I have a question about CLEP scores

[Indriux]

Hey everyone,

Does CLEP score counts toward your GPA?
For exampe if I get 56 from Sociology, do they give you a specific grade or just write "passed" in your college transcript? I plan to start taking a lot of CLEP exams to finish my degree as soon as possible,but I don't want to ruin my GPA of 4.0 if the CLEP scores will be on lower side even if I pass it.

[sgloer]

It depends on what school you're attending; you will have to ask your college advisor.

For most schools, I believe any passing score counts as an A or just a pass. Some schools (I think Excelsior is an example), actually have cutoff scores where they assign letter grades depending on how high above passing you get.

Failing an exam typically does not go on your transcript at any school.

The bottom line is--check with your school to learn about their CLEP policy.

[micki]

I have only gotten "P" for passing...no letter grade assigned

[NeptuneHigh]

Actually Excelsior follows ACE's recommendation for letter grading CLEPs. Exams that do not have enough statistical information are only awarded pass/fail grades which do not count towards your GPA. You also need to at least 30 credits to come from graded exams/courses to have a GPA listed on your Bachelor's (18 for associate, I believe).

Certain CLEP that have been revised, like Analyzing & Interpreting Literature and Introductory Psychology have lost their letter grading sometime in 2005!

Also note that all DSSTs are graded. For more information about Excelsior's policy, download their Assessment Guide.

[anar579]

Originally Posted by NeptuneHigh

Also note that all DSSTs are graded. For more information about Excelsior's policy, download their Assessment Guide.

Here's a link to that guide: https://www.excelsior.edu/portal/pag..._schema=PORTAL

[anar579]

Here's the response from Excelsior regarding the possibility of assigning grades to CLEPs in the future:

I am sorry that we did not get back to you sooner about assigning letter grades to the CLEP exams. I spoke to someone at Test Administration and they said that it is unlikely that we will ever be able to go back to assigning letter grades to those CLEP exams that have gone Pass-Fail. The CLEP sponsoring organization made the decision to stop providing the full range of letter-grade equivalents in their technical information. Without that information, we have no basis for computing the appropriate score cuts.

[Frank]

CLEP exams at Thomas Edison do not effect your GPA not one iota. You just get credit for the class.

[NeptuneHigh]

I think I understand what you're concerned about and the answer is that the pass/fail CLEP exams will not affect your GPA at Excelsior.

Only the exams that have grade recommendations will count towards your GPA.

If you pass a non-graded exam the only thing that will be affected is the number of credits banked or applied towards your degree, not the GPA. For example, suppose you had accumulated 15 credits from graded CLEPs or DSSTs and your computed GPA is 4.0 (all As) and now you pass the CLEP introductory Psychology exam say with the minimum score of 50. You would then have accumulated 18 credits and your computed GPA will remain 4.0 (the pass/fail Psychology exam does not affect your GPA and won't count towards the average as there is currently no grade recommendation for it).

Fewer and fewer CLEPs have grade nowadays, all DSSTs are graded.

(Check the link provided below by anar579 for Excelsior's grading/passing policy)

[ShotoJuku]

Originally Posted by Indriux

Hey everyone,

Does CLEP score counts toward your GPA?
For exampe if I get 56 from Sociology, do they give you a specific grade or just write "passed" in your college transcript? I plan to start taking a lot of CLEP exams to finish my degree as soon as possible,but I don't want to ruin my GPA of 4.0 if the CLEP scores will be on lower side even if I pass it.

EXCELSIOR COLLEGE CLEP/DANTES Exams With Letter Grades


CLEP Examinations
Examination Title "A" Score "B" Score "C" Score
American Government 69 58 50
American Literature 64 55 50
College Algebra 60 54 50
English Literature 67 55 50
Principles of Macroeconomics 61 54 50
Principles of Management 60 56 50
Principles of Microeconomics 60 54 50


DSST Exam Program
Examination Title "A" Score "B" Score "C" Score
Anthropology, General 55 50 47
Art of the Western World 56 51 48
Astronomy 55 50 48
Business Law II 54 48 44
Business Mathematics 53 49 48
Business, Introduction to 56 50 46
Civil War and Reconstruction 55 50 47
College Algebra, Fundamentals of 54 49 47
Computing, Introduction to 53 48 45
Counseling, Fundamentals of 52 47 45
Criminal Justice 56 52 49
Drug and Alcohol Abuse 53 51 49
Education, Foundations of 52 48 46
Environment and Humanity 54 50 46
Ethics in America 52 48 46
Finance, Principles of 56 50 46
Financial Accounting, Principles of 60 51 47
Here's to Your Health 54 50 48
Human Resource Management 55 50 46
Human/Cultural Geography 54 51 48
Law Enforcement, Introduction to 55 49 45
Life-Span Development Psychology 54 49 46
Management Information Systems 54 48 46
Modern Middle East, Intro to 55 49 47
Money and Banking 57 51 48
Organizational Behavior 54 50 48
Personal Finance 55 49 46
Physical Geology 57 50 46
Physical Science I, Principles of 55 50 47
Principles of Public Speaking 54 50 47
Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union 54 48 45
Statistics, Principles of 55 50 48
Supervision, Principles of 51 48 46
Technical Writing 53 48 46
Vietnam War, History of 53 47 44
Western Europe Since 1945 53 47 45
World Religions, Introduction to 55 50 48

[anar579]

Originally Posted by ShotoJuku

EXCELSIOR COLLEGE CLEP/DANTES Exams With Letter Grades

The exams that have no grade assigned will appear as pass/fail on your transcript. They do not affect your GPA.