dislike literature with a passion and it’s definitely the topic in which they nag the most about things getting done. Now, does the student want to do literature once in high school, or have to do it again in college? If the student passes the examination, then he or she will not have to finish that same course in college. It’s a win-win situation!

College Level Examination Program News

Though learners are given the opportunity to earn credit before college, some credits might not be transferable to Northwest. The College Level Examination Program provides many different choices for learners to get credit without getting a formal course. Students at Northwest are permitted to take these assessments for certain subjects detailed in the yearly catalog. There are several programs provided that learners can test out of, a few examples being American Government, financial accounting, college algebra and western civilization.

“In the catalog, there are certain scores we need,” said Tamera Grow, associate director of admissions. “These (in the catalog) are the ones that have been analyzed in the past by our teachers. It reveals the ranking that is required to get the credit for the classes that are here.” There are no specifications learners need to fulfill to take this test. Freshmen through seniors are able to test out of programs using College Level Examination Program. However, though many learners think this program is a simple and fast way to generate credit, some programs detailed in the catalog as having the test-out choice are not approved at all at Northwest.

“If a college student had another (subject), we could have it analyzed,” Grow said. “I think this is a traditional record of what has been done in the past. I have not gone through all College Level Examination Program choices in the last few years to say ‘OK, this is the one that we should do.’ I have just kind of left it up, but if we got a demand, I could look at it.” Each test costs learners $100, said Beth Mason, assessment office administrator. Of that, $80 goes to the CLEP examining company and the other $20 invested on the 90 minute test is kept by Northwest. Students may not have obtained credit for certain subjects at Northwest for a few reasons: They could have not scored well enough for the Northwest specifications, or the individual departments at Northwest may not think the credit is worthy of passing.

Taking Dantes Credit by Examinations

Dante’s Credit by Examinations, CLEP and Excelsior examinations Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) Financed for active duty, National Guard members, and Reserves which means they are basically 100% free. The DANTES credit by examination is a nationally-recognized credit-by-examination program that most universities agree to for credit towards a degree plan. One tremendous benefit is to soldiers who may be separated from military bases such as recruiters who can still take these examinations for 100 % free at private testing facilities. Any military college student with an accepted degree plan should be able to use these examinations towards their degree plan provide the subject suits into their accepted degree plan. There are 38 Dantes credit by examinations and these can be taken at a base education center or at an approved off base computer testing center.

Step 1. Find and Schedule – Once a testing center is located, they must be contacted to confirm examining procedures and scheduling for military learners. Dante’s examinations are developed to analyze proficiency in various college-degree course materials.

Step 2. Obtain Fact Sheet – There a few strategies to pass a Dante’s that utilize the actual test construction to ensure a passing grade. The examinations are developed based on a summary from subject experts and the questions are examined for reliability centered on a subject’s understanding of that particular topic.

Step 3. Get Book(s) – The next phase in using the simple fact sheet is to analyze the section known as Sources for study Material, because this is where the guides used to design the test questions originate from.

Step 4. Make Flashcards – Purchase a set of flashcards. Using the evaluation Fact Sheet, each term listed on the simple fact sheet summary should be put on a flashcard. Using the evaluation Principles of Counseling as an example, this would lead to a minimum of 34 flashcards.

Step 5. Use Your Resources – Some examinations are normally easier than others because learners have current understanding of the test topic information. A good example would be the Army MOS 31B or military police.

CLEP Tests

Every university student goes through times where life is beyond stressful and preparation seems to be limitless. Fortunately, there is a way to cut down your to-do list during the term. College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a group of standardized assessments designed by the College Board. These assessments allow students to take college-level examinations with the chance of “CLEP-ing” out of getting a semester’s worth of a particular class. Students can take CLEP tests at most community colleges. Each test costs around $100, which is much less costly than getting a class for a complete term at a private college. They are also much simpler than investing 15 weeks seated through a class.

CLEP tests are pass-or-fail and you have a chance to study before getting the examinations. “I only tested for four times for Humanities; it was worth it because I do not have to take Imagination In Culture,” sophomore Garret Todd said. CLEP assessments usually cover pre-reqs and primary classes such as basic math and Writing in Culture. They also cover some electives. “I heard about it through buddies,” senior Joshua Kauzlarich said. “I researched it and heard I could really reduce my schedule for my last term. Not only that, but I could save a reasonable sum of cash.” Taking CLEP assessments allows students to reduce expenses and reduce their university load considerably.

“Next term I only have Wednesday and Friday sessions,” Todd said. He took two CLEP assessments, Humanities and Analyzing & Interpreting Literary works, for six credits each. Kauzlarich took the Humanities test as well. “CLEP assessments are excellent because they provide you a chance to reduce your course load as well as offer a probability to obtain extra credits and graduate early,” sophomore Bieber Geerts said. Geerts says he plans on taking CLEP assessments because they are a much better substitute to a regular term of a basic course. Kauzlarich said he would suggest other students to look into getting CLEP assessments as well and that he would have taken advantage of them early in his college stint, but he is too far into his educational plant to exchange any more credits over from CLEP assessments.

Credit by Exam and Prior Learning Assessment

A credit is frequently recognized as standing for a reliable enterprise officially guaranteeing the value of an educational experience. Officially, a credit symbolizes how long is spent in a particular course. Initially, the credit was an administrative input measure to assure equivalency of team amount of work. Features are gathered and “rolled up” into qualifications such as accreditation or degrees. Prior learning assessment and credit by exam are useful in this perspective to enable casual studying to be associated with credit. Credentials signify a package of information, abilities and skills; not just time spent, but also the accomplishment of desired studying outcomes, usually at the unit, program and institutional level (such as graduate skills) and getting skill sets, knowledge and capabilities.

The value and worth of credit, and especially qualifications, are dependent on the reputation of the conferring organization and its relationships with stakeholders. For example, a community trusts the popularity of a university and ascribes a value (usually economic) to this connection. Your credit or certification is recognized as being a de facto ‘letter of introduction’ from the school to a third party (most commonly an employer or another university) in which the popularity of the school performs a purposeful role.

The contextual sizing of the credit and the certification is implied in the reliable connection between the credentialing organization and the areas in which it is appropriate. Informal studying experiences, like their official alternatives, are most significant in the perspective in which the student is engaging with the encounter.

For example, local colleges often act as financial points of interest, hiring students and faculty who definitely give rise to the financial, social and perceptive investment of the region. For these institutions, the future of credits, credit by exam and credentialing could well lie in creating locally-valued studying experiences. A certification benefits value through localized, contextualized, genuine tests which build a connection of trust between the school and local industry. The connection is fully noticed when businesses are active stakeholders in the creation of units of study.

College Credit By Exam

The most popular examinations provided by credit by exam companies fall into the type of “general education and learning,” enabling learners to get credit for subjects such as college geometry and calculus or English composition and literature by passing standardized examinations, rather than participating a brick-and-mortar 101 class.

Between these significant players and other credit by exam resources, there are actually a variety of core/introductory, course-distribution and even significant need programs that learners can check off by passing an examination vs. seated through the comparative course at the school in which they are enrolled. Given that examination prices are a portion of educational costs, credit by exam is an attractive choice for learners looking to reduce costs by finishing a four-year degree program in just three years or less. And universities are starting to work with learners enthusiastic about discovering solutions to four years of tuition-paid registration as a means to bring down the increasing cost of higher education.

Students considering this choice should keep in mind that CLEP and other college equivalence examinations are much like a complicated final examination that comes at the end of a well-taught course. So, learners need to get ready (ideally by actually studying the content vs. just cramming) through separate study or registration in an online classroom. In theory, one could get an entire degree by just taking examinations (with some companies providing to help you get around your way through the thicket of who provides and who allows what with respect to college credit). But, credit by exam does illustrate an opening for getting more MOOC classes associated with authentic college credit (presuming some advanced MOOC company, examination designer or other business owner can find a way to make this a practical option).

The Credit by Examination Approach

Too many students are targeted on the classes they need to take – English, Psychology, Chemistry and Accounting. It’s simple to see why. Pick up a college course book and you will see that degree programs are set out as series of classes to take. Successfully pass them all and you graduate with the degree you desired. Yet, this is actually a superficial way to look at higher education. As it turns out, classes are not the real foundations of degrees – credits are.

Take a closer look at your college’s course book. What you will see is that you actually need a certain number of credits to graduate, usually 60 for an associate degree and 120 for a bachelor’s. This is a key understanding, because once you move your focus from classes to credits, you can begin studying methods to buy them for less. The costly classes your university provides are just one way of getting those credits, even though most learners thoughtlessly believe it’s the only way.

In reality, there are three methods to generate higher education credit:

Classes at four year colleges/private universities
Classes at community colleges
Credit by examination

Most students are acquainted with the first two choices. But hardly anyone knows about credit by examination and even less understand its complete prospective.

Credit by examination represents college-level topic assessments like CLEP and DSST. With this strategy, you take a large test covering a whole topic rather than a semester-long course. Successfully pass the examination and you generate credit just as if you had taken the class. What this implies is that you can possibly cut lots of money off the price of finishing by replacing as many of these examinations for classes as your higher education will allow. Unfortunately, many colleges and universities have tight “residency requirements” restricting how many credits you can get this way.

DANTES Exams and Civilians

A way of prior learning evaluation, DANTES offer learners an affordable, time preserving way to use their information obtained outside of the class room (perhaps from studying, on-the-job training, or separate study) to achieve their academic objectives. If you are like me, you look for methods to reduce costs while attending higher education. Although most of us know to shop for used books and test out of programs with CLEP examinations, those of us with no army qualifications may have little, if any, information of DANTES exam or otherwise known as DSST examinations. Until lately, DANTES exam (now known as DSST exam) was only for army employees. Fortunate for us citizens, now we get to take advantage of these examinations too! Why is this a good thing? More options, of course!

Here’s a list of DANTES Exam subjects:

Fundamentals of College Algebra
Principles of Statistics
Art of the Western World
Western Europe Since 1945
Introduction to the Modern Middle East
Human/Cultural Geography
Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
A History of the Vietnam War
The Civil War and Reconstruction
Foundations of Education
Lifespan Developmental Psychology
General Anthropology
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Introduction to Law Enforcement
Criminal Justice
Fundamentals of Counseling
Principles of Finance
Principles of Financial Accounting
Human Resource Management
Organizational Behavior
Principles of Supervision
Business Law II
Introduction to Computing
Introduction to Business
Money and Banking
Personal Finance
Management Information Systems
Business Mathematics
Astronomy
Here’s to Your Health
Environment and Humanity: The Race to Save the Planet
Principles of Physical Science I
Physical Geology
Technical Writing
Ethics in America
Introduction to World Religions
Principles of Public Speaking

Earning a Degree thru Credit by Exam

When Erick Dillard made the decision to get his online bachelors degree from Excelsior College back in 2002, he was working and raising two children. He didn’t have the luxury of going to school full-time, and he wanted to get his degree on his schedule. The 48-year-old Army veteran made the decision to test out of some of his online course specifications. By the time he completed it, he would save lots of money and obtained credit for 15 courses in his strategic communications degree, all without getting the formal classes. “I would come home and study all night and all evening,” says Dillard, who sometimes completed two courses a month through credit by exam.

Earning a degree doesn’t always have to be a huge time or investment decision. Progressively, older students like Dillard are speeding up their education and cutting expenses by using programs that award credit for past learning, says Pam Tate, chief executive and CEO of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. Earning credit by exam can be a great choice for adults who have already learned the course material through previous jobs or military experience, experts say. And it can be a particularly eye-catching choice for online students, who enjoy versatility and who are acquainted to a regimented, self-guided approach to learning.

“It’s popular” among online students, says Bill Stewart, associate vice chairman for Institutional Advancement at Excelsior College, which allows students to test out of class. “And some individuals use them to a significant degree and some individuals use them to complete holes in their specifications to meet their degree.” The idea of examining out of school courses is not a new idea. The College Level Examination Program, applied through the College Board, started giving students the choice to get credit for a range of programs in the late Sixties. When students take one of the 33 CLEP assessments, such as chemistry or American literary works, they are first provided a list of information they should understand before the evaluation. It’s up to the student to track down research materials and prepare for the analyze, which expenses about $80 plus a examining fee.

“We are realizing that some of the biggest on the internet colleges, like Thomas Edison State College, have a very strong cohort of exam-takers,” says Suzanne McGurk, senior assessment administrator at the College Board. “I think that really resonates with online students who are used to doing things at their own speed.”

Taking the Dantes Exam

Dante’s, CLEP and Excelsior examinations are Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES). Funded for active duty, National Guard members, and Reserves which means they are basically 100 % free. The DANTES exam is a nationally-recognized credit-by-examination program that most institutions accept for credit towards a degree plan. One tremendous benefit is to military personnel who may be separated from military bases such as interviewers who can still take these examinations for free at private testing facilities. Any military college student with an accepted degree plan should be able to use these examinations towards their degree plan supposing the topic suits into their accepted degree plan. There are 38 Dantes examinations and these can be taken at a base education center or at an approved off base computer examining center.

There are five steps to taking and passing a Dantes Exam:

Step 1. Find and Schedule – Once a testing center is determined, confirm examining techniques and scheduling for military learners. Dantes examinations are developed to test proficiency in various college-level course materials.
Step 2. Obtain Factsheet – There a few strategies to successfully pass a Dante’s that utilize the actual test development to ensure a passing grade. The examinations are developed on an outline from topic experts and the questions are reviewed for stability centered on a subject’s information of that particular topic.
Step 3. Get Books – The next phase in using the simple reality piece is to study the area known as Sources for Study Content because these are the guides used to design the test questions. Generally, an evaluation details several guides for an exam, however there is usually a seminal written text.
Step 4. Make Flashcards – Purchase a set of note cards. Using the evaluation Fact Sheet, each term detailed on the fact sheet piece outline should be made into a flashcard. Using the evaluation Concepts of Counseling as an example, this would lead to at the least, 34 flashcards. The next phase is to put the sample questions from the fact sheet on the flashcards and this would be additional 10 questions for a total of 45 flashcards.
Step 5. Use Your Resources – Some examinations are normally easier than others because learners have current information of the test subject information. A good example would be the Army MOS 31B or military police.