High School CLEP® Test Taking, Dual Enrollment, and College Outcomes

In recent years, several states and districts have implemented programs and policies that have sparked growth among high school students taking College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP® ) exams to earn college credits, with some states including CLEP in their K-12 accountability structures. In the 2018-19 school year, 22% of CLEP exams taken were taken by high school students. To understand the relationship between earning CLEP exam credit in high school and subsequent college outcomes, the authors compare college outcomes of students who obtain a passing score of 50 or higher on a CLEP exam in high school to students who participate in another early college credit program--dual enrollment (DE)--as well as to students who do not participate in any early credit programs in high school. Matching CLEP exam takers, dual enrollment students, and those without early college credit on race, gender, first-generation status, and SAT® score the authors find find: (1) High school CLEP exam takers who score 50 or higher and matriculate to a four-year college have generally higher retention and graduation rates than a comparable group of DE students. Both CLEP and DE students outperform students without early credit, although CLEP students generally have the highest retention and graduation rates by about 1 percentage point; (2) High school CLEP exam takers who score 50 or higher and begin at a two-year college have higher transfer rates to a four-year college, higher graduation rates, and higher rates of bachelor's degree completion than a comparable group of DE students. Both CLEP and DE students outperform students without early credit, while the CLEP students outperformed the DE students, being more likely to transfer to a four-year institution (about 13 percentage points higher), more likely to graduate within 6 years (12 percentage points higher), and more likely to earn a bachelor's degree (7 percentage points higher); and (3) Among first-generation college-going students and underrepresented students, those earning a CLEP score of 50 or higher have considerably higher graduation and retention rates at colleges as well as higher transfer rates from two-year to four-year colleges than comparable groups of DE students and students without early credit.