DOD FY 2011 CLEP DSST Pass Rates

[BGSU_Alum_86]

Dcan, you need to take a look at the heading on each table. Those are the same test -- one in IBT (internet-based testing/computer) and one in PBT (paper-based testing). Now if they had the same test code within the same table, that would be a clerical error.

[dcan]

And I completely missed the table headings... /sheesh

[freddy]

I want to add that it's an assumption of many people, myself included, that the DOD pass rates likely include many people who take tests cold, that's never been confirmed or denied- pure speculation.

It does. I'm active duty and I have talked with a lot of people over the years that take CLEPS, just to see if they can pass them. I know guys that have taken the French Clep even though they didn't know a lick of French, just to see if they could pass.

[killerino]

Not necessarily. Just use it as one more piece of info but don't rely on it too heavily. The general thinking is that with us military folks we have an incentive to just take the test without even studying. Speaking from the Air Force side, there is very little knowledge of the CLEPs. I mean, we know they exist, but few people really knows about the (few, sometimes very old) study guides available at the base library. In my experience, far more people talk about "just take a random test and see how you do" rather than actually studying for it.

A lot of it is inertia. You have to get fired up about doing this. If you aren't "gazelle intense" as Dave Ramsey likes to say, then these are just little extra "gimmick" tests that may get you out of one or two classes, maybe, but they are free and the classes are free so who really cares? There isn't really an incentive to study, actually. Although, retests are no longer free, so if you fail you have to pay to retake. But then, when you can just take the class for free, and none of your peers know how to study for a CLEP, and when you look for study guides and advice the ed office says "check the library" and the library says "check the ed office" then you basically throw your hands up and just take the class.

I guarantee if the military personnel taking CLEP and DSST tests in FY12 spent time here, the pass rates would shoot way up.

yeah and the airmen with supervisors that need to write a bullet for their troops EPR so they send them to the education office to go sign up for a CLEP or DSST

[Prloko]

It does. I'm active duty and I have talked with a lot of people over the years that take CLEPS, just to see if they can pass them. I know guys that have taken the French Clep even though they didn't know a lick of French, just to see if they could pass.

I agree with this. I used to know people that used to do CLEP drills. They would do one a week pass or fail with little or no studying. The figured by the time they ran through all of them, 6 months passed and they could take any they missed. That's probably why DANTES will no longer fund unlimited tests, make you study, but more importantly it's cheaper.