Test-Out Credits

Test-Out Credits for Future & Current Students
Students within the program can participate in a number of ways to acquire test-out credit for other college-level courses. Test-out credit is not used to compute your ISU GPA, but the credit:

  • Becomes part of your official academic record
  • May be applied toward your graduation requirements

Future Students

  • AP: We urge students to participate in as many AP courses as are available to them. Generally, plan on taking the AP exam. It is not necessary to take the English composition and the Math AP exams, however you may want the test-out credits to apply to your program before you complete the higher level course.
  • Foreign Language: Whether or not you wish to pursue studying a foreign language further, you can potentially receive 4, 8, even 16 college credits for what you already know, or will learn before you leave high school. See the World Languages & Cultures site for details on testing.
  • International Baccalaureate Program: This program offers college preparatory courses at some high schools in the United States and abroad. Refer to the International Baccalaureate website for more details.

Current Students

  • CLEP: Iowa State participates with the College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). The program is administered by the Student Counseling Service. Refer to the Testing Services links on the Student Counseling Services website for details.
  • Software Engineering 185 Test-Out: The Software Engineering Program offers a test-out for the S E 185 course each semester. The test-out is offered the Thursday before the beginning of the semester.
  • Departmental Test-outs: Many departments offer test-outs for some of their courses. These test-outs are usually offered at the beginning of a semester. You will need to consult with an individual department for details. Some departments, like Mathematics, Computer Science and English, have test-out information on their website. The Department of English also offers test-out information for Speech (SpCM 212) on their website.
  • English Placement: If you are placed into English 250 and pass with a “C” or better, you get three credits of test-out for English 150. Refer to the TESL/Applied Linguistics website for further information about English requirements and placement tests at Iowa State. Also, consult the Intensive English & Orientation Program (IEOP) for information about acclimating and succeeding at an English-speaking university.
  • Math Placement: If you are placed into Math 166 or higher based on your math placement results, you can get test-out credit for Math 165 (Calculus I).

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