College-Level Examination ProgramCollege-Level Examination Program

CSU General Education ConferenceMay 3, 2010

Marc Singer, Associate Director, CLEPPam Kerouac, Senior Assessment Manager, CLEP

CLEP FactsCLEP Facts

• 34 introductory college-level examinations in:

Foreign Languages, Science, Mathematics, Business, Composition & Literature, History & Social Sciences

• About seven million exams administered since 1967

• 2,900 colleges grant credit; 1,600 colleges administer CLEP

• 133,000+ National exams administered in 2008–09

• 73,000+ exams administered to military service members in 2008–09

Who Takes CLEP? Adults returning to college Military service members and

veterans Students who are fluent in

Spanish, French, or German Students at risk for stopping out Students with high SAT or ACT

scores Juniors or seniors who have not

met lower-division requirements Transfer students International students Students seeking credentials for

teaching certification, nursing

Age Distribution of Test TakersNational Candidates, 2008-09

CLEP General ExamsCLEP General Exams

• Four exams:– Social Sciences and History

– Humanities

– Natural Sciences

– College Mathematics

• English Composition to retire as of July 1

Current Exam ContentCurrent Exam Content

Humanities:– “Because the exam is very broad in its coverage, it is unlikely that any

one person will be well informed about all the fields it covers. The exam contains approximately 140 questions to be answered in 90 minutes.”

50% Literature:– 10% Drama; 10-15% Poetry; 15-20% Fiction; 10% Nonfiction (including

philosophy)50% The Arts– 20% Visual arts: painting, sculpture, etc.; 5% Visual arts: architecture;

15% Performing arts: music; 10% Performing arts: film, dance, etc.

Current Exam ContentCurrent Exam Content

Social Sciences and History:– “The primary objective of the exam is to give candidates the opportunity to

demonstrate that they possess the level of knowledge and understanding expected of college students who meet a distribution or general education requirement in the social sciences/history areas.”

40% History (including US, World, and Western Civ)13% Government/Political Science11% Geography10% Economics10% Psychology10% Sociology6% Anthropology

From CLEP Social Sciences & HistoryFrom CLEP Social Sciences & History

46. The cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly who played a major role in turning public sentiment against New York City’s Boss Tweed was

a. Grant Wood

b. Winslow Homer

c. Matt Morgan

d. Thomas Nast

e. Norman Rockwell

Some efforts underway…Some efforts underway…

• Social Sciences and History interdisciplinary passages.

• College Mathematics:– Financial Mathematics

• Percents, percent change, applications of percent in financial mathematics.

• Interest: simple, compound, and continuous interest; effective interest rates (APR).

• Present value, future value.• Markups, discounts, taxes, profit and loss• Applications.

CLEP General Examination TrendsCombined National & Military Volumes, 2008-09

Exam Title 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009

Social Sciences & History 6772 5905 5558 5083

Humanities 9078 8355 8170 7509

Natural Sciences 7904 7317 6836 6127

College Mathematics 13694 13459 13895 13816

CLEP General Exams Advisory PanelCLEP General Exams Advisory Panel

Purpose:• to determine whether there is a role for these exams in the

college curriculum• to establish the relationship between General Exams and

Subject Exams• to explore options for making these exams more relevant

tools for colleges and for students.

CLEP General Exams Advisory PanelCLEP General Exams Advisory Panel

• Participants: People with experience with– Integrative/interdisciplinary studies– General and Liberal education– Critical thinking studies– Linking the curriculum to real world concerns – Civic education and “literacy” – Assessment

• Representatives from NYU, CSU, College Board, University of Texas, James Madison University, Otterbein College, AAC&U, US Military Academy, more

Anticipated Next StepsAnticipated Next Steps

Next Steps:• After Panel meets and draws up its findings, hand off to

College Board’s Academic Advisory Committees (content-specific)

• AACs to review Panel’s work and make exam-specific recommendations: methods, content

• Reconstitute standing test development committees, hand off work to them

ChallengesChallenges

I. CLEP exams are designed to give students college credit.I. What would the college course equivalent be for these exams?II. Who at the college could evaluate the exams to determine credit

equivalencies?

II. CLEP exams are standardized tests.I. Could one size fit all? Is there a standard sense of general ed on

which many could agree?II. What kinds of questions could we ask on such an exam? What

standards would we set for “passing”?III. How would we score these exams?

III. Most CLEP exams are designed to be introductory level.

Our QuestionsOur Questions

• The present state of general education. In what direction is it heading?

• CLEP's mission: Can it include assessment of general education?

• Can we build a bridge between the two?

• Can general ed be assessed through standardized assessments? What innovations will we need to make this happen?

• Should we focus on skills, subject knowledge, or some intersection?

• What should the relationship be between the general exams and our subject-specific exams?

• What sort of credit should colleges grant for such exams?

• How do we take these high-level ideas and put them into practice?

More QuestionsMore Questions

• What does “literacy” mean in this context anyway?• How does a multiple-choice question measure critical thinking skills?• What other initiatives are under way that might have some sort of impact on these general exams?• What do the statisticians and psychometricians have to say about all this?• How often do the exams get revisited? Will we have to do this all over again?• Why is this presentation starting to look like an eye chart? • How many questions are there on a CLEP exam?• Why are there so many questions?• Do you ask any questions about who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb?• What if a student gets a 49 on an exam instead of 50? Are they still smart?• What is the difference between CLEP and AP?• What’s a henway?• Why doesn’t CLEP offer an exam in Tooth Morphology anymore?• Why would someone get on a plane from New Jersey to talk about this with educators in California?• How do we get in touch if we have more ideas after the session is over?• Are you recording this presentation?