Human Growth and Development

About this exam

The exam is organised around theories and evidence rather than stories. You are expected to know the major developmental theorists, what each one claimed, and the research methods used to test those claims.

Coverage is broad: biological and perceptual development, language, intelligence, personality and emotion, family and social context, schooling and work, and developmental disorders. No single area dominates, so wide familiarity beats deep specialisation.

It is a good first CLEP exam for students entering the helping professions, because the vocabulary reappears throughout later coursework.

Topic breakdown

Topic weights published by College Board.

How to study for this exam

• Make a one-line summary for each major theorist, including Piaget, Erikson, Vygotsky, Bowlby and Kohlberg.
• Learn the difference between cross-sectional, longitudinal and sequential research designs. Methodology questions appear reliably.
• Sort milestones by life stage so you can answer questions that name an age and ask what is typical.
• Practise questions that describe a child or adult in a scenario and ask which theory best explains the behaviour.

How the practice test works

• Choose all units or a single unit to focus on.
• Set the number of questions and a time limit, or practise untimed.
• Filter by difficulty to warm up or push yourself.
• Retake as many times as you like — every attempt is free.
• Your recent sessions stay on this device so you can review them.

Common questions