EC giving pass/fail for new DANTES scoring tests

[dharmachic]

Hi, I've been a lurker for a while and this is my first post. These forums have been a great help and tool for me as I work toward my BS in Business at EC.

Just wanted to let you know that EC advised me today that they will be giving out only pass/fail with the new DANTES scoring exams, and not letter grades. In addition, as more DANTES exams adopt the new scoring method, they will give out pass/fail for those as well.

I'm not too happy about this, since I'm taking Intro to Computing this Friday (that and Statistics are the only DANTES exams I need to take) and I was hoping that DANTES could help me raise my GPA with the letter grades, and I'm not sure how EC calculates GPA with pass/fail scores.

Thanks,
Helen

[jadechow]

:mad:
That sucks, Helen! I am sorry to hear it. I am going to have to search the posts to refresh my memory about which tests have converted to the new scoring method.

Is EC still granting letter grades for tests taken previously that were under the "old" scoring method? I am just wondering because there are lots of people like me who are waiting to pay the enrollment fee until after they have amassed a large pool of credits.

[Epiphany]

Hello Helen,

You could try and find a DSST center that is still using the old tests, that's what I've been doing. I'm not sure how long the old versions will be available for, but they were still on the screen a week ago.

[dharmachic]

Thanks Joe, I've been trying to call other centers all day today. It's unfortunate since this particular center I was scheduled for this Friday was the only one that responded to me and was located nearby.

The old scoring method will still be given letter grades, regardless of when you enroll, as I understand. It's just that the new scoring system supposedly doesn't offer EC enough information to assign letter grades.

Helen

[dharmachic]

I just spoke to the proctor, and she said that as of yet, the computer based format allows you to choose which version you want to take, the old or new !
She couldn't tell me how long they would offer to do that though.

I'm going to try and call DANTES tomorrow to see if they have a clearer answer as to the cutoff date.

I'll keep you posted,
Helen

[Epiphany]

Please do keep us informed. I have one more to take (Ethics) that I would like a grade for. I'm hoping to finish that one up before the end of the month.

[dharmachic]

I called Prometric (the number on getcollegecredit.com site) and they couldn't give me a date or time period when they were going to stop offering the old version. They're still in the process of implementing the new versions for all test center sites, which has been time consuming due to tech support issues, etc. As a result, they have no idea when that will be completed. Not the greatest answer, but somehow I was expecting it.

I did read somewhere in this forum that the date may be the end of August '08 (but that is just hearsay) and I couldn't confirm that date with Prometric.

Hope this helps!
Helen

[bat21]

I would highly suggest you go and take your exams NOW if you want to get your results back with grades.

I think things are going to change in October.

[Chica]

I sent you a pm

[Kelly Green]

I am devasted by this news. I feel totally deflated.

Just two days ago I was mapping out which DANTES exams I would take.

I had decided to go for a B.S Business (accounting major) at Exclesior to give myself a fresh start. I'll explain: I graduated over 20 years ago from a big state university with a bachelor's degree in business (with just 2 accounting courses), with just below a "C" average. That's right, a 1.95 out of 4.0. How nice it has been all these years to put that on job applications..... (And supposedly you needed at least a 2.0 to graduate. Maybe they just wanted me out of there...)

With that GPA, grad school is out of the question, and it's too expensive, anyway.

So after surfing the web endlessly and lurking on this board for a few months, I thought I finally found my way out.

I was going to take enough accounting courses to sit the CPA exam as well as fulfill the requirements for the Excelsior degree. With my previous undergrad degree, I'd have the 150 hours needed to sit the exam.

With a combination of the accounting courses (graded) from LSU, and graded DANTES exams, I would have had just over 60 hours of graded coursework, with presumably a good GPA this time around (older, wiser, etc.).

I just feel so deflated now. My 4 miserable college years are coming back to haunt me YET AGAIN.

I suppose I could still do the Excelsior degree, but with so few graded courses, the new and improved GPA would be much less meaningful.

OH CRUD. I finally thought I had something to be really excited and enthusiastic about, something to look forward to.

Now I feel like I'm stuck again, no light at the end of the tunnel. ARGH.

Sorry for the depressing rant. But I am literally on the verge of tears.