rock valley college testing center · 2017-07-05 · introducing students to accuplacer® an inside...
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IntroducingStudentstoACCUPLACER®AnInsideLookatthePlacementTest
Includesthefollowingtests:• ReadingComprehension• SentenceSkills(English)• WritePlacer• ElementaryAlgebra• Arithmetic• College-LevelMath(isavailableforstudentsseekingupper-levelmathclasses)
RockValleyCollegeTestingCenter
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• Measuresalevelofreadinessforcollege-levelcoursesintheareasofReading,EnglishandMath.
• Aidsadvisorsinhelpingstudentsdeterminecourseselections.
• Determineswhetherdevelopmentalorcollegelevelplacementisbestforstudentsuccess.(Thisisnota“pass”or“fail”placementtest.)
PurposeofACCUPLACER
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• Approximately20multiple-choicequestionspertest• Computer-based• Notimelimit• Nofeefor1sttime–1retestisavailableat$5.00/test• Studentsmaynotaccessotherwebsites,translators,orcalculators(unless
offeredwithinthetest.)• Immediatescoreresults• PhotoIDisrequired• TestingaccommodationsapprovedbytheOfficeofDisabilitySupportServices
(815)921-2356
GeneralInformation
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• Somepersonalandbackgroundinformationisrequestedbeforeyoubegintesting.
• YouwillbeaskedtoincludeinformationsuchasStudentID,Name,andAddress.
• Thereareonlytwoscreensthatrequireyoutotype.Ifyouneedassistancecompletingit,wecanhelpyou.
PersonalBackgroundInformation
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ReadingComprehension
TheACCUPLACERReadingComprehensiontestmeasuresyourabilitytounderstandwhatyouread,toidentifymainideasandtomakeinferences.Thetestalsomeasuresyourabilitytodistinguishbetweendirectstatementsandsupportingideas.
Thereareofquestions.
TwoTypes
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Shortandlongpassagesare
followedbyaquestion.Thequestionrequiresyoutoprocesstheinformationyouread.
• Howarestatementsinthe
passagerelatedtothemainideaorasecondaryidea?
• Canyouuseorapplyinformationinthepassagetomakedecisions?
• Areyouabletomakeinferences(conclusions,assumptions,implications)abouttheinformationinthepassage?
ReadingComprehension
Type1Twosentencesarepresentedfollowedbyaquestionabouttherelationshipbetweenthetwosentences.• Thequestionmayask,whatdoes
thesecondsentencedo?• Doesitsupportwhatisstatedin
thefirstsentence?• Doesitcontradictit?• Ordoesitrepeatthesame
information?
Type2
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Readthestatementorpassageandthenchoosethebestanswertothequestion.Answerthequestionbasedonwhatisimpliedinthestatementorpassage.Itissaidthatasmileisuniversallyunderstoodandnothingtriggersasmilemoreuniversallythanatasteofsugar.Nearlyeveryonelovessugar.Infantstudiesindicatethathumansarebornwithaninnateloveofsweets.Basedonstatistics,alotofpeopleinGreatBritainmustbesmilingbecauseonaverage,everyman,woman,andchildinthatcountryconsumes95poundsofsugareachyear.FromthispassageitseemssafetoconcludethattheEnglishA.donotknowthattoomuchsugarisunhealthy.
B.eatdessertsateverymeal.C.arefonderofsweetsthanmostpeople.D.havemorecavitiesthananyotherpeople. Correctanswer(C)
ReadingComprehension
Type1–SampleQuestion
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Twounderlinedsentencesarefollowedbyaquestionorstatement.Readthesentences,thenchoosethebestanswertothequestionorthebestcompletionofthestatement.
TheMidwestisexperiencingitsworstdroughtinfifteenyears.
Cornandsoybeanpricesareexpectedtobeveryhighthisyear.Whatdoesthesecondsentencedo?
A. Itrestatestheideafoundinthefirst.B. Itstatesaneffect.C. Itgivesanexample.D. Itanalyzesthestatementmadeinthefirst.
Correctanswer(B)
ReadingComprehension
Type2–SampleQuestion
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SentenceSkills(English)
TheACCUPLACERSentenceSkillstestmeasuresyourunderstandingofsentencestructure.Somequestionsdealwiththelogicofthesentencewhileothersdealwiththerelationshipbetweentwosentences.
Thereareofquestions.2Types
Whatmakessentencescomplete&clear?
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Sentencecorrection-Thesequestionsaskyoutochoosethemostappropriatewordorphrasetosubstitutefortheportionofthesentencethatisunderlined.
SentenceSkills(English)
Type1
ConstructionShift-Thesequestionsaskyoutorewritethequestionaccordingtothecriteriashown.Thegoalistomaintain,intherewrittensentence,essentiallythesamemeaningastheoriginalsentence.
Type2
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Selectthebestversionoftheunderlinedpartofthesentence.Thefirstchoiceisthesameastheoriginalsentence.Ifyouthinktheoriginalsentenceisbest,choosethefirstanswer.Towalk,biking,anddrivingarePat’sfavoritewaysofgettingaround.
A. Towalk,biking,anddrivingB. Walking,biking,anddrivingC. Towalk,biking,andtodriveD. Towalk,tobike,andalsodriving
SentenceSkills(English)
Type1–SampleQuestion
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Rewritethesentencefollowingthedirectionsgiven.Keepinmindthatyournewsentenceshouldbewellwrittenandshouldhaveessentiallythesamemeaningasthesentencegiventoyou.Ms.Roseplanningtoteachacourseinbiologynextsummer.
A. planningB. areplanningC. withaplanD. plans
Correctanswer(D)
SentenceSkills(English)
Type2–SampleQuestion
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WritePlacer
AftertakingACCUPLACERSentenceSkillstwo(2)timesandscoring40-75ononeorbothattempts,astudentmaytaketheWritePlacerfreeofchargeonetimeforahigherplacement.WritePlacerisanon-demandcomputer-basedessaygivingyouanopportunitytoshowhoweffectivelyyoucandevelopandexpressyourideasinwriting.Scoringwillbebasedon:
PurposeandFocus OrganizationandStructure
DevelopmentandSupport
SentenceVarietyandStyle
MechanicalConventions
CriticalThinking13
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Math
ElementaryAlgebra
CollegeLevelMath
EveryonebeginstheMathsectionofACCUPLACERbytakingtheElementaryAlgebraTest.
Dependingonhowyoudoyoumayberoutedtoasecondtest.ItwillbeeitheranArithmetictestorCollegeLevelMathtest.
Arithmetic
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• Proctorwillprovidethestudentwithscratchpapertoworkout
theirsolutions.• Some,butnotall,ofthemathquestionscontainpop-up
calculatorsforstudentstousetoaidinsolvingtheproblemasked.Ifaquestionisconfiguredtoallowfortheuseofacalculator,thecalculatoriconwillappearinthetoprightcornerofthescreen.
• Noothercalculatorwillbeallowed.
Calculators
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Algebra
The ACCUPLACER Elementary Algebra test measures your ability to perform basic algebraic operations and to solve elementary algebraic concepts. RealNumbers
WordProblems&
Applications
LinearEquations
Inequalities&Systems
QuadraticExpressions&Equations
AlgebraicExpressions&Equations
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Solvethefollowingproblem.(Scratchpaperwillbeprovided.)2x+3x+y=A.6xyB.5x+yC.5(x+y)D.6x+y
Correctanswer(B)
Algebra
SampleQuestion
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Arithmetic
The ACCUPLACER Arithmetic test measures your ability to perform basic arithmetic operations and to solve problems involving fundamental arithmetic concepts.
Integers&Fractions
DecimalNumbers
WordProblems&Applications
Percentages
Estimation,Ordering&NumberSense
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Solvethefollowingproblem.(Scratchpaperwillbeprovided.)32is40%ofwhatnumber?A. A.12.8B. B.128C. C.80D. D.800
Correctanswer(C)
Arithmetic
SampleQuestion
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Thistestassessesskillsrangingfromintermediatealgebrathroughpre-calculus.Expecttoseethefollowingconceptscoveredonthisportionofthetest:02-4355
CollegeLevelMath
AlgebraicOperations
SolutionsofEquations
andInequalities
CoordinateGeometry
Determinants
FunctionsandTrigonometry
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CollegeLevelMath
SampleQuestion
Solvethefollowingproblem.(Scratchpaperwillbeprovided.)If𝑓(𝑥)=2𝑥+1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔(𝑥)= 𝑥−1/2 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑓(𝑔(𝑥))=A.xB.𝑥−1/4𝑥+2 C.4𝑥+2/𝑥−1 D.5𝑥+1/2 E.(2𝑥+1)(𝑥−1)/2 Correctanswer(A) 21
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• Everyonehasoneopportunitytore-takeallorpartoftheACCUPLACERPlacementTestoneadditionaltimeatafeeof$5.00persubject.(Highschoolstudentsshouldspeakwithtestingcenterstaffregardingretestoptions.)
• Ifyouplacedintoacoursenumberedunder100,suchasRDG099orMTH091,youshoulddefinitelyplantore-testforpossiblehigherplacementfirst–beforeregisteringforclasses.
Re-Testing
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• Approachtheexamwith
confidence• Bewell-rested• Besuretoeat
somethingbeforethetest
• Allowyourselfplentyoftime–Approximatelytwohours
PreparingfortheACCUPLACER
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Reduceyourtestanxiety Reviewsamplequestionsfromthesewebsites:
Meetwithatutor
• https://
accuplacerpractice.collegeboard.org/login
• http://www.rockvalleycollege.edu/Admission/Testing/accuplacerprep.cfm
• ContacttheTutoring
Centertoschedule50minutetutoringsessions:
815-921-2370
Studentswhospendtimelearningaboutthetestandreviewingsamplequestionshavebettersuccess.