Preparing for Freshman Year: The College Placement Tests 

Find Out of You’ll Get Tested During Orientation 

 

As we are going though the pandemic, many things change every day. However, one of the constant things is the college placement test. This fall during orientation many students will be required to take the college placement tests, independent of the course delivery method selected for the fall – in-person or online.

Schools use placement tests to determine if freshmen are ready for college level Math and English. Therefore, freshmen with SAT/ACT scores and sometimes GPAs below specific thresholds will typically get tested during orientation.

While not all schools use placement tests, the vast of them majority do.

This post focuses on college placement tests, who needs to take them, and how to prepare for them.

Here is what you should do next:

  1. Check out the cutoff scores for the college placement test for your institution. Go to your college/university’s website and look for the college placement test cutoff score. See how your scores fare in regards to these cutoffs. If you scored above these thresholds you’re good to go and don’t need to read the rest of the post. If you scored below – keep reading :).
  2. Freshman Orientation. If you need to take the placement test you’ll be taking it during orientation. There is a point during orientation where students who need to take the test are provided with the location and time of the test. This fall some college placement tests will be administered online.
  3. Math, Reading, & English. Typically the test assesses college readiness in areas such as Math, Reading, and English. Based on your scores you may need to take the test in only one area.
  4. Fill in the Gaps. Based on your placement test scores you may be required to complete certain courses or co-requisites to fill in the gaps. These may be called remedial or developmental education courses. Some schools may require you to complete the remediation/developmental courses prior to enrolling in college level courses. Co-requisites are a newer approach to remediation. Under the co-requisite model you will be allowed to register for college level courses, such as college Math, but will be required to complete several remediation modules while you are going through the course.

College placement tests have pros and cons associated with them. College placement tests ensure that students have a good chance to pass college level Math or English. Students that score above the thresholds are ready for college level work. Additionally, remediation ensures that gaps are identified and filled in a systematic way through targeted activities. In this manner, students are more likely to successful in college level courses.

On the other hand, remedial courses can carry significant costs:

  • The price tag. Remedial education courses, may have credit hours associated with them. That means that you will need to pay for them by credit, just like for every other college level course in terms of tuition and fees. These credits will not count towards the academic program/major requirements. In extreme cases students can use their financial aid funds to pay for these courses and may exhaust these funds before attempting college level courses.
  • Delays in graduation. Studies showed that the more time students spend in remedial education the less likely they are to graduate. Therefore, remedial education courses may delay graduation and sometimes they may even prevent it because students get discouraged and drop out.

Therefore, college placement tests deserve a lot of attention. Here are some strategies on how to deal with them if you have to take the tests this fall:

  • Identify the test. Many colleges and universities use existing tests for college placement. Some of these tests are PERT, ACCUPLACER, COMPASS, etc. Other institutions use their own tests. Look on the college/university’s website to find out what type of tests they use.
  • Prepare for the test. Once you figured out the test start preparing for it. Some of these tests have study guides and practice sheets so look for them online or at the local library. If the college/university uses an in-house test see if you can find any information and practice tests on the institution’s website.
  • Save Time & Money. If you master the college placement test and score above the thresholds you’ll be saving yourself a significant amount of time and money on college.

College placement tests are an important aspect of college. They have been used by many colleges and universities because of the disconnect between high school and college standards. Performance on these tests may carry significant consequences since the outcomes associated with these tests i.e. remedial education, can increase the overall cost of college and can cause delays graduation. Students who are aware of  and ace college placement tests are more likely to complete college in a timely manner without incurring more debt than necessary.