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The following article was written by David and Laurie Callihan.

A CLEP Prep Idea Whose Time Has Come!

We are quite excited about the possibilities that are coming together to help homeschoolers all over the country to validate their work in a way that is rather astounding.

Recently there have been a lot of concerns expressed by colleges and universities about how to deal with homeschoolers in the admissions process. These colleges assumedly don't have appropriate guidelines to deal with the transcripts of homeschooled students. We find this to be quite amazing in one sense, because they are willing to accept the transcripts of public high school students who can't even read! Yet they question the validity of homeschoolers' transcripts even when those same students are getting A's in their own college's courses as non-matriculating students.

Why do we know this? Because we are dealing with this exact issue with our own daughter, Katie, who carries a 4.0 GPA in Architecture from a State University of New York College! She had gotten an A in their own Calculus class, and they still wouldn't accept her transcript! She had to take a special test in order to be accepted as a full-time student.

So we need to provide ways for colleges to validate homeschool student's high school courses. And we believe one of the easiest and best ways to do this is by using a standardized testing program that is almost universally accepted and recognized for its objectivity, the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) system administered by The College Board organization. This is the same organization that administers the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

We have received numerous emails from parents who had never heard of CLEPS, but are now using them to give their children an advantage as they prepare for life after high school! CLEPs are recognized by over 2,900 colleges and universities across the United States. They represent an objective way to verify that what your child has learned in high school is acceptable for credit. Why? Because who is going to argue that if you have 3 to 12 credits of college work in a subject, that student's high school credits are not valid for learning the same material? It will certainly be difficult to make such an argument.

Although we will readily agree that certain colleges don't accept CLEPs, a great number do, and there are new programs being put together as we speak that will recognize and use CLEPs to provide new options in the future. The issue is validation, and using CLEPs to begin creating a college transcript while your student is even in the beginnings of high school. At the very least, it validates the work that has been done.

So What Are CLEPs?

College Level Examination Program tests (or CLEP tests) are standardized examinations in college level subjects given by the College Board organization, the same people who administer the Scholastic Aptitude Test (or SAT) required for admission into many colleges and universities across the United States. These tests are provided in five general subjects, College Composition (two versions: with and without Essay), Humanities, College Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences and History. In addition there are 29 specific tests in the same five general categories. We could go through and list all of them, but instead we want to focus on just a few of these exams that we think would be a good starting point for providing your child(ren) with the opportunity to get ahead rather expeditiously. The tests are given at local centers all across the country using computer-based software. You can find a list of these centers at www.collegeboard.com/clep.

As homeschooling children enter secondary school, most of them have an advantage. They were taught differently from children in public and private schools. Instead of being taught using a "spiral learning" approach where they caught a little bit of each subject year after year, they learned another way we call "organic learning" or the "learning tree." During the elementary years, homeschooling moms and dads require that their children master the material that is covered before moving on to new material. Perhaps this is due to the pressure caused by the state education department and local school district in demanding accountability of homeschoolers. Maybe it is simply because most homeschooling parents expect a high level of excellence due to strong religious convictions, or just their high ethical standards.

The point is that by the time a homeschooling child reaches the age of 12 or 13, he or she is adequately trained in the elementary requirements for reading, writing, arithmetic, and research. This is what we call the "four r's." It is quite amazing that Dr. William Bennett, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education during the Reagan Administration stated in May, 2001 that the average public high school senior tested out at the second half of the seventh grade math level. For homeschoolers who have completed a sixth grade ABeka or Saxon Math textbook, they have completed the same math requirements as a public high school senior! (This may not seem so at first glance, but it's true nevertheless. The reason will become clear in a moment.) This is also generally true of English, History, and General Science as well. Homeschoolers excel versus their public school counterparts in America.

What does this mean to you? For one thing, it means that in many cases your homeschooled child can skip seventh and eighth grade, since most of what is taught in those grades is remedial! No new materials are taught in those grades, except perhaps some specific courses in health or something that are required by your state. Otherwise, you child is ready for high school work. And this is why the above statement about math is true. If your child has mastered that sixth grade math book, the student has actually mastered the material at an eighth grade level. The key is that it is mastered.

[Please note: There may be a boy or girl who is mentally and physically developing more slowly than average. In this case, the seventh and eighth grades would be appropriate to do some remedial study. It may just be in certain subjects too. This will be more true for boys than girls due to developmental differences. (The male brain develops its frontal lobes a full year later than girls, usually around the age of 13. Write us if you would like the reference to this research.) So if your child isn't quite ready, just hold off.]

Once your children start high school work, you can give them a real opportunity to excel. For those of you who know what is going on these days on the college level, it is becoming quite apparent that the material being taught in the first two years of college is remedial high school! So why not teach it right the first time and then get the college credit too?

That's right. If your high school student completes a high school subject adequately in any main high school course, you can have that student test out and get both high school and college credit at the same time! This is called "double crediting." It has been done for years. In fact, Laurie did it when she was in high school. (We won't mention when that was, but it was a few years ago.)

Another problem that many homeschoolers are facing is how to validate their homeschool transcript when their child applies for admission to a local college or university. By taking advantage of CLEPs, you provide an answer to the colleges and universities who want to know that your courses for your child are equivalent to what the local public schools offer. Who is going to argue with a certified college course that verifies that the material covered in a high school course was completed? It would be ridiculous to say that even though your child has received between 3 and 12 college credits that are recognized by 2,900 U.S. college and universities, the high school credit given was not valid.

And many of those colleges will even accept your child for admission based on those CLEP credits. The tests are also very inexpensive. They cost $50 per test (plus perhaps a small administrative admission fee). This is true whether or not the test qualifies for 3, 6, 9, or 12 credits. When you consider that 3 college credits can cost as much as $1000 or more on average, this is a very attractively inexpensive option.

So we want to offer to help your high school students to prepare for taking one of these CLEP exams. The opportunity exists to give your child college credit at a fraction of the cost of what it would cost even at a local community college. Even though your child may have to "shop" for a school that will take the CLEP credits, there are a number of ways that they may be used.

For example, our daugher Rebekah reduced her costs for her first year of college by over $15,000! And she will be completing her Nursing degree in three years instead of four. We can't speak for every homeschooling child, but doing CLEPs didn't hurt her; she has over a 3.9 GPA, and was recently selected for entrance into the National Nursing Students' Honor Society.

CLEP scores are also valid for up to 20 years!

With the increase in Internet colleges, as well as numerous community colleges and other schools accepting CLEPs, you could find your child testing out of a significant portion of an Associates Degree program even before ever stepping on campus. Many Christian colleges and universities accept CLEPs toward their four-year degree programs too. Check around and see what can be attained with CLEP credits!

And again, if these credits are not accepted by a local college, they provide a validation for your student that clearly shows that the diploma provided by you, the parent, is just as legitimate as that provided by the local public or private institutional school.

For more information about the Callihans or CLEP testing, go to their website, www.davidandlaurie.com, or go to homeschool.crosswalk.com and search for Callihan.

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