how does the dantes grading work? i just took drug and alcohol abuse, and i know i answered at least 55 out of 106 correctly. how would that translate into a score? thanks. (update, I passed with a 63).

The link below will download a PDF file with detailed information explaining how they score exams, and in page 2 there's a chart with raw scores and grades that will give you a good idea of what you scored on your exam, especially since you know how many you got correct. There seems to be some math involved, though. Good luck.

http://www.getcollegecredit.com/pdfs..._SHEET0204.pdf

hi Upgray,

In GENERAL, answering more than half the questions correctly would mean a passing score.

However, the DANTES exams are scaled and so the actual number of questions you need to answer correctly to pass varies between each exam, and even between different variations of the same exam.

Also, some questions on each exam are test runs of questions for future exams, and therefore are not counted towards your final score.

55 out of 106, GENERALLY would likely be a pass. But it is impossible to know for sure.

Having said that, unless you KNOW for certain that you answered ALL the remaining questions INCORRECTLY, then the chances are that you also picked up more than a few additional points from the other 51 questions.

Statistically, even if you randomly guessed at the remaining 51 questions, you might expect to pick up 1 in 4. That would be approximately 12 more points.

55 + 12 = 67 out of 106...that is well into what we would expect to be the passing range!

Tentatively, you probably should anticipate a passing score. But only the official score report in your hand will confirm it!

Now begins the awful waiting game. Everybody hates it!

Most people feel uncertain when they leave the testing center after taking a DANTES exam. More often than not, their score report is better than they expect. So don't get caught up in trying to calculate your exact score, okay? That's a fool's game with these scaled score exams.

Just wait and see.

Best of luck,
Snazzlefrag

How do you think that CLEP and DSST compare in difficulty? I am debating which of them I should take to get my; Accounting, Math, Sociology, and Marketing credits. Thanks!!

Misslynz,

Not all subjects are available in both DANTES and CLEP versions. For example, Intro to Sociology is available as a CLEP exam but it is not available as a DANTES. The same is true of Marketing.

I think both CLEP and DANTES have their pros and cons. I like that DANTES is untimed, but I hate that you have to wait two or three weeks for your results. On the other hand, I hate that the CLEP are timed, but I enjoy knowing my score instantly upon submitting my answers.

DANTES is $5 cheaper than CLEP.

You have to fill in a gazillion of those annoying little oval shaped bubbles with DANTES, but CLEP is entirely computer-based.

Personally, I think the questions are better thought out on the CLEPs. I often find at least a few questions on each DANTES that are strangely worded.

All in all, the decision rests with you. I have taken a whole bunch of CLEPs and a whole bunch of DANTES. I just choose which subject I want to study and go for it. Whether it is a CLEP or a DANTES really doesn't factor into my decision at this point.

Hope that helps,
Snazzlefrag

So riddle me this then: Based on the chart, how many questions (raw score) does one need to answer correctly in order to receive the lowest passing (scaled score) in the Rise & Fall of the USSR????? THANKS!!

Well I can't tell you, I haven't studied for the College Algebra CLEP yet and am rusty on my math skills... but I think it's possible to figure it out based on the formula given in page 1. Anyone up for some calculating?

Hi ShotoJuku,

I'm not a statistician by any means. But I don't think the chart provides enough information to backwork the formula. I could be wrong. But they do say in the pdf file that:

"The calculation of a standard score requires a different conversion/formula for each test. Without the formula, one cannot work back from a standard score to learn the number of correct responses."

Without knowing the specific formula DANTES uses for EACH exam, and for EACH form of each exam, it is not possible to convert raw scores to scaled scores.

Probably the best we can do is note what the mean raw score is for any particular exam.

If we look at the "100 item" version of the Soviet Union exam: The average raw score of the sample test-takers was 50 correct answers. A fair assumption might be that you would likely need to score higher than the average to pass the exam.

The standard deviation is also provided (13.9).

If the distribution is a standard normal distribution, we would expect that 68% of all sample test-takers scored between 36.1 and 63.9 correct questions out of 100.

We would also expect that 34% answered between 50 and 63.9 correctly (1 standard deviation above the mean).

Further, we could assume that 13.5% answered between 63.9 and 77.8 correctly (2 standard deviations above the mean).

The top 2.5% will have answered between 77.8 and 100 correctly (3 and 4 standard deviations above the mean).

As you can see, without the necessary formula to convert these raw scores to the DANTES scaled score system, the raw numbers are not that useful. But they might give you a general feel for where in the pack a particular raw score lies.

Hope that helps,
Snazzlefrag

Thanks for walking me through the stats and percentages. I guess what it all comes down to is the simple rule of "answer half or better" correctly and you should pass. Thanks again!!

Snazzlefrag,
Thanks for you reply!
misslynz