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Rio Salado College offers CLEP testing at several locations across the Valley. This past spring, Rio’s Testing Department started an exciting partnership with four high schools (Central High School, Franklin Police and Fire High School, Alhambra High School, and Espiritu High School) to host a series of CLEP-A-Thon group testing sessions. These high-energy group testing sessions empowered more than 100 high school students to earn up to 16 college credits each.
What Is CLEP?
CLEP stands for College-Level Examination Program. The CLEP exam is a cost-effective option for students who want to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of subjects. The benefit for taking CLEP exams is that students receive college credit for prior knowledge! Earning credits for prior learning is a great way to save time and money. The CollegeBoard has found that students who’ve completed CLEP exams tend to outperform students who haven’t and showed higher rates of academic success and early graduation.
There are 33 CLEP exams in five subject areas, covering topics that range from American history and psychology to economics, humanities, literature, STEM, business, and world languages. CLEP exams are approximately 90 minutes long and are mostly composed of multiple-choice questions, though some exams may also include essay questions and other kinds of test questions.
CLEP-A-Thon Highlights
Five successful group testing sessions were held throughout April and May 2025, providing students with the unique opportunity to earn college credits in the Spanish language CLEP exam. Overall more than 1.600 credits were earned during these CLEP-A-Thon sessions.
🎓 Looking Ahead
The success of this spring's CLEP-A-Thon has set the stage for even more opportunities in the future. Rio Salado will continue collaborating with high schools across the Valley to offer students a head start on their college journey. By participating in CLEP testing, students can save time, reduce college expenses, and gain a competitive edge in their academic pursuits. Help us spread the word to students and educators that may be interested in this opportunity!
Interested In Taking CLEP?
CLEP isn't just for high school students! Several different groups are eligible to take these exams:
- Adults returning to school
- Military service members
- Traditional-age college students
- Home-schooled students
- Speakers of world languages looking to fulfill their language requirements
- International students who want to translate their overseas courses into credit at U.S. colleges
- Applicants for master’s degree programs looking to fulfill undergraduate prerequisites
- Professionals wanting to advance in their careers
There is a fee required in order to take CLEP exams. Participants must bring one valid government-issued ID with both a photo and a signature on it. Study resources for each exam are available on the CLEP site. Participants who need to retake a CLEP exam must wait three months before taking that specific exam again.
Register, order and pay for your exam at https://clep.collegeboard.org/. Once you have your order number bring it in to one of the Rio Salado Testing Office that administer the CLEP exam:
- Communiversity at Queen Creek
- Rio Testing at Surprise
- Rio Salado College at Luke
- Rio Testing at Tempe
- Rio Testing at Thomas
- Rio Testing at Southern
There is a $35.00 Rio Salado College administration fee that is paid on the day of the test.