Placement Tests

FCC uses multiple options for course placement listed on our Test Exemptions page of the Testing Guide. For students without exemptions from testing, the FCC Testing Center administers ACCUPLACER Next Generation Reading and Writing assessments for English placement, Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS) for developmental and gateway math courses, Advance Algebra and Functions (AAF) for students who achieve 272 or higher on the QAS assessment for placement into advance math courses, and ACCUPLACER ESL tests for students whose first language is not English.

In addition to ACCUPLACER, opportunities to submit a writing sample can be used to aid in the placement decision process. Students scoring less than 228 on Reading and/or 236 on Writing twice can be referred to take the Reading-Writing Sample as an additional assessment. For students whose first language is not English, WritePlacer ESL may be recommended for students scoring on the cusp of ESOL 100 placement (Total Score 290-305) and students scoring on the cusp of ENGL101 placement (Total Score 320-335) to possibly “bump up” into those course placements depending on their WritePlacer ESL scores.

Use our proven Study Plan from our popular Testing Guide. Students who are prepared for the placement test perform better than students who do not prepare. The method from the Study Plan makes the most effective use of your study time and builds good study habits to apply and last you through your academic career. 

What do I need to know about the ACCUPLACER? There are few things that make the ACCUPLACER different from other kinds of tests:

• ACCUPLACER is an adaptive, computer-based assessment. This means that the assessment adapts to your skill level. All of the questions on reading, writing, and math tests are multiple-choice and you will only see one question at a time. You cannot move back and forth between questions or change your answer to a previous question.
• There is no time limit on the test and the test is probably shorter than what you may be used to seeing. On the Next Generation Reading, there are 20 questions. On the Next Generation Writing, there are 25 questions. On the Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS), there are 20 questions. If you score high on the QAS, there will be a more challenging math test of 20 questions called Advanced Algebra and Functions (AAF).
• When testing on campus, we supply scratch paper and pencils to help you work out problems, and a calculator will appear on screen for many of the math problems. A handheld calculator is not permitted unless you have a testing accommodation from Disability Access Services.
• Your test will look completely different from the person next to you even if you start testing at the same time. But, of course, keep your eyes on your own screen!
• You may see some easy, moderate, or difficult questions and this is how the computer determines your skill level in the subject. Do not give up if the questions are too hard because you may be highly skilled in a certain area. If you are getting a lot of easy questions, be sure to stay focused and keep trying your best to answer the questions, not clicking through it just to get it done. Placement tests give us an idea of how well you do in certain subjects, so always take it seriously.

To learn more about what is covered on the ACCUPLACER, visit the Download a Study Plan page of the Testing Guide to review our resources.

Testing is a trigger for anxiety, but it’s important to remember that having anxiety is completely normal! It is tied to our survival by making us more aware of our surroundings, raise our level of alertness, and speeds up our reaction time. If your mind ever “goes blank” it’s because you haven’t tied the information you learned for the test to your survival!

How do you tie what you learned for the test to survival? By strengthening your neural pathways – or pathways of your mind. Think of your mind as a jungle and you are cutting through trees and vines to find shelter, a basic necessity for survival. If you only make one trip, you probably haven’t cleared out enough of the jungle and you have exhausted yourself trying. But if you make multiple trips, cutting down a little bit at a time, you can get to your shelter faster and without much thought. The shelter is a metaphor for knowledge and the pathways on the jungle floor are the cleared pathways you need to get to the knowledge faster!

There are other mental and physical strategies to help reduce anxiety. Take advantage of the information from the Testing Guide and download the ACCUPLACER Next Generation Study Plan, learn test-taking tips and learn how to identify and overcome test anxiety in other ways from the Test-Taking page of the Testing Guide.

Whether you tested at FCC and want to transfer your scores out, or if you took placement tests at another college and want to transfer your scores to FCC, be sure that you took the test less than two (2) years ago and follow the instructions on our Score Transfer page of the Testing Guide.

If you are transferring non-ACCUPLACER placement scores, please email a description or unofficial copy of your results to the Testing Center for approval. When approved, we will request an official copy and apply the testing exemption to your record.