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General Accuplacer Background Information

General/History: In use since 1985, the College Board describes Accuplacer as the first and only computer-adaptive placement testing program available online. In addition to being adaptive, unlike the SAT and ACT, students are given unlimited time to complete the computer delivered material. Much like the SAT in relation to subject matter, in the area of language arts they offer a reading test, as well as a “Sentence Skills”, and written essay test (“ACCUPLACER: An Accurate”). However, there are also tests specially formulated for ESL students. “Computer-adaptive” means that the difficulty of test questions is determined by the student’s performance.

How many institutions use Accuplacer tests?

According to the College Board, “More than 1,300 secondary and postsecondary institutions select the College Board’s ACCUPLACER to administer over seven million exams per year” (ACCUPLACER: Revealing).

What is the Accuplacer Reading assessment like? The test consists of 20 questions of two types, which are as follows:

    * “a reading passage followed by a question based on the text. Both short and long passages are provided,” and questions asked can be classified as “explicit statements related to the main idea, explicit statements related to a secondary idea, application, and inference.”
    * “two sentences followed by a question about the relationship between these two sentences. The question may ask, for example, if the statement in the second sentence supports that in the first, if it contradicts it, or if it repeats the same information” (“ACCUPLACER Tests”).

What is the Accuplacer Sentence Skills assessment like? There are 20 Sentence Skills questions of two types, which are as follows:

    * “sentence correction questions that require an understanding of sentence structure. These questions ask [the student] to choose the most appropriate word or phrase to substitute for the underlined portion of the sentence.”
    * “construction shift questions,” which “ask that a sentence be rewritten according to the criteria shown while maintaining essentially the same meaning as the original sentence.”

In addition, “questions are also classified according to the skills being tested. Some questions deal with the logic of the sentence, others with whether or not the answer is a complete sentence, and still others with the relationship between coordination and subordination” (“ACCUPLACER Tests”).

What is the Accuplacer “WritePlacer” essay test like?

What do prompts look like?

How is the Accuplacer e-write essay section scored? Your writing sample will be scored on the basis of how effectively it communicates a whole message to the readers for the stated purpose. Your score will based on your ability to express, organize, and support your opinions and ideas, not the position you take on the essay topic. The following five characteristics of writing will be considered:

    * Focus—The clarity with which you maintain your main idea or point of view
    * Organization—The clarity with which you structure your response and present a logical sequence of ideas
    * Development and Support—The extent to which you elaborate on your ideas and the extent to which you present supporting details
    * Sentence Structure—The effectiveness of your sentence structure
    * Mechanical Conventions—The extent to which your writing is free of errors in usage and mechanics

How much does it cost? Because the tests are administered by post secondary schools, costs vary by institution. For example, Midwestern State University charges $29 for all (reading, writing, and math elements) tests or $10 per sub-test; The University of Texas at El Paso administers tests free of charge initially, and charges $20 for Writing Test retakes and $10 for Reading Test retakes; Northeastern Junior College charges $15 for all tests, or $5 per test (“Accuplacer Exam,” “Student Assessment . . . Accuplacer,” “Student Assessment . . . Retakes,” “Accuplacer Testing”).

Bibliography

“Accuplacer Exam.” Midwestern State University Testing Center. MSU. 2011. Web. 1 May 2011. http://testing.mwsu.edu/accuplacer.asp

“Student Assessment and Testing: Accuplacer.” The University of Texas at El Paso. UTEP. N.d. Web. 1 May 2011. http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=5425

“Student Assessment and Testing: Accuplacer Retakes.” The University of Texas at El Paso. UTEP. N.d. Web. 1 May 2011. http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=6193

“Accuplacer Testing.” Northeastern Junior College. NJC. 2011. Web. 1 May 2011. http://www.njc.edu/CLC/Accuplacer-Testing

“ACCUPLACER Tests.” College Board: Inspiring Minds. The College Board. 2011. Web. 1 May 2011. http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/accuplacer-tests.html

“ACCUPLACER: An accurate student placement test delivered over the Internet.” College Board: Inspiring Minds. College Board. 2011. Web. http://professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/placement/accuplacer?CSRF=27IO-3X51-VFP3-VD4L-41O3-24LW-FM5W-YQBC

WritePlacer Guide with Sample Essays. College Board. 2008. PDF. 1 May 2011. http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/accuplacer-writeplacer-sample-essays.pdf