Feeling incredibly defeated and discouraged. Help?

[cookderosa]

I'm really curious under what circumstances an employer would reward 30 additional undergrad credits post Masters....where in the world do you work?

This. Also, who said your credits duplicate? There is a LOT of information missing from your post- can you provide any more details?

[KayV]

It really truly sounds like a step increase (also known as a lane change) on a teacher salary schedule. Teachers are paid for both years of experience and additional education, so a teacher with a master's degree earns more than a teacher with just a bachelor's degree.

The school I work at now just has BA and MA as lanes, but I have worked at schools where the lanes were BA, BA+12, BA+24, BA+36, MA, MA+12, MA+24, MA+36, Ed.S, Ed.D. The "plus hours" lanes are where credit by testing could be counted, and also where school districts could get very picky about what they will or will not accept.

[rebel100]

It really truly sounds like a step increase (also known as a lane change) on a teacher salary schedule. Teachers are paid for both years of experience and additional education, so a teacher with a master's degree earns more than a teacher with just a bachelor's degree.

The school I work at now just has BA and MA as lanes, but I have worked at schools where the lanes were BA, BA+12, BA+24, BA+36, MA, MA+12, MA+24, MA+36, Ed.S, Ed.D. The "plus hours" lanes are where credit by testing could be counted, and also where school districts could get very picky about what they will or will not accept.

I can understand that....but the OP holds a Masters and is collecting CLEP to earn the extra 30. I'm all for that if thats the case...but seems backwards.

[rrr]

Hi, wow, thanks so much to everyone who responded! Sorry it wasn't clear, I am a teacher, and according to the salary schedule you can see I get a nice increase at the MA+30 level. They don't accept CLEPs that duplicate courses you've already taken, so for example if I took Biology in college then I can't take the Biology CLEP, which makes sense. I didn't realize, however, that they would be so strict about it, and say that really any English/History classes are too similar to my previous coursework. So to clarify, it is my employer (the NYC Dept of Education) who is making the judgment about whether they will accept the credit or whether it is too similar.

So my question is really about how I can quickly and easily get 15 more credits, because I feel horrible that I've wasted about $500 and my time on credits that are essentially worthless. I guess, rephrased, I'm asking for the general consensus on the easiest tests, whether DSST or CLEP or whatever. Thank you again for all suggestions! I'll have to make a game plan this weekend.

[KayV]

All I can say is that would have been allowed in my former district for the MA+36 (or MA+30 for her) step increase.

[cookderosa]

All I can say is that would have been allowed in my former district for the MA+36 (or MA+30 for her) step increase.

I'm cautious about this until the OP gives more details. States are usually ultra-transparent and clear about what can/can't be used, so I'm confused about there being confusion. I also feel like there is an informal denial of credit rather than a formal process she/he can follow. It just seems like we're missing a few key ingredients before we can get this cake to rise.

[OakLakeNC]

Is there any way to ask which tests will count before you start studying? I don't see the work you have done as a waste. You probably enjoyed the subjects and who knows what will come in handy in the future.

[rebel100]

Id look at ACE if it is accepted. Shmoop has at least 9 history credits that can be had really cheap right now. Saylor likely has some things that should work. Don't forget DSST (essentially like CLEP and accepted almost as readily). The Torah College credits are either ACE or NCCRS so that may work. Straighterline is also ACE approved.

Of course all this is predicated on ability to apply them within this vague structure you describe.

Doesn't your Union have a list of what's acceptable? Your salary | United Federation of Teachers

[rebel100]

If this is the right organization................ Applying for a Certificate:Frequently Asked Questions:OTI:NYSED

unless Your a Veteran I think ACE is out, but NCCRS (which Saylor, Coopersmith, and Learning Counts is a part of) is OK, DSST looks to be OK,




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[rrr]

Ahh I've been trying to reply but it says it's awaiting mod approval - maybe because I had a link in there? So I'm going to try again now. Yes, I'm a teacher, sorry for the confusion! There are salary steps based on education, so you get paid, say, 47k for a bachelors, 56k for a masters, and 63k for a masters + 30 college credits. That's what I'm aiming for. The CLEP credits I sent were rejected by my employer, the NYC DOE. They really seem to do it on a case by case basis; when I called, they told me they debated a few of them but came to the conclusion that they were too similar to other courses on my transcript. I tried to make my case but I ended up talking to the director of the salary step office who told me it was a final decision.

As for why I didn't check beforehand, I did call and they said the courses just can't be duplicates of ones I've already taken. On the website it also says: "Note: A CLEP exam used to obtain a salary differential cannot be a duplication of earlier coursework for which you have been granted course credit (undergraduate or graduate)." I suppose we just had different definitions of what counted as "duplicates." For example, I didn't take the English Lit CLEP because I took a class called British Literature in college. But I've never taken an American Lit class so I figured that would be fine.

Is there anything else I can clarify? Thanks so much to everyone who has responded, I really really appreciate it.