CLEP Scoring & College Course Credit

How CLEP Exams are Scored

CLEP tests are multiple-choice exams which are scored on a scale from 20 to 80. The majority of schools grant credit for a score of 50 or higher, but passing scores vary among different schools. The American Council on Education (ACE) developed guidelines for how CLEP scores relate to course credits and semester hours. Your college or university adopts or modifies the ACE recommendations and also have their own rules for granting credit and semester hours for CLEP scores. Below are the American Council on Education recommendations:

Understand Your Institution's CLEP Policy

Most colleges and universities grant credit for CLEP exams, but not all of them. Of the 2,900 institutions granting credit for CLEP, each of them sets its own CLEP policy for granting course credits. Check with your college or university to understand the details of your institution's CLEP policies.

Finding Your College's CLEP Policy

The general catalog of your institution will usually contain a CLEP policy statement under a heading like Credit-by-Examination, Advanced Standing, Advanced Placement, or External Degree Program. You can also ask your admission's or registrar's office for a copy of the college's credit-by-examination policy.

How much credit can you earn?

Each institution has it's own policies. The ACE guidelines above are benchmarks for which your university may base its policies. Some colleges place a limit on the total amount of credit you can earn through CLEP or other exams. Understanding you institution's policies is an important first step toward gaining course credit and saving tutition through CLEP testing.

¹The scores and semester in the table are the recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE). The scores listed are equivalent to a letter grade of C in the corresponding course.
²Principles of Accounting will be discontinued on July 1, 2007. It will be replaced by Financial Accounting.
³As of July 1, 2006, these examinations are no longer available. They have been replaced by the CLEP Pre calculus exam.