FY14 CLEP and DSST Pass Rates

[jmeitrem]

The numbers are in!

[Yanji]

Pass rate for the Business Math DSST was 7% for civilians and < 1% for DoD test takers?! I realize it's not the easiest test, but it's equivalent to a 100-level course... what kind preparation are people doing? Even the DoD pass rates for the Calculus and Chemistry CLEPs (probably the hardest ones, although I've taken neither) are higher than that.

[jmeitrem]

I passed Calculus but failed Business Math. I would probably put Business Math up there with Principles of Finance in terms of difficulty. It's amazing because it sounds like it used to be a gimme before the refresh.

[OfficerA]

At the risk of getting (rightfully) lit up for this, I've met and worked with airmen who took one of these exams (CLEP or DSST) just so that they have the self-improvement part of their evaluations ticked off, even if they didn't pass.

I'm shocked at some of the figures for the CLEPs I've taken though; I really thought they were easy (Microeconomics and Intro to Business Law, to name some), but those percentages say otherwise.

[sanantone]

I passed Calculus but failed Business Math. I would probably put Business Math up there with Principles of Finance in terms of difficulty. It's amazing because it sounds like it used to be a gimme before the refresh.

It's probably because of the business rules you have to follow. Taxation requires very simple math, but the rules are a PIA to remember.

[cookderosa]

the pass rate on A&IL for civilians is too high.... my money is on a "refresh" of that exam in the next year or two.

[marymartin]

I've been looking for these pass rates for a while! Thanks for posting them. DSST does not list them when you do a search and neither do CLEP or Dantes. So, could you tell me where you were able to find them? The downloads do not list the source.

[marymartin]

Could you please tell me the source of the above 2014 pass rates. Thanks.

[jmeitrem]

Education Benefits | Service Members | DANTES - Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support
They were at the bottom of this page, but for some reason it has reverted back to the FY13 rates. The FY14 rates show the drop from the newly refreshed exams. Good thing I uploaded the files and not just the site...

[DrNRG]

Based on the figures that OP uploaded, CLEP tests sorted from easiest to hardest:
(Assuming that we can infer a positive correlation between pass rate and overall difficulty).

Pass Title
92% Spanish Language
90% Analyzing and Interpreting Lit
89% Introductory Psychology
89% College Composition Modular
86% College Composition
86% French Language
84% Introductory Sociology
82% Principles of Marketing
80% Human Growth and Development
79% German Language
77% Principles of Macroeconomics
75% College Mathematics
75% Info Systems and Computer Appl
74% Social Sciences and History
74% English Literature
73% Biology
73% Principles of Management
73% Western Civilization I
73% Principles of Microeconomics
70% History of United States I
69% Humanities
67% Intro to Educational Psych
65% History of United States II
64% Precalculus
61% Natural Sciences
61% Calculus
61% Introductory Business Law
59% College Algebra
59% Western Civilization II
56% Financial Accounting
55% American Literature
54% American Government
44% Chemistry