Accuplacer Exam Review

If you're applying for admission to a college or university for the first time, the school may require you take the Accuplacer exam. Although you're probably familiar with other entrance exams and standardized tests, there's a good chance you haven't heard of the Accuplacer. Although not as popular as other well known exams, it's gaining in popularity with higher education institutions. They use your results on the Accuplacer in determining what level of college classes to place you in. Colleges and universities want to see their incoming students succeed, and so they don't want them signing up for classes they're not ready to handle. At the same time, they don't want them to be bored and wasting their time by taking classes rehashing material they've already mastered. Until the Accuplacer came along, determining the proper class level for incoming students was very difficult, since grade point averages and the quality of high schools vary so widely across the country. The results were often hit or miss, leaving both students and educators feeling frustrated. Accuplacer has solved this problem to a great degree, which is why its use is becoming much more widespread.

The Accuplacer is a test of general math and English skills. There's generally no cost for a student to take the test (although if you do poorly and want to retake it there may be a small fee). It's taken on a computer, either at the college or university you'll be attending, or at an approved testing center with a proctor. It's a computer adaptive test, which means that your answers to questions will determine which questions you see next. Answer questions correctly, and you'll see harder questions. Answer them wrong, and you'll get easier questions. This is how the Accuplacer test determines your level of knowledge and the best class level to place you in. The reading portion covers reading comprehension, vocabulary, sentence structure, etc. The math portion starts out with questions on algebra. If you answer those right, you'll get questions concerning higher levels of algebra and other math you'll face in college. If you do poorly on the first few questions, you'll get questions on high school level math only. It's important to do as well as possible on the Accuplacer, as it can save you months of work and quite a bit of money in credit hour fees and other college costs.

For additional information, we recommend you check out these free Accuplacer resources: