Excelsior Credit by Examination (ECE) vs. DSSTs and CLEPs

[dewisant]

ECE's are harder and more respected. People have various opinions about DSST and CLEP tests, some are easier, some harder, etc. I like DSST's best. BTW, you could consider moving to the US to get your degree and then move back or move on afterwards.

[drozx12]

I took 17 clep and dsst exams and 3 ece's and there's really little comparison. If you take an ECE know your stuff significantly more than the cleps or dsst's. I mean they're not rocket science but by default if you'd get an A on a clep or dsst (relatively speaking) you'd have to work even harder to get even a B on an ECE. That's been my experience but good luck.

[Waldorfteacher]

I find the ongoing debate over ECEs v CLEP and DSST worthy of continued discussion. I wish there was a method for collecting hard data of test results from degree forum members and amalgamating it in addition to sharing opinions about our personal predilections for one credit by exam method over another. The attempt at Free Clep Prep to rank the difficulty levels of the various CBE subjects is a great start at ball parking easy to hard on a scale of 1 to 5 that takes into consideration there are hard CLEPs and easy DSSTs and vice versa. The next step is to start to aggregate scores by exam and individual test takers so that data for those test takers who have sat all three CBE's could be used predictively for those who have not taken ECEs, for example. There is a tremendous amount of raw data on the board that could be organized into a narrative that is more predictive than an opinion.

One of the trends toward statistical aggregation was documented in the film Moneyball. The scene where Billy Beane is sitting in a room full of baseball scouts sharing their professional opinions about various baseball players while the econ major from Yale in the corner produced data analysis that provided better predictive metrics for success on the field by these players being spoken about. Nate Silver of 539.org applied the conceptual framework of statistical aggregation called sabremetrics in baseball to political polling. Anyone who follows polling science will understand a single poll (or a single opinion) is worth very little. It is only when as much worthwhile data as is available is agregated to form a predictive informed data set sans outliers that such analysis is helpful. Silver points out in his book "The Signal and the
Noise" how important multiple data points are in identifying the epicenter.

Many individuals include their test score results in their signatures. This is a very useful method for comparing oneself to comparable test takers and establishing a comparable individual who has similar scores to you in tests you have taken. This is often done in baseball by sportswriters looking to develop a cogent narrative about rookies or second year players who lack extensive data of their own. Instead writers find those players who had similar statistics their first year or two and project that onto the new player. Granted this is not a foolproof method but it provides a starting point. Take a look at test takers who have scored similarly to you and see if they have taken ECE's and what their scores are on them. This will tell more than any subjective opinion about actual difficulty levels.

Because all the test makers do their best to keep their grading rubric a secret it is difficult to compare one test with another. One reason there is the general opinion on the board that ECE's are more difficult is because less people take them so there is less specific feedback and less shared knowledge to go around. This creates a negative feedback loop that reinforces the dominant opinion they are harder. Excelsior does publish a technical booklet with aggregated data on many ECE's that is very helpful in identifying which exams test takers score better on. A couple have such a low percentage of A grades I would simply avoid them altogether. A few also have a 40 % A grade which is as good close to a gimmee as you will get on ECEs. This is not unlike going on the website myedu.com and seeing what instructors give a larger percentage of A and B grades at any given college. On the ECE's I have sat, I did not find them more difficult than DSST or CLEP. As a bonus, ECE (or whatever they are calling it now), breaks out how you did on each section of the test material. Combine this with the facts the tests are based directly from the listed textbooks and many of the practice test questions are on the actual ECE, there is really more specific study material available for ECE's than CLEP or DSST.

So there you have it, one more opinion to throw in the blender. The reason I started taking ECE's is I needed grades on my transcript, not P's. Because Excelsior transcribes ECE's much like any other Excelsior course, most admissions departments consider it a regular course when they evaluate your transcript. That is a real bonus when you are taking grad school prerequisites like Abnormal Psychology.

[Westerner]

Yes, the ECE I took was definitely harder than the CLEPs and DSSTs. But the ECEs do have recommended textbooks that the questions come from and PTs that are extremely helpful. For the OP, I don't know if you've decided and/or tested yet, but I do know that some intrepid testers have taken a bunch of tests in one day. Maybe that's an option?

[Harpda]

Sorry to disappoint you, but the BSBA at TESC only has room for 6 free elective credits. In other words, you will only be able to use 6 FEMA credits. Also, non-U.S. citizens have to be sponsored by an organization or college in order to take FEMAs. Excelsior will just be a few hundred dollars cheaper than TESC. TESC's BSBA doesn't have a capstone. All of Excelsior's degrees require a capstone and their tuition is going up to $425 per credit hour on July 1st. That's $1,275 for one course you have to take at Excelsior and, hopefully, it doesn't require a textbook.

It seems that TESC now has a Capstone for BSBA according to their website. That would be awesome if they didn't though.

[sanantone]

It seems that TESC now has a Capstone for BSBA according to their website. That would be awesome if they didn't though.

Where do you see it? TESC used to list a Business Policy capstone, but it was never really a capstone because you could test out of it using the Business Policy TECEP (they changed the name to Strategic Management). TESC now just lists the course as Strategic Management, but you could always transfer the course in from another school. Some people have used Penn Foster's course. Unless I'm overlooking it, I don't see anything about a capstone on the website.
BSBA in General Management Degree Program

[Daithi]

bojangle,

Another option is StraighterLine. They offer many of the courses you mentioned. They are cheap, easy, and not only does TESC accept them, but they'll also give you UL credit depending on the course.