Introduction to ACCUPLACER

What is the ACCUPLACER?
The ACCUPLACER is a placement test for community college (also known as junior college). It's used to assess your current skill level and readiness for the types of schoolwork you'll be required to do in community college — specifically, reading, writing, and math.

Who makes the ACCUPLACER?
The ACCUPLACER is made by the College Board. These are the same folks who created the SAT and the Advanced Placement Program (the AP Tests).

Is the ACCUPLACER like the SAT or ACT?
Although the ACCUPLACER tests a lot of the same skills that the SAT and ACT, the SAT and ACT are entrance tests. This means that you take these tests before you've been accepted to a college. Getting a low score on the SAT or ACT can cause a college to reject your application.
In contrast, the ACCUPLACER is a placement test. This means that you take it after you've been accepted to community college. A low score on one or more parts of the ACCUPLACER means, at the very worst, that you may need to take one or more non-credit remedial courses.

Do you have to take the ACCUPLACER?
if you don't take it, your community college may place you in a set of remedial courses that are too easy for you. Passing the ACCUPLACER — or any of the five sections of the ACCUPLACER — allows you to place out of these non-credit courses, so you can begin earning college credits immediately.
So, you can think of the ACCUPLACER not as a required test that you must pass, but rather as an opportunity to jump over a bunch of lower-level courses that you may not need to take.

What is the Next-Generation ACCUPLACER?
The current version of the ACCUPLACER is called the Next-Generation ACCUPLACER. This name distinguishes it from the older and now defunct version.
The Next-Generation ACCUPLACER is the only version of the test being administered in 2019 and for the foreseeable future. 

Why community college?
The average price tag on a semester of community college is something like $1,500, but many students pay far less or even nothing at all due to government assistance through the FAFSA program. 

You may even receive money to buy books, a computer, and other important college-related stuff.

Each section of the ACCUPLACER that you pass allows you to jump over at least one semester (and possibly two or three) of a no-credit community college course. 

And a college course has about 45 hours of class time, plus whatever time you spend out of class reading, studying, doing homework, and preparing for tests. 

You may end up sppending 75 to 100 hours, or maybe even more, taking a course that doesn’t even earn you any credits toward graduation.

And that’s just one course.

The ACCUPLACER includes five different sections:
Reading Test
Writing Test
Three Math Tests: Arithmetic
Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS)
Advanced Algebra and Functions (AAF)

How do you register for and take the ACCUPLACER?
The ACCUPLACER is administered by your community college. If you've recently enrolled in a community college, an administrator probably mentioned the ACCUPLACER among a short list of important things to take care of as a new student.
The ACCUPLACER is most often done either by appointment or by just walking into the right office and asking the nice person behind the desk to take it. But the procedure can vary a bit among institutions. If you have any doubts as to how to get started, call your community college to get specifics.

How long does the ACCUPLACER take?
The ACCUPLACER is an untimed test, which means that you can take as long as you like. This is in contrast to most other tests, including those that you're used to taking from high school. 

Do you need to take all sections of the ACCUPLACER on the same day?
You can opt to take all five sections at once, or break them up in any way you like. 

How is the ACCUPLACER administered?
Most often, the ACCUPLACER is administered via the Internet, at a computer located in the administrative office or testing center of a community college. Some schools, however, administer the ACCUPLACER on paper, in its COMPANION format. If you're not sure which format your school uses, the office that administers the test can tell you.

How is the ACCUPLACER scored?
Each of the five sections of the ACCUPLACER is scored separately on a scale from 200 to 300. Generally speaking, any score of 280 or above is passing. You don't get a letter grade such as an A or a B, but what you do get is a free pass out of taking the no-credit college course associated with that test. 
However, different community colleges draw the pass-fail line in different places. So a score of 278 on one section may be a passing score at your school. Or, a 278 may be a passing score on the Arithmetic Test but not on the Writing Test.
Additionally, some schools allow students who are only a few points below the passing score to take more accelerated no-credit courses or even partial-credit courses. 
The person who administers your test is probably the best person to ask for information about what the passing ACCUPLACER scores are at your community college.

If you do well on the ACCUPLACER, what happens?
Every section of the ACCUPLACER that you do well on enables you to skip the no-credit remedial course work in that subject. This means that you don't have to spend a semester (or more!) taking a course that adds no credit toward your college degree. Even better, because passing the ACCUPLACER demonstrates your competence in a subject area, you can move on to upper-level courses with the confidence that you're ready to do the work!

If you DON'T do well on the ACCUPLACER, what happens?
If you don't do well on the ACCUPLACER, you still won't be kicked out of community college.
This feature makes the ACCUPLACER different from college entrance tests like the SAT and ACT. Most colleges and universities set a minimum SAT and ACT score. And while there may be some wiggle room in special cases, scoring on the low side definitely lowers your chances of being accepted. And, naturally, more competitive schools tend to require higher scores.

The ACCUPLACER isn't an entrance test. In fact, if you're scheduled to take the ACCUPLACER, this means that you've already been accepted into community college.
Failure to pass any portion of the ACCUPLACER simply means that your community college is going to require you to take at least one remedial no-credit course before they allow you to enroll in a credit course in that subject area. Essentially, they want to set you up for success, to make sure that you have the skills necessary to pass your courses when the time comes.

What if you pass some sections of the ACCUPLACER but not others?
When you pass any section of the ACCUPLACER, you're done with that section forever! You never have to take it again, and you're exempted from taking remedial courses in that area of study.

How many times can you take the ACCUPLACER?
Usually, your community college will give you two chances to pass each section of the ACCUPLACER. In some cases — especially for a good student with good grades — they may stretch this to three times.
The good news is that when you pass any section of the ACCUPLACER, you're officially done with that section, and you don't have to take it again.