Good indication of when your ready to take the clep exam

[sirjake]

Do they mean half of their sample questions or the actual exam?

Hrm. I just looked on the College Board's site and apparently, they've changed it a bit. Here's what it says:

1. Read the exam description

How much do you know about each topic? Are you familiar with the terms, names, and symbols that are mentioned? If you're familiar with nearly all the material, you need a minimum amount of review. However, if more than half is unfamiliar to you, you probably need to study extensively to do well on the exam.
2. Study the textbook

Are you familiar with most of the topics and terminology used in college textbooks on this subject? Be sure to carefully review the textbook and other resource materials used in comparable college courses.
3. Read more on the subject, if you need extensive review.

If you need extensive review, don't answer the sample questions in the subject exam guide until you've done some reading in the subject. Note: If you're more comfortable reviewing and studying with the support of an instructor, take the equivalent course.
4. Answer sample questions.

If you think you're familiar with most of the test material, try to answer the sample questions. Although they don't appear on the actual exam, the proportion of the sample questions you can answer correctly should be a rough estimate of the proportion of questions you will be able to answer correctly on the exam.
5. Check your answers against the answer key in the Exam Guide.

• Did you answer nearly all the questions correctly? Congratulations, you're ready. Move onto step 6.
  
• Did you answer about half the questions correctly? Prepare more by reviewing at least one textbook or other reference material on the subject.
  
• Did you answer fewer than half the questions correctly? Hit the books! You need more extensive reading in the subject and thorough study of one or more textbooks.

Source: http://collegeboard.com/student/testing/...rep_r.html

I've taken 21 CLEP's using the "If I get half correct in the study guide, I'm ready" formula without failing any, and I've had a couple where I got *exactly* half correct, but for all I know I'm a test-taking genius. For instance, recently, I got exactly half of the questions correct on the exam guide's biology section. And, as one would expect, I didn't ACE the exam, but I got a 58. But, of course, your experience could be different.