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CLEP vs DSST exams - which do you find easier??
#1
I have taken two CLEP exams so far and one DSST exam and I personally found the CLEP exams much easier. I thought the DSST exam gave multiple choices that seemed much more similar and I found quite a few questions that seemed to have more than one possible answer. I was curious to see what others thought. Thanks
48 B&M credits from 1988-1990
On my way to a BA in History from TESC

CLEP exams taken
College Mathematics - 67
Western Civilization II - 64
History of the United States I - 62
Spanish - 64 (12 credits!!!)
History of the United States II - 68
Social Sciences and History - 59
Humanities - 57
Analyzing & Interpreting Literature - 64

DSST exams taken
Western Europe since 1945 - 60
Rise & Fall of the Soviet Union - 65
History of the Vietnam War - 59
Intro to Computing - 432
Modern Middle East - 52

Excelsior Exam
World Conflicts since 1900 - B

next up... TESC course War and American Society, Intro to Nutrition TECEP and and than finally BA in History!!
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#2
shelbaline4 Wrote:I have taken two CLEP exams so far and one DSST exam and I personally found the CLEP exams much easier. I thought the DSST exam gave multiple choices that seemed much more similar and I found quite a few questions that seemed to have more than one possible answer. I was curious to see what others thought. Thanks

I don't think that I can generalize like that. For me personally, the subject matter has made all the difference. I know some people say that the DSST's are harder, but I haven't seen that to be the case. It boils down to whether I have any experience in the subject and/or I am interested in the subject makes the test easy or difficult.
Regis University, ITESO, Global MBA with a focus in Emerging Markets 4.0 GPA, Dual-university degree (Spanish/English) 
ISSA Certified Nutritionist
COSC BS, Business Admin


My BS Credits:
Spanish 80 | Humanities 67 | A & I Lit 72 | Sub Abuse 452 | Bus Ethics 445 | Tech Writ 62 | Math 53 | HTYH 454 | Am. Govt 65 | Env & Humanity 64 | Marketing 65 | Micro 61| Mgmt 63| Org Behavior 65| MIS 446|Computing 432 | BL II 61 | M&B 50 | Finance 411 | Supervision 437| Intro Bus. 439| Law Enforcement 63|  SL: Accounting I B | Accounting II C+| Macro A | ECE: Labor Relations A | Capstone: A| FEMA PDS Cert 
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#3
burbuja0512 Wrote:I don't think that I can generalize like that. For me personally, the subject matter has made all the difference. I know some people say that the DSST's are harder, but I haven't seen that to be the case. It boils down to whether I have any experience in the subject and/or I am interested in the subject makes the test easy or difficult.
:iagree:
I guess statistically, DSST has one less possible answer so you're likely to get more right from luck, but burbuja0512 is right, it depends on the subject matter. I've seen tests in both formats where half the takers say it's impossible and the other half say it was a piece of cake, so it really depends on what you're interested in and what you're good at.
Kyle
TESC Liberal Studies BA - 2011
New Charter University MPA - 2012
Georgetown University School of Law - 2016

BA in Liberal Studies - Degree Outline|

Galations 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
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#4
I agree, I don't think you can say one type of exam is "easier" than the other. I like taking Cleps because they seem to have more study materials available like REA books and Peterson practice tests. The Dsst exams that I took-- it was hard to come up with good study material and there were no practice tests available for either of the tests that I took.
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#5
shelbaline4 Wrote:I have taken two CLEP exams so far and one DSST exam and I personally found the CLEP exams much easier. I thought the DSST exam gave multiple choices that seemed much more similar and I found quite a few questions that seemed to have more than one possible answer. I was curious to see what others thought. Thanks




ughhhh, I'm going with "no." Neither is markedly easier or harder on the basis of its brand (subject matter, of course, but that wasn't your question). I guess you'd have to ask those here who have done duplicate credit- like the Human Growth and Development test vs Lifespan Development or the College Algebra vs College Algebra. Other than that, there really isn't any way to compare.
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#6
I've only taken 1 DSST and 6 CLEPs so I'm kind of one sided... It seems with CLEP you can use test taking skills to narrow it down a bit more.

With the DSST test I took (World Religions) it seemed like you either knew the answer right away or had no idea and no way to make an educated guess.

Then again, religions isn't like math or business exams where you can kind of "figure it out" so it may have been the test itself, and not because it was a DSST.

But as mentioned above, 4 answers per question means 25% of guesses are correct, vs CLEP where only 20% would be correct, which can be the difference between a pass and a fail.
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#7
In my opinion, generally the CLEPs I've taken were easier than the DSSTs I've taken. However, I would say that the hardest test I've done was the College Math CLEP (that's primarily because I stink at math though). I find DSSTs strangely and confusingly worded, the questions and the answers. I am glad they only have 4 answer options, but I've often wished for a 5th one that would be obviously different than the others that all seemed to be saying variations of the same thing... if that makes sense. I guess I found CLEPs to be a little more straightforward than DSSTs, but yes, it could have been just that I knew that material better. Smile
~ Laura ~
[SIZE=1]CLEP/DSST
--- 120/120 :hurray:
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature | English Composition w/ Essay | College Mathematics | English Literature | American Literature | Humanities
| Art of the Western World | Western Civilization I | Western Civilization II | History of United States I | History of United States II | Social Sciences and History | Astronomy | Introduction to Computing | Introductory Sociology | Introduction to World Religions | The Civil War and Reconstruction | A History of the Vietnam War | Western Europe Since 1945 | Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union | Introduction to the Modern Middle East | Environment and Humanity | World Conflicts Since 1900 ECE | FEMAs taken: 24 | [COLOR="Navy"]TESC FlashTrack course - "War and American Society."
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE="3"]Officially graduated on September 9, 2011!!![/SIZE]
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#8
Kyle ... Galatians 6:9 is one of my favorite scriptures. In due season we are rewarded. Smile
Thanks for the reminder.
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