Testing: It's Not All Academic

Learning doesn’t happen solely within the walls of a classroom. Thanks to on-thejob military training, military experience, reading and independent study, many servicemembers have acquired knowledge outside traditional means. The problem? How to obtain college credit for that life experience. The solution? The nationally recognized DANTES DSST Program is a cost-effective, time-saving option that allows military personnel to receive college credits for learning acquired in nontraditional ways.

The original mission of DANTES included the directive to support the off-duty voluntary education programs of the Department of Defense. One of the primary missions of DANTES is to sponsor the administration of a wide range of voluntary education programs for military personnel. The DSST exam is one of the key examination programs assisting servicemembers in meeting their educational goals.

The DSST program (DANTES Standardized Subjects Test) was developed as a way to measure, evaluate and meet the educational needs of service personnel. Since the disestablishment of the United States Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) in 1974, DANTES was responsible for contracting the development of DSST exams by Education Testing Service until Chauncey Group International assumed this responsibility in 2002. The name was rebranded by Chauncey, to simply “DSST.” Thus, the former name, DANTES Standardized Subjects Test was retired.

In 2004, Prometric acquired Chauncey Group International and assumed sole responsibility and ownership.

Prometric retained the brand of DSST and continues its contractual relationship with DANTES, in which Prometric delivers the exam on bases. Previously, the exams cost $70 each, and that price went up to $80 as of November 1. DANTES pays Prometric for each test that is delivered, and through DoD funding, offers the tests free to military servicemembers. DANTES has authorized upfront funding of DSST test fees for eligible military and civilian examinees at national test centers that administer the Internet-based DSST tests. DANTES does not fund paper-based DSST testing at national test centers.

“We do work very closely with DANTES,” said Jean Steinke, Prometric’s DSST senior product manager. “Between our organization and DANTES, we reach out to servicemembers in a number of different ways; through their publications, conferences, through TCO’s [test control officers on base] who are kind of like advisers you would find at a college or university.”

The American Council on Education (ACE) reviews and evaluates the DSST for college credit. Today, the DSST program is provided on more than 560 military bases in paper-based or computer-based format at on-base and on-campus national center facilities worldwide. Over 1,900 institutions award credit for DSST and over 1,700 deliver the exams. More than 85,400 recommended credits were awarded to active duty military personnel so far in 2008.

According to Barry Nelson, DANTES Examinations program manager, “DSSTs provide a benefit to the military by allowing personnel to further their educational goals while in the service— whether they are deployed or located on a military base. Military personnel combine DSSTs with other military training and experience to earn a degree, get promoted and to advance a post-military career. More than 56,500 DSSTs were administered to military personnel and spouses this year alone.”

There are 37 unique DSST exams. Prometric is responsible for developing and refreshing the content of each exam, which is a continuous cycle. A maximum of 10 exams are refreshed each year. There are four exams currently being developed that will be released in 2009. DANTES has no relationship with the content of the exams; it is solely Prometric’s territory. The company employs a variety of “information scientists” who are experts in the exam topic, to contribute fair and accurate new exam questions. Prometric goes through a process with ACE at least every three years, in which the content of the exams is reviewed and deemed suitable for academic credit.

“The content is something that we own and that we take very seriously as a corporation,” Steinke said.

The DSST tests have proven popular among servicemembers trying to obtain college credits. In 2007, Prometric delivered 84,000 tests. From a volume standpoint, Steinke says they are growing by about 9 percent this year. Based on the economy, she claims DSST exams are becoming more popular.

“People cannot necessarily use their money to go back to school. Going to a brick-and-mortar institution, you sit in class for 6 months, and it may cost you thousands of dollars to earn three credits,” Steinke said. “The DSST exams are a more cost-effective way to get credits right now.”

A servicemember is awarded three college credits by ACE for each passed exam. Of the 37 test titles, the five most popular are Ethics in America, Introduction to Computing, Principles of Supervision, Principles of Public Speaking, and Here’s to Your Health. The five least popular include Western Europe Since 1945, Art of the Western World, Foundations of Education, Physical Geology and An Introduction to the Modern Middle East.

Each exam must be completed within two hours and consists of multiple choice questions only. The one exception to this rule is the Principles of Public Speaking exam, which has an additional audio component, in which the student must deliver a three-minute speech recorded on tape. The questions on all exams are also randomized, so that students seated next to each other will not have the same questions in the same order to prohibit cheating.

For a fee, Prometric offers practice exams on its Website to help people familiarize themselves with the test format and allay any testing anxiety. Just recently, Prometric made the decision to lower the cost of those practice exams from $19.99 each to only $5.00 per practice exam. The corporation has about a dozen of its DSST exams available as practice tests online. Their plan is to add more practice exams as each test is reviewed and the content is refreshed.

“The idea is … if we can enable a confident behavior and a sense of ‘I know this’ or ‘I need to study that,’ it is better for everybody,” Steinke said.

DANTES offers an Internet-version of the exams. The Internet versions of the DSST include all 37 test titles except for Principles of Public Speaking, which is available only in paper form. Students receive instant score results. This enables them to more quickly determine which traditional college courses to sign up for. DANTES is increasing the number of on-base national test centers (NTCs) offering DSST exams by Internet. In 2008, 20 additional test centers were established on military installations, bringing the total to 95 on-base NTCs worldwide.

“More than 20,600 computer-based DSST exams were administered,” Nelson said. “This resulted in a 34 percent increase in DSST administrations over 2007. Computer-based testing reduces administrative work associated with paperbased test administration and improves test security, and students receive instant score results.”

Current military computer platforms and firewalls cannot support DSST computer-based administrations. As an alternative solution to testing on bases, DANTES and Prometric turned to the on-base education institutions to offer DSSTs on commercial computers not affected by these limitations. Education Centers interested in establishing an onbase national test center coordinate with a local or on-base institution (college or university), the base commanding officer and DANTES.

At the on-base NTC, the institution is responsible for providing staff, computers, technical support, and Internet connection. The base provides the room/ space for the computer lab. It is a winwin situation for the institution if they already have a computer lab on base, as it maximizes the use of their computers and generates funding to maintain and operate their facility. Servicemembers pay nothing when testing on base.

To further their educational goals, military spouses have the option to take DSSTs at DANTES-sponsored test sites or at on-base and on-campus national test centers on a space-available basis. Nelson said, “DANTES currently funds the DSST exam fee for spouses of Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Coast Guard (active and Reserve).”

It should also be noted that DANTES supports other tests that also grant college credit for military personnel. Like DSST, the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and Excelsior College Exams (ECE) consist of a series of examinations that test an individual’s college level knowledge gained through military classes or technical assignments or through personal reading, travel and intellectual curiosity. Each academic institution determines the acceptable score and the amount of credit granted for each examination. CLEP general and subject examinations are accepted for credit by more than 2,900 colleges and universities. ECE exams are developed by Excelsior College and accepted by colleges and universities in the United States and around the world. In 2008, over 4,800 ECE and more than 72,700 CLEPS were administered to military personnel in all branches of service. Your academic adviser or TCO can help you decide which tests best meet your needs. ♦

For more information on the DSST exams, visit: http://www.getcollegecreditcom/07military.html