Course Overview

The American Government CLEP exam is designed to test the student on material that would typically be covered in an introductory level one semester undergraduate course on the American government and politics. This is considered a fairly challenging exam and requires not just simple rote-memorization of facts, but a solid understanding of political processes and behavior. Carefully studying InstantCert's flashcards and truly understanding the material presented in the questions and explanations--not just memorizing what goes in the blanks--will allow you to pass this exam without any trouble.

Topics Covered in This Course

Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy, and Congress

The major formal and informal institutional arrangements and powers
Structure, policy processes, and outputs
Relationships among these three institutions and links between them and political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion

Federal Courts, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights

Structure and processes of the judicial system with emphasis on the role and influence of the Supreme Court
The development of civil rights and civil liberties by judicial interpretation
The Bill of Rights
Incorporation of the Bill of Rights
Equal protection and due process

Political Parties and Interest Groups

Political parties (including their function, organization, mobilization, historical development, and effects on the political process)
Interest groups (including the variety of activities they typically undertake and their effects on the political process)
Elections (including the electoral process)

Political Beliefs and Behavior

Processes by which citizens learn about politics
Political participation (including voting behavior)
Public opinion
Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders
Political culture (the variety of factors that predispose citizens to differ from one another in terms of their political perceptions, values, attitudes, and activities)
The influence of public opinion on political leaders

Constitutional Underpinnings of American Democracy

Federalism (with attention to intergovernmental relations)
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
Majority rule
Minority rights
Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution
Theories of democracy

Customer Test Results for the American Government CLEP

190 users submitted test results since January, 2009
156 of those users reported a passing score (82%)


The following are a sample of the test results submitted by members who’ve taken the American Government CLEP exam after using InstantCert’s study program. These are unfiltered, unedited results and this list is automatically updated to show the ten most recent results:

September 1, 2010 User  failed with a score of 37 out of 80
August 18, 2010 User  passed with a score of 57 out of 80
August 16, 2010 User  passed with a score of 60 out of 80
August 9, 2010 User  failed with a score of 38 out of 80
August 4, 2010 User  failed with a score of Fail out of 80
July 29, 2010 User  failed with a score of 36 out of 80
July 22, 2010 User  failed with a score of 47 out of 80
July 22, 2010 User  passed with a score of 50 out of 80
July 17, 2010 User  passed with a score of 52 out of 80
July 14, 2010 User  passed with a score of 60 out of 80

Free Sample Of American Government CLEP Questions

Get a taste of the InstantCert study experience with five actual flashcards pulled from our database. Remember, you're not expected to know anything about the subject beforehand. Just read the question, think about what the answer might be (typing it is optional), and then click "Continue" when you're ready to see the answer and explanation.

Question 1 of 5

The president's constitutional power of ________ allows him/her to reject acts of Congress.


Your Answer:  

Related Exams with Overlapping Subject Matter

None of the other CLEP or Dantes exams have significant overlap with the American Government exam.