The College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) is a computer-based prior-learning assessment that allows examinees the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills necessary to earn postsecondary course credit in higher education. Currently, there are 33 exams in five subject areas: composition and literature, world languages,…

Prior learning assessment (PLA) is the process of evaluating learning, regardless of when or where the learning occurred, and, if the learning is at the college level, awarding college credit to the possessor of that learning. This article provides an overview of the PLA program at a large public U.S. institution and presents the findings of the…

Students (N = 114) who achieved enough credit through College Level Examinations to advance approximately one year were tracked for a three-year period. They saved time and money, and did not neglect advanced study in areas from which they were exempted. Their grades in advanced courses were higher than those of a control group. (Author)

The author presents critical comments on a paper by John Siegfried, in which Siegfried reports on a controlled experiment to determine whether the educational experience of being a proctor is sufficiently valuable to justify awarding academic credit. Siegfried argues that a semester of proctoring teaches a student more than a one-semester,…

In the two studies reported, students who wrote the CLEP and students who did not were compared in grade point average, graduate rate, and rate of progress. For both studies, the CLEP students performed at least as well as non-CLEP on all but one measure. (Author/LBH)

The use and validity of the tests of General Educational Development and the College-Level Examination Program, two measures by which adults with nontraditional educational backgrounds can demonstrate their previous educational achievement, are discussed. (AG)