The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support (DANTES) has credit by examination tests called DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST). These were originally created so that the US Military’s enlisted soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines could earn college credit while serving on active duty in locations that lacked traditional colleges.
Before the internet, service members had to rely on very limited on-base educational opportunities. Frequent changes in duty stations made it difficult to establish residency. The DSSTs helped to correct this problem by enabling military students to speed up their degree programs by earning college credit by proving their knowledge via testing.
DSST Can Help Anyone Earn College Credit
After DANTES sub-contracted the DSST program out to Prometric, the DSST became available to non-military personnel. These tests are very much like the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and they are accepted by many colleges for credit provided the minimum cutoff score is achieved. Also like the CLEP program, most of the exams cover courses normally taught at the freshman and sophomore level. This enables students to test out of large portions of their first two years of college.
Students desiring to use the DSST program should consult the Prometric website to find the location of the nearest testing site. The cost for each DSST is $80.00 but many colleges and local testing sites often charge a local fee of $15 to $25. Each examination offers the examinee the opportunity to earn three credit hours at traditional colleges and universities provided the examinee has achieved a high enough score. Each test has a score, established by a formal validating process that correlates to a passing grade.
One aspect of the DSST that is different from the CLEP examination is that DSST scores have been scaled. Scores above the passing score are eligible for letter grades of B and A if the college or university participates in that manner. One prominent distance learning college, Excelsior College, does participate and it allows students to develop a Grade Point Average (GPA) through testing.
Credit by Examination Can Help Online Degrees Too
There are 37 examinations in college subject areas that are comparable to the final or end-of-course examinations in undergraduate courses. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends 3 semester hours of credit per test. There is at least one DSST in the math, science, history, and business areas. There are also a number of examinations that will fulfill general education requirements. There are enough history exams, when combined with the CLEP history exams, to meet the majority of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts in History from Excelsior College of New York.
DSST tests are approved by the American Council on Education (ACE); therefore, test scores can be accepted and used for credit at over 1,500 colleges and universities nationwide. Some colleges require a higher score than the ACE recommended score or limit the amount of credit-by-examination credits that can be applied toward a degree or that they will accept. Students should check with the university's admissions office to determine any limits that the university has toward credit by examination.
The DSST examination program is a great way for students and working adults to accelerate their path to a degree.
Mark Butler - Mark Butler is a Navy veteran and the author of The Coffee Break Guide for Veterans Seeking Federal Employment.
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