Placement testing is an assessment process used to determine each student’s most appropriate math and English course upon entering the college. Garrett College utilizes ACCUPLACER Next Generation placement testing platform, a computer-delivered assessment suite, to determine proper course placement. Students requiring testing (see next area for exemptions) will take 2-3 untimed individual tests during the testing session: Writing, Quantitative Reasoning Algebra and Statistics (QAS), and possibly Reading. There are between 20-25 multiple-choice questions on each test, each question adapted to the student’s demonstrated skill level from the previous question.
Students with lower scores on the placement test may be required to take as many as two developmental math classes and one developmental English/Reading class before taking some college classes. While developmental courses help acquire the skills needed to succeed academically, they do not count toward graduation or transfer and cost time and money. For these reasons, it is critical that students take these tests seriously and try their hardest.
