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Is your CLEP student under age 13? No problem- you’ll need to fill this out first.
The best strategy we’ve found, after tens of thousands of homeschoolers have successfully passed a CLEP exam, is to layer CLEP prep material into your regular homeschool curriculum. When done this way, your teen gets the best of both worlds: a rock-solid honors-level homeschool class and an opportunity for free college credit.
This is a stark contrast to the approach that learns a subject from scratch using only “prep” material. In this approach, your student learns deeply and slowly with college credit being the frosting on the cake.
What’s so great about HS4CC with CLEP?
Passing a CLEP exam can mean saving huge amounts of time and money off the cost of a college degree. I discuss CLEP frequently in my book and on Facebook, mainly because it’s my personal favorite credit by exam resource. I’ve passed over 15 CLEP exams myself, and my children another dozen. My exams translated into 60 college credits, which met the full requirements of my Associate of Arts degree, but even if your teen passes 1-2 exams, they can really save a lot of time and money on their college degree!
How does it work?
(Sample: Precalculus)
- Your teen learns high school Precalculus at home using your favorite homeschool curriculum. (No, Modern States is not enough. Read more below)
- At the conclusion of the homeschool course/curriculum you’ll award high school credit on their transcript.*
- Register your teen for the free Modern States Precalculus CLEP prep course. The purpose of taking this prep course is to get a voucher, NOT to learn precalculus!
- Complete the MS course quizzes with 70% or greater and your teen will receive the exam voucher which pays for their entire CLEP exam.
- Register for the CLEP exam using the CLEP voucher number.
- Take the CLEP Precalculus exam on your home computer or at a testing center.
- Passing scores of 50+ are held on an official College Board transcript.
- Failed exams are confidential and not seen by future colleges. (you can retake failed exams)
- At the end of high school, send your official College Board transcript to the target college.
- Colleges that award college credit will do so at that time.
- If your teen receives college credit for the exam, Precalculus will be recorded on their college transcript without paying tuition or taking the class.
*You can designate a high school course as “honors”when it includes extra studying for a CLEP exam. See the bottom of this page for a step-by-step to designing your own homeschool CLEP course.
Your student can take as many CLEP exams as they want! There is no age requirement, no limit to the number of Modern States vouchers your teen can earn, and no cap on the number of credits they can earn. Since the Homeschooling for College Credit method brings CLEP into your homeschool, this method allows you to inject dozens of CLEP exams into your high school program without extra work or extra cost.
Currently about 75% of all colleges and universities in the country will award college credit in some amount for a successful CLEP exam score.
What’s a test like?
CLEP exams are multiple choice tests graded as pass or fail. A numeric score is generated based on the number of questions you got correct and then calculated using a confidential scale that converts that number into a scaled score. Generally, a scaled score of 50 is considered passing, but a college may require a higher score based on their own internal policies. The threshold for passing is tied tightly to what can best be described as “a curve.” The curve was calculated during exam creation and based on real students who took a real college class and then the CLEP exam. For this reason, the number of questions you need to pass will vary a bit by exam.
For example, out of 90 questions, a passing score for one exam may require 45 questions answered correctly, while another subject requires 40, and another requires 50. In all three samples, the scaled score (the score you see on your report) is a 50. The exact number needed on each exam to score a 50 is confidential. As a guideline, you’ll need to answer a little more than half the questions correct for a score of 50.
When you take a CLEP exam, the score pops up on the screen at the end, so you’ll know whether or not you passed immediately. The only exception is when an exam has an essay (English Composition/Spanish Writing).
Will your student need accommodations? Read more
2026 Exam List & ACE College Credit
The reward for passing an exam ranges from 3–9 college credits. In 2015, unfortunately, eight of the exams were downgraded, and this included the huge 12 credit foreign language exam (now only worth 9). I point this out because I often discover website errors or outdated CLEP lists. Below is the current and official CLEP value list. If a college advertises a different award, you will want to investigate further.
PRO TIP: Even on college pages with current lists, it is impossible to predict what a CLEP score will be worth when your teen eventually attends college, so don’t overinvest in what a certain college does or doesn’t award for CLEP today. Just stockpile credit now, and worry about the award later. This is why it is a fool’s errand to worry too much about what “ABC College” or “XYZ University” publishes as their CLEP policy today. If you bring CLEP into your homeschool using the method above, you have no cause for worry about what a college policy is until your teen is ready to pick their college and enroll.
- American Literature, 3 credits
- Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, 3 credits
- College Composition, 6 credits
- College Composition Modular, 3 credits
- English Literature, 3 credits
- Humanities, 6 credits
- French Language, 6–9 credits
- German Language, 6–9 credits
- Spanish Language, 6–9 credits
- Spanish Writing, 6-12 credits
- American Government, 3 credits
- History of the United States I, 3 credits
- History of the United States II, 3 credits
- Human Growth and Development, 3 credits
- Introduction to Educational Psychology, 3 credits
- Principles of Macroeconomics, 3 credits
- Principles of Microeconomics, 3 credits
- Introductory Psychology, 3 credits
- Introductory Sociology, 3 credits
- Social Sciences and History, 6 credits
- Western Civilization I, 3 credits
- Western Civilization II, 3 credits
- Biology, 6 credits
- Calculus, 4 credits
- Chemistry, 6 credits
- College Algebra, 3 credits
- College Mathematics, 3 credits
- Natural Sciences, 6 credits
- PreCalculus, 3 credits
- Financial Accounting, 3 credits
- Information Systems, 3 credits
- Introductory Business Law, 3 credits
- Principles of Management, 3 credits
- Principles of Marketing, 3 credits
Modern States: CLEP is FREE when you get a voucher
Since 2018, the nonprofit organization Modern States has awarded CLEP vouchers at no cost to everyone who completes its free prep course. Modern States courses are not good homeschool course substitutes. We strongly recommend you use a regular full-length homeschool curriculum (with homework, quizzes, tests, grades, etc. for the subject first. Then, follow up by using Modern States for a week to get the voucher. Modern States will help fill in any gaps, so you may more or less time depending on your student’s knowledge.
Make sure your teen is both LEARNING the subject and PREPARING for the test. CLEP exams are college-level, so think of them as having the same level of intensity as Advanced Placement – but instead of free response (AP) the test will be multiple choice.
If your teen has already finished a high school course (this year or previously) have your teen take the Modern States course as soon as possible. There is no reason to go back and do the high school course again; the Modern States prep will be sufficient.
If your student fails their CLEP Exam, Modern States will issue a second attempt voucher. https://modernstates.org/second-attempt/
No govt. issued ID for your teen? No problem- just fill out this form.
Are CLEP exams hard?
I have listened to feedback from tens of thousands of parents, I’ve used CLEP in my homeschool and taken it myself, and I’ve studied the feedback about CLEP exams extensively since 2005. You know what I’ve learned? It really just depends on the person. As an example, someone who struggles with reading quickly is going to find all of the literature exams challenging because they contain massive amounts of reading. Someone who is an excellent test-taker will certainly have an advantage over those of us who are not.
So, are CLEP exams hard? Yes and no. Do not underestimate the exam. It will cover a LOT of material, think “wide” instead of “deep.” For exams that are worth 6 credits, be prepared to cover a full year of college-level content! It is much more manageable to start with 3-credit exams instead of the 6-credit exams.
Finally, CLEP exams are multiple-choice, so the answers are given, but the wording can be complex and confusing. A good high school curriculum will teach your teen 50- 75% of the content, but make sure they’ve done a good bit of test prep before the exam.
Pass Rates
People often refer to published pass rates to get a sense of how hard or easy an exam is. While I do think there is something to that perspective, a student’s background and motivation to study a subject shouldn’t be discounted. For instance, the Spanish Language CLEP has held the position of “best pass rates” for years, but that doesn’t mean every student starting from scratch is more likely to pass Spanish than math! That pass rate probably reflects the large number of bilingual people in this country, not the “easiness” of the material.
As such, I like to break the pass rates down by high school category. This allows you to look at your teen’s high school schedule and choose an “easy” exam from the category you need.
College Board stoped publishing the Civilian Pass rates in 2017, so our data is almost useless, but the military still does publish pass rates, and the most current information available is shown below.
| Foreign Language | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pass Rate (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish Language* | 91% | 88% |
| Spanish with Writing* | N/A | 95% |
| French Language* | 78% | 82% |
| German Language* | 72% | 69% |
| Behavioral Science | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pass Rate (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory Sociology | 80% | 76% |
| Human Growth and Development | 75% | 49% |
| Introductory Psychology | 70% | 45% |
| Social Sciences and History | 62% | 41% |
| Introduction to Educational Psychology | 60% | 34% |
| Science | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pass Rate (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | 60% | 54% |
| Natural Sciences | 57% | 70% |
| Chemistry | 39% | 27% |
| Social Science | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pas Rate (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Principles of Macroeconomics | 72% | 47% |
| Principles of Microeconomics | 72% | 46% |
| History of the United States I | 69% | 56% |
| Western Civilization I | 68% | 59% |
| Social Sciences and History | 62% | 40% |
| History of the United States II | 56% | 47% |
| American Government | 52% | 57% |
| Western Civilization II | 48% | 58% |
| Language Arts | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pass Rate (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| College Composition Modular (no essay) | 83% | 65% |
| College Composition | 81% | 78% |
| Analyzing and Interpreting Literature | 75% | 69% |
| English Literature | 60% | 40% |
| American Literature | 51% | 27% |
| Mathematics | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pass Rate (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| College Mathematics | 76% | 66% |
| Precalculus | 63% | 49% |
| Calculus | 53% | 42% |
| College Algebra | 52% | 32% |
| Business | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pass Rate (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Principles of Marketing | 79% | 43% |
| Information Systems | 71% | 56% |
| Principles of Management | 67% | 39% |
| Financial Accounting | 55% | 32% |
| Intro. Business Law | 51% | 39% |
| Fine Arts | Civilian Pass Rate (2017) | Military Pass Rate (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Humanities | 68% | 28% |
* For each of the world language exams, you’ll take 1 exam and the score determines the number of credits awarded. ACE recommends 6 semester hours of credit for mastery of Level 1 content (a score of 50) and 9 semester hours of credit for mastery of both Levels 1 and 2 (a score of 59 on the French Language, 60 on the German Language, 63 on the Spanish Language, and 65 on Spanish with Writing).
Does Using CLEP Really Save Money?
To show how CLEP looks in real life at a real university, this case study from the University of Florida demonstrates how a student can use 14 exams during high school to save $36,000 (in-state) or $70,000 (out-of-state) simply by using CLEP as part of the homeschool plan. This is real savings and without a scholarship! This 9-page guide outlines exactly which exams are used and how.
Designing a Homeschool “CLEP Course” the HS4CC Way
I’ve been teaching parents how to build their own CLEP course through layering since 2012. This is the best strategy I’ve found after tens of thousands of homeschoolers have successfully passed a CLEP exam, and it’s the strategy I used to earn 60 CLEP credits myself. When done this way, your teen gets the best of both worlds: a rock-solid honors-level homeschool class and an opportunity for free college credit.
This method awards high school credit regardless of whether or not they pass the CLEP.
Layer 1
- For the PARENT: The official guide is the lowest cost way to get an outline of each exam and an official practice test for EVERY exam. You don’t need the newest version. Official Exam Guide
- For the TEEN: The Official CLEP APP Official College Board CLEP study guide app! *FYI these questions are the same you’ll find in the paperback.
Layer 2
- For the PARENTS: Use your favorite high school curriculum brand. Where available, choose a company’s “college prep” version of the high school text. You can also add a college text for enrichment reading, but it is more important that they complete the whole course than the brand.
- For the TEEN: Use an REA Guide alongside your text to capture the most important points of each topic. REA Guides are specifically aligned to CLEP. If you buy your REA Guide new, it will include an online access code with extra resources. You can also find REA Guides at your library.
Layer 3
- For the PARENTS: video resources can round out their understanding in a way that adds rich understanding of a subject. Look for documentaries on Netflix, Great Courses, YouTube or other sites.
- For the TEEN: Crash Course, Totally free video-based mini-courses that teach you the minimum you have to know in a subject. Perfect for visual learners, but fast-paced. I suggest taking notes
Layer 4
- For the PARENTS: The Modern States course combines CLEP prep and a voucher that pays for your CLEP exam and proctoring fee. This is not curriculum, it’s more of a summary-prep-style course. There are videos and reading assignments, but the only thing the teen has to do to get the voucher is pass the quizzes. When you create your teen’s account, each teen will need their own account. Be CAREFUL! Your teen’s name and email address must appear exactly as they will on their CLEP registration.
- For the TEEN: As you take a quiz, reflect on your understanding. If you do not understand the topic, use the reading or video offered in the course. Retake the quiz until you score 100%.
Layer 5
- For the PARENTS: Practice tests are really helpful in determining your teen’s readiness. Since the pool of test questions is huge, you can’t get a good idea of their readiness using only 1 test. I recommend 2-3 GOOD practice tests (with scores of 60% or better) before attempting any exam. Never reuse a test!
- CLEP Official Guide: Will include 1 practice test (not reliable if your teen is using the app because they will have already seen the questions)
- REA GUIDE: Will include 2-3 practice tests
- Peterson’s CLEP: 3 full-length timed exams. (subscribe for 1 month, approx. $30)
Watching Exam Expiration Dates
When a CLEP exam hits an expiration date, it is sometimes edited. An edit may include new exam questions, or the breakdown of what is tested can be edited. While College Algebra is College Algebra is College Algebra, it’s best practice to use test prep guides that were published for the version you are studying for. Personally, I have used old prep guides for many exams, but if you do that, at the very minimum, you need to know what is on the current version so you can fill in any blanks in your study plan.