Announcement: Posted 4/19/13 -updated 4/26/13 Information to be aware of concerning Accuplacer and the new TSI Assessment exam.
The current Accuplacer assessment & Placement Chart are valid until Tuesday, August 27, 2013.
The new TSI Assessment & Placement Chart will go into effect on Wednesday, August 28, 2013.
Any new first-time college student will be required to take the new TSI Assessment if registering on August 28,2013 (first day of class) or soon after.
Placement Exam Requirements
What are placement exams and why might I need to take one?
Students attending Texas public institutions of higher education must be in compliance with the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), as of fall 2003 (Texas Education Code §51.3062) in order to enroll in public institutions of higher education. The law requires all entering college students to be assessed for college readiness in reading, mathematics and writing unless the student qualifies for an exemption. Each student who fails to meet the minimum passing standard of the exam offered by the institution must be placed in a developmental education program designed to help the student achieve college readiness.
What are placement exams?
Students may be placed in college level courses if their scores on the TAKS, ACT, or SAT exams meet guidelines for exemption from having to take developmental classes as per the CBC placement chart.
If a student did not score high enough to be exempt from developmental education based on these exams, he or she may use another exam like Quick-THEA for placement. The college offers the ACCUPLACER exam for students who are not exempt or who have not taken another placement exam.
How do I know if I am exempt?
If the individual is TSI Exempt based upon their TAKS scores, THEA, ACT, SAT, or other college placement exam, then they will not be required to take the preparation session as long as they show proof of their TSI exemption to our Admission Office.
ACT - 19 English / 19 Math with composite score of 23. Scores may not be more than 5 years old.
SAT - 500 Verbal / 500 Math with composite score of 1070. Scores may not be more than 5 years old.
TAKS - 2200 ELA with essay of 3 and 2200 Math. Scores may not be more than 3 years old from the 11th grade exit-level TAKS exam.
View all of the TSI Exemptions from the Texas Administrative Code.
Exemptions to this policy: Level I Certificate Program Students, Non-Degree Seeking Students, and Returning Students
If I am required to take a placement exam, what do I do next?
You must take the ACCUPLACER exam. First you must register for the exam and then you must complete a mandatory preparation session.
How do I sign-up for the ACCUPLACER and the four-hour preparatory review?
The fee for the Accuplacer exam is $29.00. Advanced paid reservations are required before a person may take the Accuplacer exam. Check with the appropriate testing center to see when the Accuplacer exam will be offered and the procedures for making a reservation.
Click on the campus below to see the testing schedules for that campus.
Alice Testing Schedule
Beeville Testing Schedule
Kingsville Testing Schedule
Pleasanton Testing Schedule
When the prospective Accuplacer examinee contacts the testing center, they will complete the TSI DEP form along with the College Placement Testing Contract. The testing department will then ask the examinee whether they would like to complete the four-hour preparation session online; which uses web-based PLATO; so they can work on it from their home. Here is the Instruction Sheet for Pre-Test Review . If so, then the testing personnel will show the individual how to self-enroll themselves into the PLATO preparation program.
All first-time college students enrolling in an academic or workforce program at Coastal Bend College are required to complete a mandatory four-hour pre-test preparation session in the areas of English, Math, Reading, and Test-Taking Skills prior to taking the Accuplacer - College Placement Exam.
Coastal Bend College created the four-hour preparation session to help our prospective students feel more comfortable about taking the Accuplacer exam and to refresh the individual in the areas of Writing, Reading, and Math before testing.
It is shown that people who prepare for the exam in advance do better, than those who do not prepare.
We want our students to succeed and do as well as they possibly can, so our staff will be taking the time to make sure that all of our first-time college students get off to the right start at Coastal Bend College.
There is not a fee for the preparation session
The individual will print their PLATO report - showing the number of hours they've completed and bring it with them when they go to the testing center to take the Accuplacer exam.
If the individual does not complete their four-hours of preparation work, they will not be allowed to take the Accuplacer exam.
What do I bring with me on the day of the exam?
You will need to have a (1) Photo ID (this may be a Texas ID card, Driver's license, or Passport - if you do not have one of these forms of photo ID - you may print out the Accuplacer ID form - have it notarized and then bring this to the testing department as photo identification.) (2) Social Security card. (3) Plato summary report - showing that you've completed your four (4) hours of mandatory preparation work.
No personal items are allowed in the testing area. No cell phones, electronics, books, notes, calculators, purses, bags, etc...are allowed in the testing area.
Dual-Credit Students:
Dual-Credit Students will need to complete the 4-hour preparation session if they are not TSI exempt.
Dual-credit students or any other first-time college students, who want to take a certain area/(s) of the Accuplacer exam - because they aren't exempt in all areas of their TAKS or other exam - will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 2 hours of the area/(s) that they need for a total of 3 hours.
Examples:
Individual wants to take the Math Accuplacer only- they will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 2 hours of Math - for a total of 3 hours
Individual wants to take the Reading Accuplacer only - they will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 2 hours of Reading - for a total of 3 hours
Individual wants to take the Writing Accuplacer only - they will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 2 hours of Writing - for a total of 3 hours
Individual wants to take the Writing and Reading areas of the Accuplacer - they will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 1 hour of Writing + 1 hour of Reading - for a total of 3 hours
Individual wants to take the Reading and Math areas of the Accuplacer - they will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 1 hour of Reading + 1 hour of Math - for a total of 3 hours
Individual wants to take the Writing and Math areas of the Accuplacer - they will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 1 hour of Writing + 1 hour of Math - for a total of 3 hours
Individual wants to take the Writing Essay only of the Accuplacer - they will take 1 hour of test-taking skills + 2 hours of Writing - for a total of 3 hours
How many people can be in PLATO at a time?
Coastal Bend College has 12 licenses for PLATO - therefore, we should not have any problems with people not being able to access PLATO. As long as no more than 12 people log in at the same time to PLATO - the program will work properly.
What does the individual do after they complete the required number of hours in PLATO?
The individual will need to print out the report from PLATO showing how many hours they've completed. Then they will turn the print-out in to the Testing Department so that they can take the Accuplacer exam.
If you need any additional information or have questions, please contact:
Roberta Kreis - Testing Coordinator at (361) 354-2244
Toll Free Number: 1-866-722-2838 - Ext: 2244
Announcement: There will be a new TSI Assessment exam starting Fall 2013. More information will be available from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) in May 2013. Posted 9/25/12
(Coastal Bend College does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability.)
Page revised on 4/26/13