If you’re a student who wants to save time and money on college education, taking CLEP exams can be a great way to do so. But before you sign up for a CLEP English exam, be sure to check with your college to see what type of credit they will give you.
Facts verified Oct 16, 2026 against College Board. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
| Item | Detail | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Number of questions | Multiple choice; e.g. ~100 questions (American Government), ~60 (College Algebra) | College Board |
| Number of questions (College Composition) | 50 multiple-choice questions + 2 essays | College Board |
| Time limit | About 90–120 minutes, depending on subject | College Board |
| Passing score | 50 on a 20–80 scale (ACE recommendation) | College Board |
| Exam fee | $97 per exam + center/remote admin fee | College Board |
| Exam fee (Remote proctoring fee) | $30 remote proctoring fee | College Board |
| Retake policy | Wait 3 months before retaking the same title | College Board |
| Validity | Scores available 10 years (exams from July 1, 2022 on) | College Board |
| Delivery | Test center or at home with remote proctoring | College Board |
| Eligibility | Anyone at a test center; remote: age 13+ (18+ in Illinois), in the U.S. or DANTES-funded | College Board |
| Score release | Immediately on screen; portal within 24 hours | College Board |
| Score release (College Composition / Spanish with Writing) | 2–3 weeks after exam day | College Board |
| Registration opens | Open year-round via My CLEP portal | College Board |
| Testing window | Year-round, scheduled with the test center | College Board |
Facts verified Oct 16, 2026 against College Board. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
Interactive CLEP resources on PracticeTestGeeks, free to start:
Prepare for the CLEP - College Level Examination Program exam with our free practice test modules. Each quiz covers key topics to help you pass on your first try.
It’s a relatively easy exam. Make sure you are familiar with the punctuation and grammatical rules. The verb tense, point of view, and coherence questions I encountered were rather easy.
A passing score on a CLEP exam is typically 50 out of 80, or a grade of 63%.
Your success on the day of the CLEP exam depends on how much time you spend studying and whether you study effectively. It’s wise to check in periodically to determine if your learning has positive effects. Examining your progress by taking CLEP College Composition practice tests is one of the most efficient ways to achieve this. Practice exams are helpful because they highlight your areas for growth.
In reality, anyone willing to put in the necessary study time and effort can pass CLEP exams.
If you’ve taken the American Literature CLEP or the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP, the English Literature CLEP is an easy test to pass.
Your observed score is the total number of questions you correctly answered. For each question correctly answered, your raw score rises by one point. Your observed score is then transformed into a scaled value displayed on your score report and runs from 20 to 80.
Depending on your learning preferences, studying for a CLEP exam could take a few weeks to a few months. The more time you have to study, the better. Keep a calendar and schedule an hour or two every day or every other day for studying.
When the results of the College Composition exam are made public online, usually 2-3 weeks following the test, students who took it will be notified via email.
There are 50 multiple-choice questions to answer in 55 minutes.
Depending on your university’s CLEP exam regulations, you often need help to take the English CLEP for levels 101 and 102.
British authors frequently use traditional British English, and their vocabulary is more extensive. On the other hand, American writers tend to use simpler, more approachable language.
Immigrants and language learners can assess their English proficiency with our free CLB Canadian Language Benchmark practice test — covering speaking, listening, reading, and writing at all benchmark levels.
Professional translators can prepare for the American Translators Association exam with our free ATA Translation Certification practice test — covering accuracy, fluency, and language-pair specific knowledge.
ELPA21 English language proficiency candidates often also prepare with our OELPA practice test — both are state ELL assessments measuring English language development across listening, reading, writing, and speaking domains.
Try these questions from our free CLEP practice tests. The correct answer and an explanation follow each question.
Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
Answer: A. The rain stopped; the sun came out.
A semicolon joins two independent clauses without a conjunction.
Sue wants to start teaching kids tennis, but she needs to figure out how much she should charge per lesson. Her acquaintance advised her that the markup percentage should be 15% and the markup amount should be $17. What is the selling price?
Answer: C. cost = $113.33; selling price = $130.33
Assuming the 15% markup is on the cost, we can find the cost by dividing the markup amount by the markup percentage: Cost = $17 / 0.15 = $113.33. The selling price is then the cost plus the markup amount: Selling Price = $113.33 + $17 = $130.33. This aligns with the provided correct option.
Choose the appropriate error. No sentence contains more than one error. If No Error exists, then select the no error (1)It was the (2)worse storm (3) that the inhabitants of the island (4)could remember.
Answer: B. worse
The sentence uses the definite article 'the' and implies a comparison among all storms the inhabitants could remember, indicating the superlative degree is needed. The superlative form of 'bad' is 'worst,' not 'worse.' 'Worse' is the comparative form (e.g., 'worse than').
Which of the following is not found in animal cells but is present in plant cells?
Answer: C. Cell wall
Plant cells are distinguished from animal cells by several unique structures, most notably the cell wall. The cell wall is a rigid outer layer that provides structural support, protection, and maintains the cell's shape, a feature absent in animal cells. Both plant and animal cells possess a cell membrane, cytoplasm, and a nucleus.