Fast-Track College Success with Gini Beran

Hello parents, is your teen college ready? Today I have a wonderful guest that I can't wait to share with you. Jeannie Barron is with us from CLEP. Jeannie, can you share with our families what is it and how are you involved, like what is your role?

All right, well, thank you, I appreciate this opportunity. Um, CLEP, I feel sometimes is like a well-kept secret. Most folks, and hopefully students and families, have heard of College Board. College Board is a large non— not-for-profit institution. We help students to and through college with products like AP or SAT, uh, and CLEP has been in the portfolio for, um, at College Board since 1967. So we're a tried and true program. CLEP is an acronym. We're big on those at the College Board. It stands for the College Level Examination Program. So again, we've been around since 1967. My role is I'm the outreach director for CLEP, so all things CLEP. So I work with educators, military folks, anyone who's touching students who are looking at a way to accelerate time to college and do so affordably. So CLEP is my tool. And so again, it's an acronym. College Level Examination program, when we started back in the day, it was really designed for adults or military folk who are returning to college after time in the workplace or military. But we like to say today that CLEP is for everyone. What we find statistically is year over year, our largest growth in, in CLEP volumes. So these are exams that students take to earn college credit in one of 34 subjects. Our largest increase of volume is among high school students. So again, your families who are trying to figure out how to do this thing called college more affordably. So CLEP provides 34 subjects, 34 exams where students may have some familiarity. There are things ranging from math and sciences, so college algebra, calculus, biology, to language and literature. So college composition, analyzing, interpreting literature. World Languages, and Social Sciences and History. So 34 really broad subjects. Most of the subjects equate to freshman-level college courses. So CLEP is the exam that learners of, again, any age can take to validate that they have college-level knowledge. So they take an exam, earn a score— we could talk about that a little more depth— earn a score, send that to a college or university, so when they enroll they don't have to take that course. They've gotten credit for it, and they go on the next course, the subsequent course. So it's an accelerator, um, to get into the fun stuff, you know, if you're in, in a major and you want to test out of those prerequisite courses. But it also then is the time savings— or the financial savings, I meant to say.

Yeah, wow. Okay, so that's a lot of information.

It was a lot.

So parents, I'm with you, right? Um, let's break it down into subsections. So Step 1, how would I know if my child is a good candidate for CLEP?

Well, I like to think that there's a CLEP test for almost everyone. I work with guidance counselors, high school guidance counselors from across the country who say the same thing. So CLEP, again, 34 exams. A lot of students are familiar with these topics. These are topics that they— subjects that they take in high school pathway. Again, this is college-level exams, but a lot of our high schools are teaching some very rigorous courses. Or with that course you're taking in high school, let's say American Government is a CLEP exam. So students are taking a government class in their high school. It's rigorous, or they have some passion, or this is their jam and they want to learn more about it. They can do some independent study with resources we provide on our website. And I'll share— there's some other resources too where they can make sure that they're learning at that college level. So for when it comes to CLEP, it really is having those discussions about here's our 34 exams, what things excite you and interest you, and perhaps you'd like to do some independent learning to then take an exam and earn that college credit.

Right. Okay. So now I have one of my 4 kids in mind.

Yes.

So as a parent, I'm putting myself in your shoes and I'm thinking, okay, my student has taken a lot of rigor, say 6 AP classes, right? But maybe didn't score as well as they would like to on the AP exam, but they really do know the subject. How would they go about, uh, signing up to take a CLEP exam, and would that give them college-level credit at all colleges or some colleges?

Yeah, let, let me answer that part first. So we know with the CLEP program that we have almost 3,000 colleges across the country that award credit for CLEP. So CLEP is only a test until the student enrolls in that college and university, has sent their score, and that university then awards credit. Um, and just a little bit more in the weeds, a little bit— CLEP is scored on a scale from 20 to 80, and ACE, or the American Council on Education, recommends a score of 50 as being that college credit-granting score. So while that's ACE's recommendation, universities and colleges sometimes abide by that, and sometimes they tweak it to meet their, um, institution, their, their curriculum. So we first ask students to do that research if they're thinking about taking a CLEP exam. Look at your college or university's website to see what exams are accepted and what score is needed. So that's important. But then the process— bring me back to your original first part of the question was about how I go about it.

Yeah, so the child took an AP exam. You offer that subject for CLEP. Didn't do that, didn't get the 3, 4, or 5 they needed on the AP exam. But they would still like an opportunity. They know the subject. They would like another opportunity to test out and get college-level credit, which will save them money when they get to college. So what would they do to make that happen?

Right. Okay. Thank you for that. So again, look at that policy to ensure that that CLEP exam is accepted at that college or university. And then the second part would be to— most students hopefully have a College Board account if they've taken other College Board products., so in that same College Board account, a student can register for a CLEP exam. They sign up as an individual at the time they select their subject they're interested, they pay at the time they register. And just FYI, currently in this current school year, CLEP exam is $95, and then register for that exam. The AP, we call it a— there are districts that do this across the district, they call— we call it an AP2 program, so they are targeting those students and doing some outreach Hey, do you know, like, you know a lot of content. Here's a CLEP exam that's similar. Let's come back and refresh that content. We really don't want to just throw another test at a student. They're already bummed out they missed the credit the first time.

Yeah, for sure.

But if that institution accepts CLEP, you have that knowledge with AP. It's a strong foundation. Perhaps it wasn't your day. Or I have friends, a friend's daughter who just didn't test that day. She didn't feel well and didn't show up. So if you missed the testing and the retesting window, um, or you didn't get that score you want, that's a great use of CLEP.

Okay, good. So that was first scenario. Now I'm looking at second child.

And how many kids do we have?

I have 4. Okay, we have 4 scenarios because they're all different. So child number 2, how they could use CLEP is Um, say there was a passion and their school didn't offer the subject, but they self-studied. They're like, I really like this even though my school doesn't offer it. Would that be an opportunity for that child to be able to test and, and still get college-level credit even though their high school did not offer that subject?

Correct. That's a, that's a great use of CLEP, and I think that's how most people think of it. When we think of who found CLEP first, it was some of those high school students that just had passion for learning fill in the blank, one of the 34 subjects. Self-study. We have free resources, including— I just have to mention quickly— Modern States, which is a philanthropic group that has created free online courses for CLEP. Many students are familiar and families with AP with a course test at the end. CLEP has always just been the test at the end. But with the coming of Modern States— and again, it's modernstates.org is their website— students can take free online courses to prepare for the CLEP exam. So for those students who are looking for, how do I prepare the content? How do I know I'm going to learn enough to be successful on that exam? Modern States is a great resource. And again, for those students who have an interest and are good, like, independent learners, self-study, they do terrific.

Yeah. Okay, child number 3. He would say, how would colleges look at this in the scope, right? Is it as good as honors, AP, IB, dual enrollment? Is it less than— like, if I'm gonna put in the work, I can hear him saying it right now. If I'm gonna put in the work, is this going to benefit me by doing the work? How will colleges perceive CLEP?

That's a great question, and it's one, um, I mentioned earlier that our CLEP participation by high schools has grown year over year. We've seen this population increasingly utilize CLEP. However, we are not near the numbers of in high schools as other exams. So if I am applying to colleges and I have a CLEP credit, I would say a lot of colleges and universities is going to award you that college credit. So you have the time saving, that accelerator, but they aren't going to put it in the pool. There isn't enough out there yet for colleges to know that, oh, CLEP is a rigorous exam that a high school student will use to help boost their admissions. Some folks do, but I don't think it's a common practice. And I have to say, yet, as we— I think as we continue to see a growth in CLEP participation, Perhaps that will be a positive additional benefit for students utilizing CLEP.

So child number 4, she's my non-traditional. She's actually studying in the Czech Republic, Prague, and she's getting a dual US and European degree. But for a bit, she wanted to be homeschooled, and I was terrified, let's be honest, because I wanted to love her all the way through. So But let's talk about homeschool, right? That's where we originally met. This seems like a viable option for a non-traditional student. Can you talk about how a homeschool or a non-traditional student could really utilize this opportunity?

Yeah, um, that's the population who found CLEP first. When we talk about high school space, homeschoolers had found this years ago, and again, they were looking for, um, validation of the rigor of their learning. So College Board and CLEP have done all that work. You know, we've gone through the standard setting, we've worked with ACE. This is equivalent to a college-level course. So homeschoolers loved it because all that work was done. They could send it off to the university. And so as their high schooler was graduating from high school with 12 to 15 to 20 college credits in their pocket, it, it, it was great. The thing about CLEP is there are no preset exam administration dates. So a student can test whenever they're ready. And again, for a high school, when you think of our target audience was those adults, this is a very individual— woo, hard one to say— individualized experience. So the learner registers themself for the CLEP exam. So they don't have to be affiliated with a school or a district. They just go on the College Board account. They register themselves. They pay the exam fee. And then they select, where am I going to take the CLEP test? CLEP is considered high stakes because the number of credits students can earn. So they have to be at a CLEP test center, which is a physical building, mostly colleges and universities or military bases, probably not open to high school folks unless you're a child perhaps. Um, and then high schools sometimes offer CLEP, and we also have a remote proctoring option. So students, it's really that convenient, whenever they're ready. Winter, spring, summer, fall, they can register and take an exam either at a test center or remotely. If they have a computer and internet, et cetera, they can take a CLEP exam right from their own home. So super convenient. And I think that's the other thing that attracts homeschoolers, but really everyone, to CLEP.

Right.

Wow.

So I mean, you touched on really it's individual, right? That's the most important thing, as should be every student's for your academic plan.

Yes.

Um, not one size fits all, which I love. I think that's genius. Um, how— is there a cap to the number of CLEP tests a student may take?

We don't have that at the College Board. However, I would say that institution that a child's enrolling into, a post-secondary college or university, they likely will have a most of them have a cap. I mean, there's a residency requirement, you know, that you have to take such percentage here. But there are some online institutions that don't have caps. So I really have to put that back on the student and the family to do their research. What exams— again, when they're looking at policy, what exams are taken? And then are there any policy issues around when it has to be transcripted and up to how many you can take?

Sure, sure. And what is the age that a student can start in this process? Because I met with a student this morning who was finishing high school at 15 years old. And wow, right? Like, send off a child to college when they're still in that very young, uh, stage. But he was intellectually ready. I can't say socially all there, but intellectually. So is there a starting age, or an Indian age.

There's, there's on our website, we do have a 13— it states 13 years old and above. And again, when we talk about homeschoolers, they, they come right in at that age and sometimes are very successful, or their older siblings doing it, and they do it as a group and kind of learn, you know, and practice and do the content prep. Um, so 13 to wherever. So Yeah, good for them. The other population I just have to mention quickly. So you talked about Euro for Children, but the other population that we see, our top volume CLEP exam is Spanish language. So credit by exam is really earning college credit for what you know. And the reason, as you know, that is because we have many heritage, bilingual, and native speakers of Spanish who are doing just that. They don't need to enroll in a Spanish class when they get to college. But they want to be validated for what they know. They have fabulous pass rates, and it's a really great way to save time, earn money, and then the true message of CLEP: earn credit for what you already know.

Wow, that, that's a huge one. Thank you for sharing that.

We also have German and French. That's all right. That was my next question. Um, not, not utilized as much, but, um, they, they both are to a degree, but it's the Spanish language that really carries. The world language.

Would it test at a Spanish 1, 2, 3, or 4 level equivalent to high school?

Equivalent to college, I can talk about. So, so equivalent to college, we have again a little weedy here, but the Spanish language is multiple choice with the listening component. Students who score a 50, again, that 20 to 80, at 50 can earn up to 6 3 college credits, which is a Level 1 and 2 college, 2 semesters. With a score of 63, they can earn 3 semesters of college credit. About, well, in 2019 we heard from higher ed that to award even that 4th semester of college credit, they needed a production piece. So in, in addition to the listening and speaking, or listening and multiple choice, we added writing. Students who want to clep out of— it becomes a verb— clep out of Spanish, they can take Spanish Language or they can take Spanish with Writing. And hopefully that makes sense. The Spanish with Writing has that additional writing prompt. And then the ACE recommends 4 semesters of college credit for a score of 65 on that one. So students who want to clep out of Spanish have 2 choices there.

I know lots of students who don't want to take Spanish at all. So yeah, and this is a great— Yeah, this is a beautiful thing, except if you want to go to the UC schools and you need to meet a language requirement. I don't know. Do you know if the UC schools will take CLEP as the required A through G?

And UC is University of California? Yes. Yeah, I believe they do not have a UC CLEP policy currently. The CSU schools do. I don't believe so at UC yet. I'm always a believer in looking forward. But do we need to get one? How can we help with that? Students have to advocate, as you know, for themselves. Like, I have this experience. Here's this valid, reliable exam. And it's worth oftentimes asking, you know, admissions enrollment, right?

So this is a great tool that many people, at least in the high school world, have no idea exists. And so when I met you, I was like, I knew about it from college because when I went to college it was a thing.

Yeah.

But I didn't realize that younger students could utilize it, especially the competitive athletes. This is a beautiful thing to supplement because they don't have a lot of time.

Right.

So I think it's a wonderful opportunity.

It is. You think of— I was just going to mention sending your student off to college, and we know that a bachelor's degree is 120 credits. That's a busy life, you know, once you get to college. So to come in with some credits in your back pocket to be able to breathe for a second, you know, still be full-time at 12 credits, but you get to breathe for a second because you're coming in with some credit. It's a great— it's a good thing for those students.

So if a parent was like, okay, I see the benefit of this. Where would they get more information?

Right. So with CLEP, we do keep our website as our gold source of information. So it's collegeboard.org/clep, or you can just go to clep.org. And so that's the website. There's pages about the exams, the descriptions, how to register, a search of where can I test. You can put in your zip code and find out CLEP test center if you want to go to a physical test center, information about remote proctoring if you have the equipment to test at home. You can do a policy search. I'm thinking about going to this school. You can type it in to see if they have a CLEP policy there. So really, our website is the best place to start.

And would they be able to register on the website as well? Yeah. Yeah. Excellent. One-stop shop. I love it.

It is.

Well, Jeannie, is there any words of advice or encouragement that you can share with the parents that are listening as it pertains to helping their teenager navigate this process to be college ready?

Yeah, college ready means so many different things. You talked, you know, earlier about intellectually ready, emotionally ready. But I think to be ready to have a valid, reliable test in a subject that is interesting to you and have that rigor, it can give you that boost. That confidence of I am college ready before you've even stepped foot on a college campus. So that could be one thing that's reassuring to the student and family, like, oh, I got this. I passed this rigorous exam. I earned college credit already, and I'm not even on campus yet. So it can be a kind of a game changer for folks as they think about themselves fitting in and being successful in college work.

Didn't even consider that. Amazing, because if they feel that they passed a college-level test well, they're going to feel college ready. Yeah, that's fantastic news. Thank you so much, Jeannie, for being on this show. And parents, until next time, help your student to get college ready one step at a time. Thank you so much.