FY14 CLEP and DSST Pass Rates

[clep3705]

Spanish isn't the easiest unless Spanish happens to be your native language.

[johnjaxs]

Spanish isn't the easiest unless Spanish happens to be your native language.

I'm willing to bet for the majority of people who take that test, that is the case, Spanish is their first language.

[Devanna]

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

Is the Spanish Language highest because it is actually pretty easy or just because the people most likely to take it are people who already know Spanish pretty well and want the credit?

[clep3705]

I explained CLEP to my friend whose first language is Spanish. After finding out what subjects are available, he decided that starting with Spanish makes the most sense. It's not just the obvious advantage of familiarity with the material. It's also the advantage of getting up to 14 hours of credit depending on the score and the school.

[Yanji]

Most schools do not recognize second language course credit for native speakers, because, well... they're second language credits. However, someone who has spoken a language since childhood but didn't receive formal education in that language can usually get second language credit through CLEP or traditional means. For example, someone who grew up in a French-speaking family in Maine and went to an English-speaking high school could get second language French credit, but someone who grew up across the border in Quebec in an English-speaking family and went to a French-speaking high school could not get second language credit. So there are limitations to this "free" credit.

[Devanna]

Most schools do not recognize second language course credit for native speakers, because, well... they're second language credits. However, someone who has spoken a language since childhood but didn't receive formal education in that language can usually get second language credit through CLEP or traditional means. For example, someone who grew up in a French-speaking family in Maine and went to an English-speaking high school could get second language French credit, but someone who grew up across the border in Quebec in an English-speaking family and went to a French-speaking high school could not get second language credit. So there are limitations to this "free" credit.

Huh. So colleges in the US do this? Like if a kid from that Quebec family came here, took a college placement test for English and showed they could speak it/read it/write it, they couldn't do the French CLEP and get credit?

[clep3705]

Native Spanish speakers have reported in these forums that they breezed through the Spanish CLEP and received credit. Y algunos de ellos discutieron el tema en español. I'm not familiar with most schools, only a few. If you really want to know what a specific school's policies are, contact that school.

[Yanji]

Huh. So colleges in the US do this? Like if a kid from that Quebec family came here, took a college placement test for English and showed they could speak it/read it/write it, they couldn't do the French CLEP and get credit?

At most schools, if they were educated in French, they would be considered a "native speaker", but if they were educated in English, they could get second language credit. It makes sense, imo.

[Devanna]

Native Spanish speakers have reported in these forums that they breezed through the Spanish CLEP and received credit. Y algunos de ellos discutieron el tema en español. I'm not familiar with most schools, only a few. If you really want to know what a specific school's policies are, contact that school.

Don't have a specific school in mind, I'd just never heard of that before and was curious.

[Prloko]

At most schools, if they were educated in French, they would be considered a "native speaker", but if they were educated in English, they could get second language credit. It makes sense, imo.

I've heard of this before and still do not understand it. CLEP is basically established as a form of PLA credit. If you are an accountant and learned on the job and took the accounting CLEP, you would get accounting credit. A school wouldn't tell you that since you learned it at work and not in "a book" you are not eligible.

To me, it is the same of a language. If you know two languages, then you know two languages, whether they're native or not.

I actually had a school years ago tell me I couldn't take Spanish. When i asked why, they said it was because it was my native language. Perplexed, I asked where did they get that from, and they stated well you speak Spanish at home. I asked them where on my application did it say I was a non-native English speaker, I wasn't required to take the TOEFL because I'm from here. They said, but you have a Hispanic last name. I told them, that I was BORN in the US, learned English as my first language at home, and the little Spanish I knew was from High School, and even still it was pretty bad. I even then remarked that I have a Jewish first name (Biblical), does that mean I can't take Hebrew? Or someone with a German last name can't take German?

For the record, years later I took the Spanish CLEP and received 6 credits instead of the full 12 credits.