WHAT’S ON IT
“The Analyzing and Interpreting Literature exam covers material usually taught in a general undergraduate course in literature. Although the exam does not require familiarity with specific works, it does assume that test takers have read widely and perceptively in poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. The questions are based on passages supplied in the test. These passages have been selected so that no previous experience with them is required to answer the questions. The passages are taken primarily from American and British literature.” This information is directly from https://clep.collegeboard.org/composition-and-literature/analyzing-and-interpreting-literature.
NUMBER OF QUESTIONS
There are 80 multiple choice questions to be answered within 90 minutes.
NUMBER OF COLLEGE CREDITS
This exam can earn a student 3 college credits and serve as 1 high school credit (1 year). See Locating College CLEP Lists and College CLEP Policies to help you learn about CLEP exams your target college may accept.
PASSING SCORE
This exam is pass/fail. A passing score is 50. Read CLEP Exam Scoring.
DIFFICULTY RANKING
This exam is ranked easier than most of the others. My daughters and their friends passed this CLEP in the eighth grade. Separate websites list this exam as easier than most. See CLEP Difficulty Ranking based on our experiences as middle and high school test takers.
STUDY PLAN
My kids and their two friends took this exam after taking a high school level course. See CLEP Prep: Different Study Plans and Sample CLEP Year. Well-read older students could probably pass this exam with review materials alone.
GRADE TAKEN
My students have studied and taken this exam in the 8th grade. See Which CLEP When: How We Tracked from Middle School to Graduation.
RESOURCES USED
My daughters took a high school level literary analysis course in the eighth grade. One took IEW Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis at a co-op. The other took Ron Paul’s online Literary Analysis course.
I found lists of literary terms on the internet and made flashcards of them on Quizlet.
This exam requires an understanding of poetry too. We used Poetry Primer Imitation in Writing to learn the parts of poems.
The Instantcert questions provided an invaluable source of prose, poems, and dramas to analyze. I did not think the REA CLEP guide was especially helpful except for the practice tests. See below for helpful resources.
- IEW Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis (high school course)
- Ron Paul online Literary Analysis (high school course alternative to above))
- Poetry Primer Imitation in Writing (high school poetry short course)
- Instantcert online review questions (excellent for final review)
- REA CLEP Study Guide (provides three practice tests)
- CLEP Official Study Guide (provides 1 practice test. Available at public libraries)
- Quizlet (find my 215 terms under creator DocPaula)
FINAL PREPARATION
See CLEP Prep Boot Camp: The Final Weeks and Determining CLEP Exam Readiness.
OUR STRIKE-OUT ON THIS EXAM
There are two things that I think increase the probability of passing this CLEP in the early teen years: being an avid reader and being female. My daughters were avid readers, so they had developed the skill to interpret stories. My son, however, was not able to pass this exam in the eight grade using the same resources. Although he was an ambitious reader like his sisters, he lacked the ability to read between the lines of the stories. His 15 year-old male friend passed this exam using the same resources, however, so I’m not saying that boys should not attempt the exam. If in doubt, take a practice CLEP exam to determine readiness.
I think girls simply have a better ability to understand the nuances of human relationships, a skill necessary to pass this exam at an earlier age. Many of the reading selections were about relationships. Such things were an enigma for my 13 year-old son.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
In retrospect, I would have my kids read Percy Jackson stories in middle school to learn the classic mythology tales. Many of the excerpts on the practice tests are from the Greek and Roman mythology classics. I’m not sure if there were any on the actual exam, however.
In regards to gaining knowledge and wisdom about human relationships, I don’t think that anything can help a child who is naive about such matters except for time and real life experience itself. Taking this exam in the later teens might work better for some boys which, of course, is simply my opinion on the matter.
USING THESE CREDITS ON THE HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT
If your student studies and attempts this exam, her efforts can be recorded as 1 high school credit (1 year) on the high school transcript. This is a huge benefit because finding four English courses for the high school transcript can be a challenge. The NC government high schools require four years of English; it’s hard to get those in the homeschool realm. If you are looking for a quick-fix English credit, this one’s for you. These credits can also hush up the homeschool critics in your life, which may, in fact, be your own student.
The credit can also be used in combination with 1/2 credit English courses to create an honors English credit. Literary analysis pairs well with prose, poetry, and drama. A great combination is literary analysis + survey of literature. With the CLEP, this course could be recorded as Honors English I, II, etc.
See CLEP on the High School Transcript for ideas on how to record these credits. Also read Determining Grades for CLEP Courses. Finally, if you need help on how to calculate a credit read Transcripts: How to Determine Course Credits.
USING THESE CREDITS AT COLLEGE
Besides serving as a high school English credit, the three credits from this exam can be rolled over to the community college and contribute to an associate’s degree. These credits were accepted at our community college. The credits may or may not be accepted at a four-year college. If your state has an articulation agreement like North Carolina, then these credits may transfer to a state school that does not normally accept them upon completion of an associate’s degree at a community college. For more information about this type of agreement read NC’s Articulation Agreement and CLEP Credits.
WHAT THIS EXAM PAIRS WELL WITH
This CLEP exam pairs up well with the American Literature CLEP and English Literature CLEP exams. Half of both exams involve analyzing and interpreting literature selections.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON THIS EXAM
Overall, we found that this CLEP exam does not require nearly the amount of preparation time that the others did. For one, it does not require a college textbook. Mostly, it requires the ability to interpret passages using common sense obtained from reading and living life.
Older students may be able to pass it without taking an official literary analysis course. Before attempting this though, brush up on literary and poetry terms, and take several practice tests to determine readiness.
My experience with CLEP testing. I have coached my kids and their friends through 16 different CLEP exams over a period of 9 years. Collectively, they have passed 39 CLEP exams and earned over 159 college credits. I’m still coaching my younger son through his CLEP journey. My high school graduates have received full-ride merit scholarships.
Musing: a period of reflection or thought. As such this post reflects my thoughts, opinions, and experiences on the topic. The choice to home school and the methods you choose are yours to determine.
