There are 5 general exams that are worth 6 credits each. The whole series is worth 30 semester hours which is equivalent to a whole year of college.

There are also a number of subject tests that are worth between 3 and 6 hours each covering a wide variety of topics.

The web page is here —> http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html

Understand, these are not easy tests and they require considerable knowledge. You should check with the college of your choice to make certain that they accept the exam you want to take. Some colleges only accept the general exams, some only the subjects, some only accept some exams but not others. Some won’t accept any but most colleges know these tests well and will accept the credit.

There are a couple of other options out there too such as AP, IB, DANTES, and ECE that are well accepted but the CLEP series is probably the most well accepted.

Also, most colleges allow for departmental examinations. This is where you take the final for the course you want credit for and if you pass, you get credit.

There are some people who have completed their whole degree by taking examinations. This is a very difficult prospect though and not one most of us can accomplish.

Happy learning.

You can also take AP (Advanced Placement) tests. These are offered in several subjects (European History, Am. History and Government, Psychology, Calculus, etc.). Generally high school students take these as classes and then test at the end of the year, but perhaps it’s possible to just take them. Most colleges or universities will give you credit for these if you make a high enough score. I believe they cost around $80 – $100 each to take.

Academically, I’m not sure it’s always such a great idea.

If you’re university administrates it, is a great way to get credit for certain lower level courses while costing only ~$70 (at my university) for the exams.

Often, for degrees, you may get credit for the course, but still have to take a higher level course of the same subject for a letter grade if the CLEP’d class is part of your major degree requirements.

Like intermediate algebra, college algebra, calculus I, calculus II, biology, chemistry, maybe physics I, etc.

You can’t test out of your upper classes, because part of the degree program is interacting with the faculty and such.