X

Test Information
Guide:
College-Level
Examination
Program
2012-13
College Mathematics

2012 The College Board. All rights reserved. College Board, College-Level Examination
Program, CLEP, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board.

CLEP TEST INFORMATION

GUIDE FOR COLLEGE
MATHEMATICS

worldwide through computer-based testing programs

and also in forward-deployed areas through
paper-based testing. Approximately one-third of all
CLEP candidates are military service members.

History of CLEP

2011-12 National CLEP Candidates by Age*

Since 1967, the College-Level Examination Program

(CLEP) has provided over six million people with
the opportunity to reach their educational goals.
CLEP participants have received college credit for
knowledge and expertise they have gained through
prior course work, independent study or work and
life experience.

Under 18
10%
30 years and older
29%

18-22 years
39%

23-29 years
22%

Over the years, the CLEP examinations have evolved

to keep pace with changing curricula and pedagogy.
Typically, the examinations represent material taught
in introductory college-level courses from all areas
of the college curriculum. Students may choose from
33 different subject areas in which to demonstrate
their mastery of college-level material.

* These data are based on 100% of CLEP test-takers who responded to this
survey question during their examinations.

2011-12 National CLEP Candidates by Gender

Today, more than 2,900 colleges and universities

recognize and grant credit for CLEP.

42%

Philosophy of CLEP
Promoting access to higher education is CLEPs
foundation. CLEP offers students an opportunity to
demonstrate and receive validation of their
college-level skills and knowledge. Students who
achieve an appropriate score on a CLEP exam can
enrich their college experience with higher-level
courses in their major field of study, expand their
horizons by taking a wider array of electives and
avoid repetition of material that they already know.

58%

Computer-Based CLEP Testing

The computer-based format of CLEP exams allows
for a number of key features. These include:
a variety of question formats that ensure effective
assessment
real-time score reporting that gives students and
colleges the ability to make immediate creditgranting decisions (except College Composition,
which requires faculty scoring of essays twice a
month)
a uniform recommended credit-granting score of
50 for all exams
rights-only scoring, which awards one point per
correct answer
pretest questions that are not scored but provide
current candidate population data and allow for
rapid expansion of question pools

CLEP Participants
CLEPs test-taking population includes people of all
ages and walks of life. Traditional 18- to 22-year-old
students, adults just entering or returning to school,
home-schoolers and international students who need
to quantify their knowledge have all been assisted by
CLEP in earning their college degrees. Currently,
58 percent of CLEPs test-takers are women and
51 percent are 23 years of age or older.
For over 30 years, the College Board has worked to
provide government-funded credit-by-exam
opportunities to the military through CLEP. Military
service members are fully funded for their CLEP exam
fees. Exams are administered at military installations

CLEP Exam Development

The Committee

Content development for each of the CLEP exams

is directed by a test development committee. Each
committee is composed of faculty from a wide
variety of institutions who are currently teaching
the relevant college undergraduate courses. The
committee members establish the test specifications
based on feedback from a national curriculum
survey; recommend credit-granting scores and
standards; develop and select test questions; review
statistical data and prepare descriptive material for
use by faculty (Test Information Guides) and students
planning to take the tests (CLEP Official Study Guide).

The College Board appoints standing committees of

college faculty for each test title in the CLEP battery.
Committee members usually serve a term of up to
four years. Each committee works with content
specialists at Educational Testing Service to establish
test specifications and develop the tests. Listed
below are the current committee members and their
institutional affiliations.

College faculty also participate in CLEP in other

ways: they convene periodically as part of
standard-setting panels to determine the
recommended level of student competency for the
granting of college credit; they are called upon to
write exam questions and to review forms and they
help to ensure the continuing relevance of the CLEP
examinations through the curriculum surveys.

Frank Bauerle,
Chair

University of California
Santa Cruz

Tuncay Aktosun

University of Texas at
Arlington

Helen Burn

Highline Community
College, Seattle

The primary objective of the committee is to produce

tests with good content validity. CLEP tests must be
rigorous and relevant to the discipline and the
appropriate courses. While the consensus of the
committee members is that this test has high content
validity for a typical introductory College
Mathematics course or curriculum, the validity of the
content for a specific course or curriculum is best
determined locally through careful review and
comparison of test content, with instructional content
covered in a particular course or curriculum.

The Curriculum Survey

The first step in the construction of a CLEP exam is
a curriculum survey. Its main purpose is to obtain
information needed to develop test-content
specifications that reflect the current college
curriculum and to recognize anticipated changes in
the field. The surveys of college faculty are
conducted in each subject every three to five years
depending on the discipline. Specifically, the survey
gathers information on:
the major content and skill areas covered in the
equivalent course and the proportion of the course
devoted to each area
specific topics taught and the emphasis given to
each topic
specific skills students are expected to acquire and
the relative emphasis given to them
recent and anticipated changes in course content,
skills and topics
the primary textbooks and supplementary learning
resources used
titles and lengths of college courses that
correspond to the CLEP exam

The Committee Meeting

The exam is developed from a pool of questions
written by committee members and outside question
writers. All questions that will be scored on a CLEP
exam have been pretested; those that pass a rigorous
statistical analysis for content relevance, difficulty,
fairness and correlation with assessment criteria are
added to the pool. These questions are compiled by
test development specialists according to the test
specifications, and are presented to all the committee
members for a final review. Before convening at a
two- or three-day committee meeting, the members
have a chance to review the test specifications and
the pool of questions available for possible inclusion
in the exam.

At the meeting, the committee determines whether

the questions are appropriate for the test and, if not,
whether they need to be reworked and pretested
again to ensure that they are accurate and
unambiguous. Finally, draft forms of the exam are
reviewed to ensure comparable levels of difficulty and
content specifications on the various test forms. The
committee is also responsible for writing and
developing pretest questions. These questions are
administered to candidates who take the examination
and provide valuable statistical feedback on student
performance under operational conditions.

developing, administering and scoring the exams.

Effective July 2001, ACE recommended a uniform
credit-granting score of 50 across all subjects, with
the exception of four-semester language exams,
which represents the performance of students who
earn a grade of C in the corresponding college
course.
The American Council on Education, the major
coordinating body for all the nations higher education
institutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifying
voice on key higher education issues and to influence
public policy through advocacy, research and program
initiatives. For more information, visit the ACE
CREDIT website at www.acenet.edu/acecredit.

Once the questions are developed and pretested,

tests are assembled in one of two ways. In some
cases, test forms are assembled in their entirety.
These forms are of comparable difficulty and are
therefore interchangeable. More commonly,
questions are assembled into smaller,
content-specific units called testlets, which can then
be combined in different ways to create multiple test
forms. This method allows many different forms to
be assembled from a pool of questions.

CLEP Credit Granting

CLEP uses a common recommended credit-granting
score of 50 for all CLEP exams.
This common credit-granting score does not mean,
however, that the standards for all CLEP exams are
the same. When a new or revised version of a test is
introduced, the program conducts a standard setting
to determine the recommended credit-granting score
(cut score).

Test Specifications
Test content specifications are determined primarily
through the curriculum survey, the expertise of the
committee and test development specialists, the
recommendations of appropriate councils and
conferences, textbook reviews and other appropriate
sources of information. Content specifications take
into account:
the purpose of the test
the intended test-taker population
the titles and descriptions of courses the test is
designed to reflect
the specific subject matter and abilities to be tested
the length of the test, types of questions and
instructions to be used

A standard-setting panel, consisting of 1520 faculty

members from colleges and universities across the
country who are currently teaching the course, is
appointed to give its expert judgment on the level of
student performance that would be necessary to
receive college credit in the course. The panel
reviews the test and test specifications and defines
the capabilities of the typical A student, as well as
those of the typical B, C and D students.* Expected
individual student performance is rated by each
panelist on each question. The combined average of
the ratings is used to determine a recommended
number of examination questions that must be
answered correctly to mirror classroom performance
of typical B and C students in the related course. The
panels findings are given to members of the test
development committee who, with the help of
Educational Testing Service and College Board
psychometric specialists, make a final determination
on which raw scores are equivalent to B and C levels
of performance.

Recommendation of the American

Council on Education (ACE)
The American Council on Educations College
Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT)
has evaluated CLEP processes and procedures for

*Student performance for the language exams (French, German and Spanish)
is defined only at the B and C levels.

College Mathematics
Description of the Examination

10%

Logic
Truth tables
The College Mathematics examination covers
Conjunctions, disjunctions, implications
material generally taught in a college course for
and negations
nonmathematics majors and majors in fields not
Conditional statements
requiring knowledge of advanced mathematics.
Necessary and sufficient conditions
The examination contains approximately
Converse, inverse and contrapositive
60 questions to be answered in 90 minutes.
Hypotheses, conclusions and
Some of these are pretest questions that will not
counterexamples
be scored. Any time candidates spend on tutorials
20% Real Number System
and providing personal information is in addition
Prime and composite numbers
to the actual testing time.
Odd and even numbers
The examination places little emphasis on arithmetic
Factors and divisibility
calculations, and it does not contain any questions
Rational and irrational numbers
that require the use of a calculator. However, an
Absolute value and order
online scientific calculator (nongraphing) is available
Open and closed intervals
to candidates during the examination as part of the
20%
Functions and Their Graphs
testing software.
Properties and graphs of functions
It is assumed that candidates are familiar with
Domain and range
currently taught mathematics vocabulary, symbols
Composition of functions and inverse
and notation.
functions
Simple transformations of functions:
Knowledge and Skills Required
translations, reflections, symmetry
Questions on the College Mathematics examination
25% Probability and Statistics
require candidates to demonstrate the following
Counting problems, including permutations
abilities in the approximate proportions indicated.
and combinations
Computation of probabilities of simple and
Solving routine, straightforward problems
compound events
(about 50 percent of the examination)
Simple
conditional probability
Solving nonroutine problems requiring an
Mean, median, mode and range
understanding of concepts and the application
Concept of standard deviation
of skills and concepts (about 50 percent of
Data interpretation and representation: tables,
the examination)
bar graphs, line graphs, circle graphs, pie
The subject matter of the College Mathematics
charts, scatterplots, histograms
examination is drawn from the following topics.
The percentages next to the main topics indicate the 15% Additional Topics from Algebra and
Geometry
approximate percentage of exam questions on that
Complex numbers
topic.
Logarithms and exponents
10% Sets
Applications from algebra and geometry
Union and intersection
Perimeter and area of plane figures
Subsets, disjoint sets, equivalent sets
Properties of triangles, circles and rectangles
Venn diagrams
The Pythagorean theorem
Cartesian product
Parallel and perpendicular lines
Algebraic equations, systems of linear
equations and inequalities
Fundamental Theorem of Algebra,
Remainder Theorem, Factor Theorem

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

The following sample questions do not appear on

an actual CLEP examination. They are intended
to give potential test-takers an indication of the
format and difficulty level of the examination and
to provide content for practice and review. Knowing
the correct answers to all of the sample questions
is not a guarantee of satisfactory performance on
the exam.
Directions: An online scientific calculator will be
available for the questions in this test.
Some questions will require you to select from
among four choices. For these questions, select the
BEST of the choices given.
Some questions will require you to type a numerical
answer in the box provided.
Some questions refer to a table in which statements
appear in the first column. For each statement, select
the correct properties by check-marking the
appropriate cell(s) in the table.

3. Triangle DEF (not shown) is similar to ABC

shown, and the length of side DE is 6 cm. If the
area of ABC is 5 square centimeters, what is
the area of DEF ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

10 cm2
12 cm2
18 cm2
45 cm2

4. m is an odd integer. For each of the following

numbers, indicate whether the number is odd
or even.
Number
2m 1
2m + 1
m2 m
m2 + m + 1

Odd

Even

Click on your choices.

5. Which of the following statements is NOT true
for all real numbers a and b ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S
3x 4 0

6. For any positive integers a and b, the operation

is defined as
What is the
value of

10. Which of the following subsets of the real

numbers best describes the solution set of the
inequality above?

4
(A) 0,
3
4
(B) ,
3

7. A company manufactures electronic

components that each must weigh from
29.5 grams to 30.5 grams, inclusive. Which
of the following inequalities describes all
acceptable weights x, in grams, for each
component?

(C)
(D)

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

11.

8. x is the standard deviation of the set of numbers

{a , b, c, d, e}. For each of the following sets,
indicate which sets must have a standard
deviation equal to x .
Set

Must Have Standard

Deviation Equal to x

{a + 2, b + 2, c + 2, d + 2, e + 2}
{a 2, b 2, c 2, d 2, e 2}
{2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e}
a b c d e
, , , ,
2 2 2 2 2

12.

Click on your choices.

13.

( , )
( , 4] [3, )

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

14. On an exam for a class with 32 students, the

mean score was 67.2 points. The instructor
rescored the exam by adding 8 points to the
exam score for every student. What is the mean
of the scores on the rescored exam?

18.

15. In the truth table below, T and F are used to

indicate that statements are true and false,
respectively. In the fourth column, click on
each box for which the statement is true.
(Note:  p means not p)
p

 p

T
T
F
F

T
F
T
F

F
F
T
T

19. A scientist estimated the number of bacteria in a

sample every hour and recorded the estimates in
the table above. Then the scientist used the data
to create the scatterplot above. Based on the
information, which of the following equations
best models the number of bacteria, f ( t ), at
time t, in hours?

 pq

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Click on your choices.

16.

f ( t ) = 100 ( 2t )
f ( t ) = 100 + 2t
f ( t ) = t 2 + 220t + 100
f ( t ) = 120 log ( t + 1)

20. In the solution of the system of linear equations

shown above, what is the value of

17. The faces of a fair cube are numbered 1

through 6; the probability of rolling any number
from 1 through 6 is equally likely. If the cube
is rolled twice, what is the probability that an
even number will appear on the top face in the
first roll or that the number 1 will appear on the
top face in the second roll?

21.

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

25. The graph above shows the closing price of one

share of stock of Company Y for each of the five
business days last week. Which of the following
is closest to the percent change in the closing
price of one share of stock from Tuesday to
Wednesday?

22. In country I when a house is sold to a first-time

buyer, a purchase tax is paid based on the tax
rate table above. Last week Liam, a first-time
buyer, purchased a house for $275,000. How
much purchase tax did he pay?

(A) 40%
(B) 55%
(C) 67%
(D) 150%

(A) $8,250
(B) $11,000
(C) $12,375
(D) $13,750
23.

4 and n

26. Let A be a nonempty set and let B and C be

any two subsets of A. Which of the following
statements must be true?

For each of the following expressions, indicate

whether the value will be a rational or irrational
number.

Expression
3

Rational

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Irrational

mn

27. The area of a rectangular field is the product

of its length and width. If each dimension of a
certain field is multiplied by 3, then the area of
the new field is how many times the area of the
original field?

m3
3

B C = A
B C = { } , the empty set
BC A
B C A

m
n

m  n2

Click on your choices.

24.

C O L L E G E

28.

M A T H E M A T I C S
32. The results of a survey of 200 college students
showed that some students who were business
majors were women and all students who were
business majors took calculus. Which of the
following is a valid conclusion from the survey?
(A) All students who were women took
calculus.
(B) Some students who were women took
calculus.
(C) Some students who were women did not
take calculus.
(D) Some students who were women were not
business majors.

29.

33.

30.
34.

31.
35.

10

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

36.

39.

37.

40.

38.

41.

11

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

42.

47.

,
where a, b, and c are distinct numbers.
43.

48.
44. Each number in data set A is increased by 3 to
form data set B. Which of the following is the
same for sets A and B ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Mean
Median
Mode
Range

49.

45.
50. If x 3 is a factor of x4 3x3 + kx + 3, what is
the value of k ?
(A) 1
(B) 0
(C) 1
3
(D) 1

46. In a group of 33 students, 15 students are

enrolled in a mathematics course, 10 are
enrolled in a physics course, and 5 are enrolled
in both a mathematics course and a physics
course. How many students in the group are
not enrolled in either a mathematics course or a
physics course?
(A) 3
(B) 8
(C) 13
(D) 20

12

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

51. Let Q be the set of rational numbers, Z be the

set of integers, and R be the set of real
numbers.
For each of the following statements, indicate
whether the statement is true or false.
True

(A)

False

Exam 1
100
Score

Statement

53. The six students, P, Q, R, S, T, and U in a class

took four exams, and the scores for the four
exams were recorded in the following graphs.
In which graph do the scores shown have the
least standard deviation?

There are an infinite number

that are
of elements in
not in .

90
80
70

(B)

1
52. If f ( x ) =
, where x | 2, and g ( x ) = 2 x for
x2
all values of x, then f ( g ( 0 ) ) is
(C)

90
80
P

R
S
Students
Exam 3

Score

100
90
80
70

(D)

R
S
Students
Exam 4

Score

100
90
80
70

13

R
S
Students
Exam 2

70

(A) 1
1
(B) 
2
(C) 0
(D) undefined

100
Score

Click on your choices.

R
S
Students

C O L L E G E
x2 1
54. For all nonzero numbers, if f ( x ) = 2
x +1
1
and g ( x ) = 2 , then g ( f ( x ) ) =
x
(A)

(x
(x

(B)

(x
(x

(C)

x4 + 1
x4 1

+ 1)

55. Which of the following best represents the graph

x 2 for x < 1
of the function f ( x ) =
2 for x v 1
in the xy-plane?

 1)

 1)

M A T H E M A T I C S

(A)

+ 1)

2
2

(B)

x4 1
(D) 4
x +1

(C)

(D)

14

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

56. A rectangular flat-screen computer monitor has

a diagonal that measures 20 inches. The ratio of
the length of the screen to the width of the
screen is 4 to 3. What is the perimeter of the
screen, in inches?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

48
56
64
192

58. In triangle ABC shown above, what is the length

of line segment AB ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

57. Which of the following is an equation of the line

in the xy-plane that passes through the point
( 2, 1) and that is parallel to the line with
equation 2 x 3 y = 5 ?

3
2

(A)

y = 2 x

(B)

3
y = x+2
2

(C)

y=

2
7
x
3
3

(D)

y=

2
x 1
3

17 3
16
14
2 34

59. A circular pizza with a 16-inch diameter is cut

into 12 equal slices. What is the area, in square
inches, of each slice?

16

3
8
(B)
3
4
(C)

3
2
(D)
3
(A)

60. A square tablecloth lies flat on top of a circular

table with area square feet. If the four corners
of the tablecloth just touch the edge of the
circular table, what is the area of the tablecloth,
in square feet?

square feet

15

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S
4.

Study Resources
Most textbooks used in college-level mathematics
courses cover the topics in the outline given
earlier, but the approaches to certain topics and
the emphases given to them may differ. To prepare
for the College Mathematics exam, it is advisable
to study one or more introductory college-level
mathematics textbooks, which can be found in most
college bookstores. Elementary algebra textbooks
also cover many of the topics on the College
Mathematics exam. When selecting a textbook,
check the table of contents against the knowledge
and skills required for this test.

Number
2m 1
2m + 1
m2 m
m2 + m + 1

8.

{a 2, b 2, c 2, d 2, e 2}
{2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e}
a b c d e
, , , ,
2 2 2 2 2

Answer Key
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.

C
B
5
C
A
D
D
4
B
D
C
C
B
D
C
C
C
A
D
A
to the right
A
A
A
D
B
C
C
A
2

Must Have Standard

Deviation Equal to x

Set

15.

B
A
D
to the right
D
25
A
to the right
C
B
C
B
C
75.2
to the right
C
B
B
A
2
C
B
to the right
C
C
D
9
D
D
A

Even

{a + 2, b + 2, c + 2, d + 2, e + 2}

Visit www.collegeboard.org/clepprep for additional

math resources. You can also find suggestions for
exam preparation in Chapter IV of the Official Study
Guide. In addition, many college faculty post their
course materials on their schools websites.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

Odd

~ p

T
T
F
F

T
F
T
F

F
F
T
T

23. Expression
3

Rational

m
n

m  n2

Statement

There are an infinite number

of elements in
that are
not in .

16

Irrational

mn
m3

51.

pq

True

False

C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

Test Measurement Overview

Format
There are multiple forms of the computer-based test,
each containing a predetermined set of scored
questions. The examinations are not adaptive. There
may be some overlap between different forms of a
test: any of the forms may have a few questions,
many questions, or no questions in common. Some
overlap may be necessary for statistical reasons.
In the computer-based test, not all questions
contribute to the candidates score. Some of the
questions presented to the candidate are being
pretested for use in future editions of the test and
will not count toward his or her score.

Scoring Information
CLEP examinations are scored without a penalty for
incorrect guessing. The candidates raw score is
simply the number of questions answered correctly.
However, this raw score is not reported; the raw
scores are translated into a scaled score by a process
that adjusts for differences in the difficulty of the
questions on the various forms of the test.

Scaled Scores
The scaled scores are reported on a scale of 2080.
Because the different forms of the tests are not
always exactly equal in difficulty, raw-to-scale
conversions may in some cases differ from form to
form. The easier a form is, the higher the raw score
required to attain a given scaled score. Table 1
indicates the relationship between number correct
(raw) score and scaled score across all forms.

The Recommended Credit-Granting

Score
Table 1 also indicates a recommended
credit-granting score, which represents the
performance of students earning a grade of C in the
corresponding course. The recommended B-level
score represents B-level performance in equivalent
course work. These scores were established as the
result of a Standard-Setting study, the most recent
having been conducted in 2006. The recommended
credit-granting scores are based upon the judgments
of a panel of experts currently teaching equivalent
courses at various colleges and universities. These
experts evaluate each question in order to determine

the raw scores that would correspond to B and C

levels of performance. Their judgments are then
reviewed by a test development committee, which, in
consultation with test content and psychometric
specialists, makes a final determination. The
standard-setting study is described more fully in the
earlier section entitled CLEP Credit Granting on
page 4.
Panel members participating in this study were:
Jeffrey Baumgartner Hesston College
Ed Harri
Whatcom Community College
Ronda Sanders
University of South Carolina
Columbia
Adriana Aceves
University of New Mexico
Kate Acks
Maui Community College
Tuncay Aktosun
University of Texas at Arlington
Michael Hall
Arkansas State University
David Hamrick
Boston University
Jonathan Kalk
Kauai Community College
Kathleen Kane
Community College of
Allegheny County
James Lapp
Truckee Meadows Community
College
Keith Leatham
Brigham Young University
Karen Longhart
Flathead Valley Community
College
Ioana Mihaila
California State Polytech
University Pomona
Stephanie Ogden
University of Tennessee
Knoxville
Erick Hofacker
University of Wisconsin
River Falls
Benjamin Kennedy Rutgers University
Nasser Dastrange
Buena Vista University
Dennis Reissig
Suffolk County Community
College
Thomas Smotzer
Youngstown State University
Lola Swint
North Central Missouri College
Robert Talbert
Franklin College
To establish the exact correspondences between raw
and scaled scores, a scaled score of 50 is assigned to
the raw score that corresponds to the recommended
credit-granting score for C-level performance. Then
a high (but in some cases, possibly less than perfect)
raw score will be selected and assigned a scaled
score of 80. These two points 50 and 80
determine a linear raw-to-scale conversion for
the test.

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Table 1: College Mathematics

Interpretive Score Data
American Council on Education (ACE) Recommended Number of Semester Hours of Credit: 6
Course Grade

Scaled Score

Number Correct

80
79
78
77
76
75
74
73
72
71
70
69
68
67
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50*
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20

50
49
48
47
46
46
45
44
43
43
42
41
40
39-40
39
38
37
36
35-36
35
34
33
32
31-32
31
30
29
28
27-28
26-27
26
25
24
23-24
22-23
22
21
20
19-20
18-19
18
17
16
15-16
15
14
13
12-13
12
11
10
10
9
8
7
7
6
5
5
0-4

*Credit-granting score recommended by ACE.

Note: The number-correct scores for each scaled score on different forms may vary depending on form difficulty.

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C O L L E G E

M A T H E M A T I C S

Validity

Reliability

Validity is a characteristic of a particular use of the

test scores of a group of examinees. If the scores are
used to make inferences about the examinees
knowledge of a particular subject, the validity of the
scores for that purpose is the extent to which those
inferences can be trusted to be accurate.

The reliability of the test scores of a group of

examinees is commonly described by two statistics:
the reliability coefficient and the standard error of
measurement (SEM). The reliability coefficient is
the correlation between the scores those examinees
get (or would get) on two independent replications
of the measurement process. The reliability
coefficient is intended to indicate the
stability/consistency of the candidates test scores,
and is often expressed as a number ranging from
.00 to 1.00. A value of .00 indicates total lack of
stability, while a value of 1.00 indicates perfect
stability. The reliability coefficient can be interpreted
as the correlation between the scores examinees
would earn on two forms of the test that had no
questions in common.

One type of evidence for the validity of test scores is

called content-related evidence of validity. It is
usually based upon the judgments of a set of experts
who evaluate the extent to which the content of the
test is appropriate for the inferences to be made
about the examinees knowledge. The committee
that developed the CLEP examination in College
Mathematics selected the content of the test to
reflect the content of the general College
Mathematics curriculum and courses at most
colleges, as determined by a curriculum survey.
Since colleges differ somewhat in the content of the
courses they offer, faculty members should, and are
urged to, review the content outline and the sample
questions to ensure that the test covers core content
appropriate to the courses at their college.
Another type of evidence for test-score validity is
called criterion-related evidence of validity. It
consists of statistical evidence that examinees who
score high on the test also do well on other measures
of the knowledge or skills the test is being used to
measure. Criterion-related evidence for the validity
of CLEP scores can be obtained by studies
comparing students CLEP scores to the grades they
received in corresponding classes, or other measures
of achievement or ability. At a colleges request,
CLEP and the College Board conduct these studies,
called Admitted Class Evaluation Service, or ACES,
for individual colleges that meet certain criteria.
Please contact CLEP for more information.

Statisticians use an internal-consistency measure to

calculate the reliability coefficients for the CLEP
exam. This involves looking at the statistical
relationships among responses to individual
multiple-choice questions to estimate the reliability
of the total test score. The formula used is known as
Kuder-Richardson 20, or KR-20, which is equivalent
to a more general formula called coefficient alpha.
The SEM is an index of the extent to which students
obtained scores tend to vary from their true scores.1
It is expressed in score units of the test. Intervals
extending one standard error above and below the
true score for a test-taker will include 68 percent of
the test-takers obtained scores. Similarly, intervals
extending two standard errors above and below the
true score will include 95 percent of the test-takers
obtained scores. The standard error of measurement
is inversely related to the reliability coefficient. If the
reliability of the test were 1.00 (if it perfectly
measured the candidates knowledge), the standard
error of measurement would be zero.
Scores on the computer-based CLEP examination
in College Mathematics are estimated to have a
reliability of 0.90. The standard error of
measurement is 3.69 scaled-score points.
1

True score is a hypothetical concept indicating what an individuals score on a

test would be if there were no errors introduced by the measuring process. It is
thought of as the hypothetical average of an infinite number of obtained scores
for a test-taker with the effect of practice removed.

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