FAQ: Which Is the Easiest CLEP Exam?

When people hear I earned my degree strictly through alternative and online methods, there are a few regular questions to follow.

Usually people are quite curious as to which school I graduated from (Thomas Edison State University), if I’ve had any trouble getting a job with this type of degree (empathetic no), and for people already familiar with CLEPs and alternative credit options, a regular follow-up question is, “Which CLEP was easiest?!”

The truth is, I cringe a little when I hear this question.

Not because you shouldn’t ask; I don’t mind your curiosity at all. However, asking which CLEP exam is easiest is like asking me which ice cream flavor is the best in the world.

I have some ideas in my head which ice cream flavor is best, but I’m a huge chocolate, mint, and peanut butter fan, so if you hate all of those flavors you probably won’t agree with whatever choice I make.

It’s subjective!

Reading is my first love. I’ve read some serious classic fiction since I was seven or eight years old, and I started devouring non-fiction (such as auto-biographies) when I was about thirteen.

I’ve also done a bit of writing, always wanting to author my own books since I was a little girl. That said, the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP was the easiest exam in my opinion and I scored higher on it than on any other exam.

If reading and reading comprehension are your strengths, as well, you may find this to be the “easiest” CLEP!

Other than literature, I’ve also really enjoyed history for as long as I can remember.

Maybe the interest stems from my dad as he majored in history in college; maybe history is similar enough to a good story that it plays into my preference for reading. Either way, the US History I CLEP was also one of the easiest exams for me.

Finally, in my later days of CLEP study, I took several extra exams that were not included in the Dual Credit at Home study plans to supplement my degree with elective credits.

Two of those extra exams I took were Principles of Marketing and Principles of Management. Even though I had little to no personal experience in fields like marketing or management, I was actually able to study for both of these utilizing only free CLEP study resources on the internet (like Quizlet, Free-CLEP-Prep, YouTube, and Wikipedia)!

Because I found them easy to study for and very simple in content, I would also consider both of these some of the “easiest” CLEP exams!

In each of these four exams, I feel that my background skills played a huge part in determining which I felt were easy!

It will be subjective for you, too.

I am not a science person! Scientific subjects have always been my weakest grades in school, and while I like studying things like biology, the information is just harder for me to really process and retain.

I have a friend, though, who loves chemistry! She knows so, so much already and literally studies chemistry for fun in her free time.

While I’m confident I could not pass the Chemistry CLEP exam if I sat down and tried it today, my friend definitely could! It would be torturous for me but it would probably be “easy” for her!

If I hadn’t been a big reader, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature would not have been an easy CLEP! I have good friends who have failed this one and had to retake it—and that isn’t because they are incompetent or incapable!

They did not have the same background and skill that I had in reading and reading comprehension, so it was much harder and required more work from them as the Chemistry exam would from me.

Like choosing the best ice cream flavor in the world, I think we can all agree that there isn’t going to be a widespread “easiest” CLEP exam because we’re all unique test takers!

We just have to remember that skills like these can be learned, and with hard work, we’re capable of anything—and any CLEP exam—we put our minds to!