College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

The CLEP system will be down for maintenance on Monday, January 29, 2024. 
CLEP Testing will not be available on that date; however, supplemental essay exams for history and political science can be administered that day.

Appointment Required for CLEP Exams, as well as Supplemental Essay Exams to earn credit for History and Political Science

The CLEP is a group of standardized tests created and administered by the College Board. This rigorous program allows students from a wide range of ages and backgrounds to demonstrate their mastery of introductory college-level material and earn college credit. Students can earn credit for what they already know by getting qualifying scores on any of the 33 examinations. If you are considering taking a CLEP or Departmental examination-for-credit, please read the CBE Policies page also. The Testing, Evaluation, and Measurement Center (TEMC) is an open center for CLEP testing.

  • Step 1. Purchase your CLEP ticket. CLEP requires an $93 fee for each ticket, which must be purchased online through Register for CLEP Exams prior to coming in to test. 
    Be sure the name you use for registration exactly matches the photo ID you will use when you take the exam.  You are required to print out your voucher and bring a physical copy to the Testing Center at the time of your exam. The name on the CLEP voucher must exactly match the name on your photo ID to be able to test.

    Step 2. Make an appointment. Decide when to take the test. CLEP exams are offered on any day that (SM) campus and (RR) campus are open. For testing times at San Marcos, visit Testing Lab Hours and for testing times at Round Rock, visit TCRR Hours.

    • Click here to make an appointment for the Testing Lab at the San Marcos campus.
    • Click here to make an appointment for the TCRR (Testing Center, Round Rock) at the Round Rock Campus.

    You will receive a confirmation email for your appointment within 1 business day.

    Step 3. Pay your Texas State administration fee. Texas State University requires an administration fee for CLEP testing of $40 for each CLEP exam. Your confirmation email will have a payment link to pay your testing fee online. Save the printed receipt as proof you paid.

    Step 4. On the test day please bring your printed ticket from College Board, your administration fee receipt, and one of the following forms of identification.

    Please note that the CLEP College Composition exam and the Modern Languages exams allow 30 minutes more working time than other CLEP exams, so if you are taking these tests, your deadline to arrive and begin your test will be 30 minutes earlier than the times listed. Extended time accommodations will also affect the latest time to begin a test.

    Note: TEMC cannot provide refunds for any fees or payments beyond five business days from the date of payment. Your payment receipt is valid for 90 days from the date of purchase. It is essential to submit an appointment request within this timeframe to be eligible for testing.

  • Identification

    One form of identification is required to take a CLEP exam. The ID must be a government-issued photo ID, with the candidate’s name, signature, and a recognizable photograph.

    Acceptable forms of identification include:

    • Current passport with name, photograph, and signature
    • Valid driver’s license with name, photograph, and signature
    • State or Province ID issued by the motor vehicle agency with name, photograph, and signature
    • Military ID
    • National ID with name, photograph, and signature
    • A tribal ID card
    • A naturalization card or certificate of citizenship


    Be sure the name you use for registration exactly matches the photo ID you will use when you take the exam.  You are required to print out your voucher and bring a physical copy to the Testing Center at the time of your exam.  Images from a cell phone will not be accepted.

    If the student is a minor and unable to provide a primary government-issued ID, then the College Board ID Form must be used for the primary ID.
     
    The College Board ID Form is available online at
    https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/clep/clep-student-id-form.pdf
    or you can contact CLEP Services at 800.257.9558, 609.771.7865, or clep@info.collegeboard.org. for information on obtaining the College Board ID Form.

    Please visit the Exam Day Info page of the CLEP website for more information at
    http://clep.collegeboard.org/exam-day-info.

  • Use of the following items in the testing room is strictly prohibited unless an approved exception has been specified by CLEP services at 800.257.9558 or 609.771.7865.

    • Calculators (a calculator function is built into the software for those tests that require calculator use)
    • Listening devices including, but not limited to cellular phones/pagers, beepers, walkie talkies, PDAs, or wireless communication devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet, mp3 player)
    • Any device capable of recording audio, photographic, or video content, or capable of viewing or playing back content, through such means as digital cameras or video cameras
    • Food, beverages, or tobacco products
    • Hats (unless worn as a religious requirement)
    • Hooded sweatshirts or sweaters
    • Calculator watches
    • Digital watches (wrist or pocket), alarm watches, or wristwatch cameras
    • Dictionaries, books, pamphlets, reference materials
    • Papers of any kind (except for authorized scratch paper provided by the center).
    • Slide rules, protractors, compasses, rulers
    • Highlighter pens and/or colored pens and pencils
    • Copying devices
    • Transmission or receiving devices
    • Mechanical pencils or any type of pen
    • Nonmedical electronic devices (laptop computers, digital assistants)
    • Flash/thumb drives or any other portable electronic storage device
    • Candidate-provided keyboards
    • Any other unauthorized testing aids
    • Weapons or firearms

    Backpacks, fanny packs, briefcases, bags, purses, wallets, outdoor wear, and any other personal items should be placed in a locker outside of the testing room.

    • Personal identification, including photo ID
    • Official CLEP scratch paper provided by TEMC
    • Nonmechanical pencils provided by TEMC
    • Headphones (provided only by TEMC and for foreign language exams only)
  • CLEP requires documentation of a disability in order to provide an administration with testing accommodations. Texas State students with disabilities who may require accommodations (alternative format, reader service, extended time, etc.) must contact the Office of Disability Services (512.245.3451) prior to taking the test. Verification of disability will be required. Non-Texas State students who require accommodations must request that the office analogous to ODS at their school provide to us a list of approved testing accommodations to proctor@txstate.edu if you intend to test at the San Marcos campus or rrc-testing@txstate.edu if you intend to test at the Round Rock campus.

    Additionally, all examinees who require accommodations must complete an Accommodated Testing Request Form to test at either facility at least two weeks prior to the desired exam date. If you intend to test at the San Marcos campus, please complete the SM Accommodated Testing Request Form. If you intend to test at the Round Rock campus, please complete the TCRR Accommodated Testing Request Form. Requests will be processed within two business days. Please note the operating hours for each campus testing center and available start times for the exam you wish to take when selecting your appointment time, and make sure to take into account additional time you may need.

  • Current and future Texas State students should refer to the list of exams below that have been approved for course credit at Texas State.

    If you have taken any CLEP exams elsewhere and wish to have your scores reported to Texas State, the score recipient code is 6667.

    Request CLEP scores here.

  • For credit to be earned for spring semester, both portions must be completed by April 15.

    Essay exams submitted after April 15 but before the onset of the summer semester will be scored during the summer session.

    For credit to be awarded for summer session, the essay portion must be completed by July 15.
    Essay exams submitted after July 15 but before the fall semester will be graded during the fall semester.

    For credit to be earned in the fall semester, both portions must be completed no later than November 15.
    Essay exams submitted after November 15 but before the beginning of the spring semester will be scored during the spring semester.

    *Note: Scoring for essay exams completed after the above deadlines will resume the second week of classes in the following semester.

    Additional Notice Regarding CLEP History Exams

    The faculty who grade the supplemental essay exams (to complete the award of CLEP-based credit-by-exam) expect the same level of comprehension, analysis and writing skill that they expect of students taking a final exam for the course in question. They expect analytical essays with cogent arguments providing thorough answers to the questions asked, not lists of facts, names, dates, or simple descriptions of events. It is very unlikely that a thorough enough understanding of the material can be acquired from Wikipedia. Interested candidates are encouraged to conduct a significant amount of self-directed study from multiple academic sources before attempting these exams.

    For each essay exam attempted, a waiver must be signed and turned in to TEMC acknowledging that there is no appeal process for essay scores, and that no additional information about the essays or scores will be provided by any faculty or staff of the history department or TEMC.

    Additionally, for each exam, the history department has created a specific preparation guide:

    HIST1310 History of the US I: Early Colonization to 1877
    HIST1320 History of the US II: 1865 to the Present
    HIST2310 Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648
    HIST2320 Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present

  • The Political Science department requires that you pass the computerized CLEP exam prior to taking a written supplemental essay exam. The supplemental essay exam is graded by an appropriate faculty member and has the same expectations and standards as a final exam in the course. The score for the supplemental essay exam may not be challenged. Receipt of the score may take extended time, due to the availability of the faculty member to grade the supplemental essay exam portion.

    For each essay exam attempted, a waiver must be signed and turned in to TEMC acknowledging that there is no appeal process for essay scores, and that no additional information about the essays or scores will be provided by any faculty or staff of the political science department or TEMC.

  • Effective August 10, 2010

    Texas State University will recognize superior scores for CLEP World Languages exams by awarding not only credit, but also letter grades of A or B according to the Credit & Grade Awarding Table.

    Letter grades for these CLEP exams will be optional. Students may choose to accept a “CR” (credit only) instead of a letter grade.

    All passing scores are subject to change without notification. Contact the TEMC at 512.245.2276 for updates.

DEPARTMENT COURSE CREDIT CLEP TEST HRS OF CREDIT PASSING SCORE
Accounting ACC 2361 Financial Accounting 3 50
Biology BIO 1320 Biology 3 50
Chemistry CHEM 1341, 1141
(CHEM 1342, 1142)
Chemistry 4
(8)
50
(55)
Economics ECO 2314
ECO 2315
Principles of Microeconomics
Principles of Macroeconomics
3
3
50
50
English ENG 1310, 1320

College Composition (score may take up to 5 weeks for essay scoring)
Note: The English Department at Texas State does NOT award credit for the CLEP exam titled "College Composition Modular"

6 50

History
(supplemental essay exam required with all history CLEP exams to earn credit)

HIST 1310
HIST 1320
HIST 2310
HIST 2320

History of the US I: Early Colonization to 1877
History of the US II: 1865 to the Present
Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648
Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present

3
3
3
3
50
50
50
50
Management MGT 3303 Principles of Management 3 50
Marketing MKT 3343 Principles of Marketing 3 50
Math MATH 1315
MATH1316
MATH 2417
MATH 2471

College Algebra
College Mathematics
Precalculus
Calculus

3
3
4
4
50
50
50
50
World Languages and Literatures

French
German
Spanish
Spanish with Writing

Texas State University will recognize superior scores for Modern Language CLEP exams by awarding not only credit, but also a letter grade of A or B. *Letter grades will be optional. *Other languages available through ACTFL.
(Scores for the Spanish with Writing exam may take up to 5 weeks due to essay scoring)
*Up to 14 credit hours per exam. Search “Credit and Awarding Table” on the TEMC homepage.
Political Science
(a supplemental essay exam is required to earn credit)
POSI 2310 American Government 3 50
Psychology PSY 1300
PSY 3300
Intro Psychology
Human Growth & Development
3
3
50
50
Sociology SOCI 1310 Intro Sociology 3 50