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Accuplacer System Detailed Test Description

Reading Comprehension Test
Sentence Skills Test
Arithmetic Test
Elementary Algebra Test
WritePlacer Plus

Reading Comprehension Test: A total of 20 questions, divided into two primary types, are administered in this test:

  1. The first type consists of a reading passage followed by a question based on the text. Both short and long narratives are provided. The reading passages can also be classified according to the kind of information processing required, including explicit statements related to the main idea, explicit statements related to a secondary idea, application, and inference.

  2. The second type of question, sentence relationships, presents 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.

Both reading passages and sentence relationship questions are varied according to content categories to help prevent bias because of a student's particular knowledge. These categories include social sciences, natural and physical sciences, human relations and practical affairs, and the arts. In the Reading Comprehension test, for example, each student will receive four long reading passages, eight to nine questions based on short passages, and four to five questions involving sentence relationships.

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Sentence Skills Test: A total of 20 questions, divided into two types, are administered in this test:

  1. The first type is sentence correction questions, which require an understanding of sentence structure. These questions ask students to choose the most appropriate word or phrase to substitute for the underlined portion of the sentence.

  2. The second type is construction shift questions. These ask that a sentence be rewritten according to the criteria shown while maintaining essentially the same meaning as the original sentence.

Within these two primary categories, the 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. In a manner similar to Reading Comprehension questions, these questions are varied according to categories to prevent bias because of a student's particular knowledge. These categories include social sciences, natural and physical sciences, human relations and practical affairs, and the arts.

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Arithmetic Test: The 17 arithmetic questions administered by the ACCUPLACER Tests are divided into three types:

  1. Operations with whole numbers and fractions: topics included in this category are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, recognizing equivalent fractions and mixed numbers, and estimating.

  2. Operations with decimals and percents: topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with decimals. Percent problems, recognition of decimals, fraction and percent equivalencies, and problems involving estimation are also given.

  3. Applications and problem solving: topics include rate, percent, and measurement problems, simple geometry problems, and distribution of a quantity into its fractional parts.

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Elementary Algebra Test: A total of 12 questions, divided into three types, are administered in this test:

  1. The first type involves operations with integers and rational numbers, and includes computation with integers and negative rational numbers, the use of absolute values, and ordering.

  2. A second type, which involves operations with algebraic expressions, tests minimal skill levels using evaluation of simple formulas and expressions, and adding and subtracting monomials and polynomials. At all skill levels, questions are provided involving multiplying and dividing monomials and polynomials, the evaluation of positive rational roots and exponents, simplifying algebraic fractions, and factoring.

  3. The third type of question involves the solution of equations, inequalities, and word problems. Questions from this category may include solving linear equations and inequalities, the solution of quadratic equations by factoring, solving verbal problems presented in an algebraic context, including geometric reasoning and graphing, and the translation of written phrases into algebraic expressions.

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WritePlacer Plus: For this test, examinees are asked to provide a writing sample in response to a specific prompt. Examinees have 1 hour to complete the writing sample. Each response is evaluated based on the following features of writing:

  • Focus
  • Organization
  • Development and Support
  • Sentence Structure
  • Mechanical Conventions

Holistic scoring is used to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the writing sample as evidenced by how well a piece of writing communicates a whole message. Each writing sample is evaluated based on its overall impression, not on the basis of the individual writing characteristics in isolation.

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