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CLEP^®

1. Pay close attention to directions. Listen carefully to any directions given by the test administrator. Read the on-screen instructions before you begin to answer the questions.
2. Pace yourself. Keep an eye on the clock and the timing that is built into the testing software. You have the option of turning the clock on or off at any time. As you proceed, make sure that you are not working too slowly. You should have answered at least half of the questions in a section when half of the time for that section has passed.
3. Read the entire question, and all the answer choices, before answering a question. Instructions usually tell you to select the best answer. Sometimes one answer choice is partially correct, but another option is better. Read all the answers before you choose one, even if the first or second answer choice looks good to you.
4. Read and consider every question. Questions that look complicated at first glance may not actually be so difficult once you have read them carefully.
5. Do not spend too much time on any one question. If you don't know the answer after you've considered it briefly, go on to the next question. Mark that question, using the mark tool at the bottom of the screen, and go back to review it later.
6. Watch for key words in test questions.
   

   all always but except every

   generally however may must necessary

   never none not often only

   perhaps rarely seldom sometimes usually

   When a question or answer option contains words such as "always," "every," "only," "never," and "none," there can be no exceptions to the answer you choose. Using words such as "often," "rarely," "sometimes," and "generally," indicates that there may be some exceptions to the answer.

7. Make educated guesses. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. Therefore, you should guess, even if you do not know an answer. If you have some knowledge of the question and are able to eliminate one or more of the answer choices as wrong, your chance of getting the right answer is improved.
8. Do not waste your time looking for flaws in question wording or patterns in correct answers. CLEP puts a great deal of effort into developing valid, reliable, and fair exams. CLEP test development committees are composed of college faculty members who are experts in the subjects covered by the exams. They make every effort to ensure that the questions are not ambiguous, that they have only one correct answer, and that they cover college-level topics. They do not intentionally include trick questions.

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