Description of Test

Current Test Dates/What to bring with you to the test
Description of the Test
Frequently Asked Questions

Description and Information on College Placement Testing

Admissions Application
Before taking the college placement test, students should complete an application for admission and submit it to the Office of Records and Registration, Wilson Center, Blackwood Campus; the Administrative Area, Second Floor, Camden City Campus; or the Student Services Desk, William G. Rohrer Campus in Cherry Hill.

Purpose of the Test
Most students must take the college placement test before enrolling in classes. Performance on this test determines which English and mathematics courses the student may register for. Therefore, it is important to take the test seriously.   

College Policies
Students may enroll in an English or mathematics course only upon completion of this placement test.  Some students may test into college level courses and others may need to take developmental courses.

To provide casual and undecided students with an opportunity to sample college courses, a part-time non-matriculated student may take courses (except English, math or those with pre-requisites) and go untested until the semester in which the ninth credit is attempted. During that semester, the student must take the placement test. No student may enroll for more than 11 attempted credits without first being tested.

Sample Questions
For sample tests, visit the Test Center web site at www.camdencc.edu/testing
Exemptions (Effective March 1, 2001)
Exemptions from one or more sections of the College Placement Test may apply to:

• Students who have taken the Accuplacer or Compass test at another college within the last three years.  
• Students who have successfully completed a college-credit English Composition and/or mathematics course at an accredited college.
• Students entering the English as a Second Language (ESL) program who have taken the ESL placement exam and the College Placement Test for mathematics.
• Students enrolled in any of the Automotive Certificates and the Dental Assistant Certificate Program.
• Students who scored 530 or higher on the SAT Mathematics and/or 540 or higher on the SAT Critical Reading within the last three years.
• Students who have met the College’s requirement for (AP) Advanced Placement or CLEP in English or mathematics.

Only official documentation will be accepted.

Special Arrangements for Students with Disabilities
Anyone with a learning or physical disability that would prevent him or her from taking the test under standard conditions may inquire about special accommodations by calling the PACs Office at (856) 227-7200, ext.4430.
Students who are hearing impaired may call  (856) 227-7200, ext. 4506 (voice) or (856) 228-1897 (TTY) to discuss options for test accommodations.

Schedule
Visit our website at www.camdencc.edu/testing or call us at (856) 227-7200, ext. 4710. There are Test Centers at all three campus locations.

Description of the Test
ACCUPLACER Online is administered via the computer and consists of an essay and five multiple-choice sections: Reading, writing, arithmetic, elementary algebra and an optional college-level math section. Only those students who receive a high score on the elementary algebra section will be prompted to take the college-level math section.  The multiple-choice tests are adaptive, which means that the computer automatically determines which questions are presented based on responses to prior questions. This technique selects the right questions to ask without making the test too easy or difficult. Each multiple-choice test is un-timed, so each question can be given as much thought as is desired. Once the student has moved to the next question, they may not return to the previous question. 

Test Format
ACCUPLACER Online presents one question at a time. Each page presents the question and several possible answer choices. The page also may include additional information that is needed to answer the questions, such as a reading passage, a picture or a table of information. Either the mouse or the keyboard may be used to select an answer. Once an answer has been chosen and the “NEXT” button has been selected, a box will come up on the screen asking for confirmation of the selected answer. This provides the opportunity to cancel, go back and choose a different answer. To confirm, simply click on the “OK” button. To cancel and go back to choose another answer, click on the “CANCEL” button.

Guessing
If the answer to a question is completely unknown, try to eliminate one or more of the choices.  Then pick from the remaining choices.

Because ACCUPLACER is an adaptive test, the questions are chosen on the basis of answers given to previous questions. Because the test works this way, every question must be answered in order. Answers to a particular question may be changed before moving on to the next question, but questions cannot be left out or returned to later for the purposes of changing an answer. Once the next question appears  the previous answer cannot be changed.

At The End
At the end of the test, one of two pages will appear: A page indicating that testing has been completed or a page that indicates which test is next.

The Essay
The essay portion of the test provides the opportunity to show the student’s writing skills. Essays are written on the computer. Care should be taken to express thoughts on the topic clearly and effectively. Accuplacer suggests an essay of 300 to 600 words.

Sentence Skills
This test measures understanding of sentence structure. That is, how sentences are put together and what makes a sentence complete and clear. There are two kinds of questions. Sentence-correction questions require the selection of a word or phrase to substitute for an underlined portion of a sentence. Construction-shift questions ask that a sentence be rewritten in a specific way without changing the meaning.

Arithmetic Skills
This test measures ability in operations with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages. Questions include rate, percent, measurement and geometry problems as well as problems requiring the distribution of a quantity into its fractional parts.

Elementary Algebra
This test includes operations with integers, rational numbers and algebraic expressions. Questions include problems in solving systems of linear equations, solving quadratic equations by factoring, solving verbal problems presented in algebraic context, geometric reasoning, translating written phrases into algebraic expressions and graphing.

College-Level Mathematics
This test assesses proficiency from intermediate algebra through pre-calculus. Six categories are covered: Algebraic operations; solutions of equations and inequalities; coordinating geometry; applications; functions; and trigonometry.