Grading process guestion

[sgtwillys]

I am confused on how CLEP and DSST tests are graded?

I read people saying they received a 65, 48 50 ect and passed. My confusion is for example, 100 question test, if you miss 30 out of the 100 you would get a 70 (C). I am guessing it does not work in that manner.
Is it say, out of 100 you must get X number correct? and incorrect answers don't count, so when saying "I received a 55" is that they had 55 out of 100 correct?
I am finishing up my BS with a b&m school by taking these last two class using DSST.
I just want to ensure I have all the bases covered so I can finish.

Thanks
Sgtwillys

120 credits finished and had this double minor idea, so that is why I need two more classes. Just to think I could have been done now, AHHHHH

[StealingDreams]

They are a scaled score not a raw score so it isn't a simple 70 out of 100. To make it as simple as possible, a 50 on a CLEP or DSST is equal to the average raw score of the given exam of students who earned a "C" in that class and then took the CLEP or DSST exam. So if the average "C" student answered 47 of the 100 correct then that equals a 50 scaled score to pass the exam. If they got 57 out of 100 then it takes getting 57 to pass.

The problem comes in that you don't know what that raw score is and sometimes they put in questions that don't count toward your score because they are just trying them out for future versions of the exam.

Most people find that if you can get about half the questions correct you can be comfortable that you will pass. It honestly depends on the test as each test has it's own passing point. Also different schools have different standards as to what score they will accept so check with your school as to what kind of scaled score you need to get credit.

[GettinMyBA]

The scores are on a 20 to 80 scale (an 80 would be equivalent to 100%). It doesn't matter how many questions are on the test... the passing scores are usually right around 50 (but this is totally dependent on your school. Your school may require a 55 on a test that my school requires a 50). However, think about it.... if 20 is the lowest score, and 80 is the highest... 50 is exactly the middle, right? So that means that 50 is equal to 50%... and yes, that's the score that is usually required to pass for most schools. Most likely, your school publishes every test that they accept and the required score to pass.

[StealingDreams]

Oh also just incase you wanted more detail on how scoring works here is some info from a DSST data sheet:

As each DSST was developed, it was administered to a representative sample of students who have completed a college
course in the subject. The scale ranges from 20 to 80 with the average score of students in the representative sample set equal
to 50 and the standard deviation of scores set equal to 10.

Raw scores were converted to scaled scores with a mean of 50.0 and a standard deviation of 10.0 using the formula S = AX +
B, where S = the scaled score, and X = the raw score. Scaled scores are related to raw scores via the above linear
transformation equation, using the A (the slope of the line) and B (The y-axis intercept) as conversion parameters which are test-form-specific.

So if a perticular test has 100 questions and the mean raw score is 58 and the standard diviation of a raw score was 16 then:
raw score 58 = scaled score 50
raw score 74 = scaled score 60
raw score 90 = scaled score 70

That is crude and approximate but it gives you and idea of how it works. Hope that helps clear some stuff up.

[GettinMyBA]

Originally Posted by sgtwillys

I need to stop reading the posts so much and just study.

Welcome, and nice to meet you too! Remember that these boards are here for a good reason.... there's just as much valuable info in these posts as there is in any textbook. Have you seen the 'Exam Specific' area yet? That should be used just as much as any study method.

All the best

[sgtwillys]

Thanks StealingDreams!

GettinMyBA
Yes I have looked at the "exam specific" area, What a outstanding collection of information. I agree, there is a lot of info on the posts that can be used to study also.

I just wished I would have done this about six classes ago, but then I did really enjoyed the classes and since I am an adult learner that went back to school for the first time in 25 years and in the aviation field which is like a roller coaster now days, it gave me a lot of chances to do some networking into other fields. But doing this a year ago would have shortened things up a great deal.

Thanks everyone.