Paper CLEP tests coming online

  • Published
  • By Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  The College Level Examination Program, a popular route for many servicemembers seeking degrees, will introduce 14 new paper tests in April.

Since July 2001, more than 1,300 campus test centers have offered electronic computer-based CLEP tests. The reintroduced paper-based exams are considered "high volume" exams, said Len Lipp, exam programs manager for the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support.

"They are the most popular, they have the best success rate, and they meet a majority of educational requirements of most degree programs that people use CLEP for," he said.

The new tests will replace some that will no longer be available, beginning in early 2004.

"These are aged exams," said Lipp, referring to the CLEP tests now used by DANTES. "The current paper-based exams, after their withdrawal date, will no longer be considered valid examinations and will have to be pulled. This is not uncommon in the testing world."

Subjects such as social science, history, sociology, psychology, humanities, college algebra and mathematics will be reintroduced in paper form, according to the DANTES Web site. The test material will be based on computer versions of CLEP exams being administered at national test centers located on college and university campuses.

The hard-copy exams will be available because of the "recognized need for paper-based testing in the military," Lipp said. He pointed to locations and environments in the Department of Defense where paper-based education is a good alternative -- "where it would be very difficult to deliver computer-based testing -- for example, ships at sea and … numerous remote locations, particularly in the Middle East and other areas."

CLEP tests offer servicemembers a chance to earn up to 30 semester hours' credit toward a bachelor's degree. The exams, widely accepted by colleges and universities, cover material taught in most college freshman and sophomore courses.

Of the three credit-by-exams programs recognized by colleges, CLEP by far is the most popular among the military, Lipp said. The program has been used extensively, particularly in the Air Force, which he said constitutes nearly 55 percent of the military testing volume, he said.

"Up until just recently, we were averaging in the neighborhood of about 70,000 to 75,000 exams a year," he said. That number "far exceeded" the DANTES subject standardized tests program, which is the second largest with a volume that is around 55,000.

In the near future, CLEP tests might soon become even more popular and convenient for servicemembers, Lipp said.

DANTES and the College Board, the organization that provides college information, testing and financial-aid sources, are working to introduce a new Web-based CLEP program, hopefully by fiscal 2006, he said. That program will allow servicemembers to take CLEP tests online at military education centers.

For more information about CLEP tests and the nearest national test center, visit www.collegeboard.com/clep/ or go to www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/examinations/CLEP.htm.