| Sometimes parents will ask me to compare AP | | | | Alex, my youngest, even passed Business Law |
| vs. CLEP tests and wonder why we chose to use | | | | and Marketing CLEPs just based on the reading he |
| CLEPs. The answer to the second question is a | | | | did for fun. |
| big part of the answer to the first. AP tests are | | | | AP exams can require a tremendous amount of |
| much longer, more expensive, and have | | | | study, as do CLEP. The difference is partly that if |
| ambiguous essay questions that irritated me. We | | | | you take the AP exam, you also have to study |
| chose to use CLEP exams because they took | | | | HOW to take an AP exam! It's a real skill to write |
| MUCH less time per test, were a little less | | | | those essays. If you buy an AP prep book, you |
| expensive, and they were all multiple choice. (My | | | | will see what I mean. For a CLEP exam, it's just |
| kids also inherited my love for "right and wrong" | | | | like taking a very in-depth IOWA basic test - |
| answers.) | | | | much more familiar looking. |
| Since the CLEP exams are shorter and have | | | | When you pass an AP or CLEP exam you can |
| fewer questions, their questions are all pretty | | | | feel confident about putting it on your homeschool |
| obscure. You have to know the detailed stuff in | | | | transcript as an honors high school course. If your |
| order to pass. Of course, that's also why they | | | | child knows a college amount of material in a |
| are college level. I found that my kids were able | | | | subject than that qualifies as a high school credit, |
| to pick up a college amount of learning on some | | | | in my opinion. |
| topics just by doing a lot of reading in high school. | | | | |