Ranked List of the Easiest and Hardest CLEP Exams
What’s Covered:
- What is a CLEP Exam?
- How to Pick the Right CLEP Exam for You
- Easiest and Hardest CLEP Exams
- What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?
The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), offered by the College Board, enables students to progress through advanced material more quickly, graduate sooner, and significantly reduce the overall cost of their education.
Keep reading to learn more about CLEP exams, how to pick the right CLEP exam for you, and to discover what the easiest and hardest CLEP exams are.
What is a CLEP Exam?
The College Board—the same organization responsible for conducting Advanced Placement (AP) classes and exams, as well as the SAT—administers CLEP exams. These exams provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in introductory-level material and earn college credit for simply passing a test.
CLEP exams cover more than 30 subjects across a wide range of knowledge bases, including:
- Composition and Literature
- World Languages
- History and Social Sciences
- Science and Mathematics
- Business
More than 2,900 colleges and universities accept CLEP exams and provide credit to students with qualifying scores. The credit-granting scores recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) are on the College Board’s website; however, schools can choose to set their own credit-granting policy.
How to Pick the Right CLEP Exam for You
CLEP exams are an awesome time- and money-saving college strategy, but there are some important things to consider before signing up to take a CLEP exam.
Your Strengths
One of the most important factors to recognize about CLEP exams is that they’re subjective. The easiest CLEP exam for one person is potentially the most difficult for another. For example, College Composition Modular and Analyzing & Interpreting Literature both have reputations for being among the easiest CLEP exams, but non-native English speakers often find them challenging. Conversely, a student with an aptitude for numbers might breeze through the CLEP Calculus exam, one of the CLEP exams typically considered among the most difficult.
Prior Knowledge
The basis of CLEP exams is to test the knowledge that you already possess, so a good way to choose the right CLEP exam for you is to look at the coursework you’ve already completed. If you’ve taken an advanced biology or chemistry class, taking a CLEP exam in one of those subjects makes sense. Similarly, if you took an honors American History class, you might be well-positioned to pass one of the U.S. History CLEP exams.
Of course, just because CLEP exams test knowledge you already possess, it doesn’t mean you have an excuse not to study. Failing the test will cost you money and time—there is a three-month waiting period if you need to retake an exam and the military will not fund retests for service members.
College CLEP Policies
Before signing up for a CLEP exam, you’ll want to check the CLEP policy at the schools you’re applying to and ensure they will award credit for a qualifying score—otherwise, the time, effort, and money spent on the exam will be wasted. Over 2,900 U.S. colleges accept CLEP exams—which means about 2,400 do not.
Course Requirements
Just as it’s important to confirm that a college will grant credit for a CLEP exam, it’s equally important to choose exams that align with your major. CLEP policies vary by institution—some limit the number of credits awarded through CLEP, while others require certain prerequisite courses to be completed on campus.
Play it safe, and study up on the CLEP policy of the school and program you’re applying to, before signing up for an exam.
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Easiest and Hardest CLEP Exams
Below is a list of CLEP exams organized by civilian (non-military) pass rates from highest to lowest, based on 2017 data for civilians (non-military)—the most recent year this information was readily available.
CLEP pass rates for military personnel from 2024 are also included. Because service members can take CLEP exams at no cost, many attempt them without extensive preparation, which often results in lower pass rates.
How We Made This List
We made the list of the easiest CLEP exams by using the percentage of passing students as the defining metric. However, as mentioned above, the difficulty of CLEP exams is subjective and varies depending on your personal strengths, skills, and preparation.
|
Exam |
Civilian Pass Rate (2017) |
Military Pass Rate (2024) |
|
Spanish Language |
91% |
88% |
|
College Composition Modular |
83% |
65% |
|
College Composition |
81% |
78% |
|
Introductory Sociology |
80% |
76% |
|
Principles of Marketing |
79% |
43% |
|
French Language |
78% |
82% |
|
College Mathematics |
76% |
66% |
|
Human Growth and Development |
75% |
49% |
|
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature |
75% |
69% |
|
Principles of Macroeconomics |
72% |
47% |
|
German Language |
72% |
69% |
|
Principles of Microeconomics |
72% |
46% |
|
Information Systems |
71% |
56% |
|
Introductory Psychology |
70% |
34% |
|
History of the United States I: Early Colonization to 1877 |
69% |
56% |
|
Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648 |
68% |
59% |
|
Humanities |
68% |
28% |
|
Principles of Management |
67% |
39% |
|
Precalculus |
63% |
49% |
|
Social Sciences and History |
62% |
40% |
|
English Literature |
60% |
40% |
|
Introduction to Educational Psychology |
60% |
34% |
|
Biology |
60% |
54% |
|
Natural Sciences |
57% |
70% |
|
History of the United States II: 1865 to the Present |
56% |
47% |
|
Financial Accounting |
55% |
32% |
|
Calculus |
53% |
42% |
|
College Algebra |
52% |
32% |
|
American Government |
52% |
57% |
|
Introductory Business Law |
51% |
39% |
|
American Literature |
51% |
27% |
|
Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present |
48% |
58% |
|
Chemistry |
39% |
27% |
What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?
Knowing what school you’re going to attend is key to incorporating CLEP exams into your college strategy, and CollegeVine can help. Our free Chancing Calculator can help you create a college list and offer insight into your odds of acceptance at over 1,600 schools.
