Reading, PA – April 3 – Ninety-five Reading High School seniors earned a head start on college by excelling on their College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) in Spanish I and Spanish II exam. Seventy-nine seniors earned the maximum number of credits possible by taking the exam,12 credits, and 16 students earned 6 credits. 

Students completing the exam can now carry these CLEP credits into an associate degree program at RACC and/or onto many bachelor’s degree programs at colleges and universities. The twelve CLEP credits save $2,000 in RACC tuition and hold even greater tuition savings at state, nearly $5,000, and state affiliated, over $7,000.  

“Reading Area Community College is a great partner in supporting student success,” says Mr. Waldo Alvarado, Reading School District’s Director of Diversity and Equity. “Our Spanish-speaking students who earned college credit through this unique program with RACC are provided a sense of cultural pride and confidence as multilingual individuals.”

RACC waives the test proctoring fees, provides campus tours, and admission orientation sessions. Reading School District pays for the students’ CLEP exams and provides the transportation to RACC’s campus.  This unique and successful partnership program with the Reading School District and Reading Area Community College is in its third year. 

According to the College Board:

• Financial aid recipients earning Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) credit had dramatically higher bachelor’s degree completion rates (72%) than their non-PLA counterparts (16%). 
• More than 50% of PLA students earned a degree in seven years, compared to 21% of non-PLA students. 
• Hispanic PLA students earned bachelor’s degrees at a rate that was almost eight times higher than that of Hispanic non-PLA students. 
• 91% of CLEP test takers said CLEP made a difference in helping them to complete their degrees. 

For more information on the College Board visit clep.collegeboard.org/about-clep.