Index - Credit by Examination - DANTES

DANTES (Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support) offers credit by examination via a group of standardized tests developed for the voluntary education programs of the U.S. Armed Forces which have now been made available for civilian use. The civilian tests was originaaly administered by the Chauncey Group International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Educational Testing Service which was aquired by Thompson Prometric in 2004.

I'm not a big fan of federal bureaucracy, but I've got to say the Department of Defense did a much better job of administering this program than the current stewards. I'd advise you to think twice before purchasing any optional gee-gaws from them. Good luck finding the appropriate information on their sites, since they move it regularly like a demented grocer determined to lure you into impulse purchases by making you look all over the store for plums. As of this update, civilian testing is administered by Thompson Prometric.

The American Council on Education (ACE) publishes an overview of the DSSTs with their current recommendations for passing scores. The DSST Study Guide is another useful resource, but be aware that it provides full coverage for only 8 of the 37 tests. (Mostly in business.)

Active duty military personnel may also find Servicemember's Guide to a College Degree very useful.

Study guides for currently available college-credit DANTES exams are available through the following links: