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Originally Posted by spazz
I was wondering, most exams say you need to get a 50 to pass, but the score ranges from 20-80, which is an even portportion again to 50. So does this mean you would only have to get half the questions right in order to pass a CLEP?
My college says that if you get an answer wrong, it counts 1/4 point against you. So you are better off not answering the ones you have no clue about. But on the contray, on the CLEP site it says questions are only marked wrong, so it is better to atleast guess on some. Could my college infer its own grading system into the CLEP?
My school also only lets you take a CLEP once, if you fail it, you cannot retake it to get credit. Is this a normal policy?
Thanks for your help!!
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Hi Spazz,
Firstly, your college is WRONG! CLEPs used to have a penalty for incorrect answers. But this is no longer true. It is
ESSENTIAL that you answer EVERY SINGLE question, even if you have to completely guess.
CLEP scores are scaled scores. An 80 doesn't mean you got 80% correct, and a 20 doesn't mean you got 20% correct. However, a 50 is right around the "average" mark (30 above, 30 below).
This has been discussed elsewhere on the board, but in general, if you are getting more than half of the answers correct, you should expect to pass. But since the scores are scaled, a 50 is likely to include those who got slightly less than half right, and those who got slightly more. Nobody knows the exact formula that CLEP uses. So this is just a GENERAL rule of thumb.
DANTES operates on the same premise.
Each school sets there own policies regarding which exams they accept, how many credits are awarded, what the minimum pass score is, etc. Some schools don't accept ANY proficiency exams at all.
There are established "recommendations" for each exam. The organization responsible for evaluating proficiency exams, and publishing recommendations, is the American Council on Education (ACE). Generally, colleges stick pretty close to ACE recommendations, but no college is required to adhere to them.
In your case, it seems that your college is adhering to the ACE recommended minimum passing score for CLEPs (50).
The limitation on retaking each CLEP is a policy that each school is free to set as they see fit.
Hope that helps,
Snazzlefrag