by Debra Bell
The easiest and least expensive way to earn college credit for your high school work is through scoring well on college equivalency exams. The most widely accepted equivalency exams are the College Level Examination Program (CLEP®) and Advanced Placement (AP® ) tests. (More than 90% of colleges in the U.S. award course exemptions or credit for many of these exams.) Both the CLEP® and AP® programs are developed by the College Board, the same organization that publishes the SAT college entrance exam and the SAT subject tests. You can read more about the CLEP® program here. You can read more about the AP® program here.
The individual colleges and universities that participate in the CLEP® and AP® programs determine which exams they will accept, how much credit will be applied and what score students must achieve in order to earn credit, course exemptions or advanced placement. You will find an institution’s equivalency exam policy on their website. Search by “credit by exam,” “AP policy” or “CLEP policy.”
Which equivalency exam you take will be determined by your purposes:
- CLEP® exams are shorter, easier, less expensive and less prestigious. These are a great choice if the main goal is college credit for required coursework.
- AP® exams are far more rigorous, and therefore, more respected. High scores on AP® exams will be weighted heavily for merit scholarship consideration and college admittance at competitive schools and programs.
You do not have to take a course to prepare for a CLEP® or AP® exam; however, because these exams are testing your mastery of college-level material (not high school), studies have shown that students who take a preparatory course under the direction of a trained teacher score much higher on these exams then students who study on their own. Further, students who are part of a pre-AP high school curriculum where much of their coursework 9th-12th grades is rigorous and aligned with these equivalency exams fare best of all. It is the latter arrangement we intend to develop and offer the homeschool community.
Our classes are complete, full year high school classes for which students should earn credit toward high school graduation. At the same time, the core skills, content and activities we focus on will help students develop the skills and knowledge base that will be measured on specific CLEP® and AP® exams. The same course may contribute to a student’s preparation for several exams since many exams measure overlapping skill areas.
Courses are leveled to help parents choose the coursework that best fits a student’s readiness and timeline for testing:
Basic Coursework*
These classes are primarily suitable for students in 7th-10th graders, depending upon their readiness and prior coursework.
Basic – Level 1: At the end of this course, students who have succeeded at a high level are ready to take an intermediate level course in the same skill or subject area. Students who can benefit from another year of fundamental work because of age or readiness may register for another Basic-Level 2 course.
Basic – Level 2: These classes provide a second year of work in key subject and skill areas. In some cases, level 1 and level 2 students may be enrolled in the same class but working at different levels.
Advanced Coursework
These classes are primarily designed for 10th-12 graders.
Intermediate – These courses cover rigorous, college preparatory high school level content and skills. At the end of these courses, students may be ready to take an SAT Subject Test, which measure high school level achievement. Some colleges award advance placement or college credit for high scores on these exams. You can read more about the SAT Subject Tests here.
Pre-AP® – At the end of these courses most students should be CLEP® test-ready and/or prepared to do well in an Advanced Placement class.
AP® – At the end of these courses students will be AP® test-ready.
*Developing high-interest, developmentally-appropriate, course content aligned with these equivalency exams is our focus; however, student levels of success on these equivalency exams will vary. Student effort, aptitude and maturity-level also contribute significantly to student outcomes. We cannot guarantee a student’s score on an exam.
Are we teaching to the tests?
Yes we are. That’s the point: We saved college $$ using equivalency exam testing, and we assume you would like to do the same. ( See Chapter 24 of my book The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens for the full story.)
At the same time, we believe the core knowledge, higher order thinking and critical reading skills measured by these tests are well worth mastering. These classes will lay a broad and deep foundation for college level work and academic scholarship on any college campus. By taking coursework that is aligned with the exams across the high school years, students will develop a solid knowledge base and preliminary experience with academic scholarship that position them to stand out once they arrive at the university of their choice.
Are these classes just for the brave and brainy?
Obviously, we are a place for students who are highly able academically and nerdy. But we also are a great fit for students who are hard-working, love a challenge and enjoy being around peers who are setting the bar a bit higher. (I taught gifted students in another life, in another century – and my most successful kids were those who qualified for the program because of their motivation, but did not have the qualifying IQ scores. )
So we welcome students who may not be sure they are up to this kind of challenge, but would love to take a shot at it. Students who find they are over-challenged may shift to a lower level course, or put their registration on hold for a year. And we allow up to an 80% refund during the first 6 weeks of coursework.
But is it fun?
We have all raised teenagers and taught teenagers. We are all lifelong learners ourselves who seek to model this for our own children and our students. It is important to us that our students enjoy our classes, develop greater interest in the subject areas we teach and find similar like-minded young scholars to collaborate with and develop friendships. To that end, there is serious fun to be had in our classes, and many teen-engaging ways to practices these skills and explore the subject matter. While test-prep is the short term goal; a lifelong love of learning is the overarching theme.
How will it help parents?
Our goal is to promote independent, responsible, scholarly learning in our students. To this end, we trust we will be lightening your load in ways that transcend our individual courses. Further you will receive feedback from us as to your scholar’s strengths and weaknesses and trajectory for equivalency testing. We will be a source of knowledgeable information about CLEP® and AP® exams, college entrance requirements and merit scholarship criteria. In many ways, we will fulfill the role a high school guidance department might.
Who are the teachers?
Debra Bell (moi) is overseeing the hiring of teachers and teaching assistants. I also provide strategic guidance in course development and have final approval of course materials and syllabi. The teachers have demonstrated ability to coach students to success on these exams and have developed teaching expertise in their subject area(s). They have either formal or informal credentials ( that means I’ve got some dynamic retired homeschool moms who acquired their teaching expertise in the trenches of homeschooling – and I’m convinced that produces exceptional teaching skills, perhaps even better than traditional coursework.)
Our teaching assistants are former AP® students who excelled in their high school coursework and earned high marks on the AP® exam(s) they took. In addition to helping teachers manage administrative duties of the course, they are a rich resource of knowledge about what students can expect on exam day and later during the transition from homeschooling to the college campus.
And finally a word about course content at the upper levels ( 10th-12th grades)
The primary purpose of these classes is to equip students to succeed on the equivalency exams they are prepping for and to save their families time and dollars. To that end, we will cover all the essential course content and skills measured. Occasionally, some of this content may include material that our teachers or our families may not personally hold as true or profitable; nevertheless, this material, if essential to the exam, will be presented and studied in a thorough and scholarly manner to insure students are ready for testing, and ready to discuss these ideas on the college campus in a scholarly way.
Students will be expected to demonstrate understanding of this material on class exercises and assessments. Students will be free to disagree with material presented, but will be expected to do so in a way that demonstrates critical thinking and a respectful, scholarly exchange of ideas. Students may opt out of an assignment without penalty on religious or ethical grounds.
Where a variety of materials are equally suitable for providing students with the content and skills measured on these exams, materials which respect the sensibilities of conservative and religious families will be selected.
In plain language what does this mean? It means in the sciences we will teach a robust understanding of evolution, creationism and other viable theories of origin. It means in literature, at the upper levels we will teach some selections which may include mature themes and/or subject matter.
Further, as our courses expand we expect students from a variety of faith backgrounds and even those who may not ascribe to any faith tradition, to find our courses fit well with their academic goals. We want to make sure all students feel welcome and free to express their opinions respectfully and fully in our classes. It is our teachers’ prerogative whether or not they reveal their own biases on debatable issues; and parents should certainly expect teachers to take countering positions to encourage clearer critical thinking on the parts of their students.
We believe cultivating this kind of diversity of ideas and backgrounds is the best way to promote and develop mature critical thinking in our students. This in turn prepares students for the exams which all measure a student’s ability to think critically, logically and inferentially in the domain being tested.
With that said, parents should feel free to ask any questions about course content prior to enrollment. It is our intention to hire teachers foremost who know their subject matter well and are gifted in working with teens; and secondly, are capable of respecting the sensibilities of Christian families; as well as, those from other faith traditions.
What courses will be offered?
We are focused initially on offering courses at the intermediate and pre-AP® levels. From there we will work backwards to add courses for younger students. We can recommend the AP classes at www.aphomeschoolers.com for students ready for AP-level courses, if we are not currently offering an AP class in this subject area ourselves.
We will only offer classes when we find the right teacher(s) for those classes.
