what's new with placement testing in mnscu 28 · 2014. 5. 4. · – accuplacer intermediate...

What’s New with Placement Testing in MnSCU?

Session #28

Beth Hentges [email protected]

MCTM/MinnMATYC Spring Conference

2 May 2014

Overview• Current policy

– Accuplacer Placement Tests– ACT Mathematics Subject Area Score– Accuplacer Intermediate Algebra Test for MN

• Future– Accuplacer Intermediate Algebra Test for MN, Version 2– Accuplacer Contract with MnSCU– MnSCU Common Learner Outcomes for Intermediate Algebra– ACT Test

• Student resources for review/prep• Assessment for Course Placement Committee• Questions• This presentation will be posted on conference web site.

Current Policy

• MnSCU Policy 3.3Assessment for Course Placementhttp://www.mnscu.edu/board/policy/303.html

• MnSCU Procedure 3.3.1Assessment for Course Placementhttp://www.mnscu.edu/board/procedure/303p1.html

Current Policy

• Accuplacer Placement Tests– Basic Mathematics (17 questions)– Elementary Algebra (12 questions)– College-Level Mathematics (20 questions)

• ACT Mathematics Subject Area Score

• Scores valid for two years

Current Policy

Accuplacer Test

• A student will be placed into College Algebra if the student scores

76 or higher on Elementary Algebra Testand

50 or higher on College-Level Test

Current Policy

Accuplacer Test

• Branching profiles between the three Accuplacer Placement Tests are set by the individual colleges and universities.

• Some colleges use background questions to determine which test to start with.– How many years HS Math?– How long ago?– Program/major?

Current Policy

Accuplacer Test

• Students can test at any MnSCU college or university and have their score sent to whichever MnSCU college or university they choose.

• If a student wishes to take the test close to home at College A, but intends to enroll at College B, the student should inform the testing administrator prior to starting the test.

• The test administrator can set up the test with the branching profile and background questions of College B.

Current Policy

Accuplacer Test

• Students may take the test twice within a year.– Note: NOT twice at each campus!

• The test is “free” the first time.• However, the actual cost can be upwards of $2000 in

tuition and three semesters of time.• The college may charge a fee for a retest.

Current Policy

ACT Mathematics Subject Area Score

• A student who presents a Mathematics subject area test score of 22 or higher shall be placed in College Algebra.

Current Policy

Other courses

• A system college or university may establish lower minimum score(s) for placement into introductory college-level mathematics courses other than College Algebra and for developmental mathematics courses.

– Liberal Arts -- Precalculus– Math for Elem. Ed. -- Calculus I– Statistics -- Calculus II

Current Policy

Accuplacer Intermediate Algebra Test for MN Pilot Project

• Test used for placement into College Algebra instead of the current College-Level Test.

• Customized test for MN• Intent was to place more students into College

Algebra rather than Intermediate Algebra

Current PolicyAccuplacer Intermediate Algebra Test for MN Pilot Project

• Test has 40 questions, separated into 5 domains.– Linear equations, inequalities, functions, and systems– Quadratic and other polynomial expressions, equations, and

functions– Expressions, equations, and functions involving powers,

roots, and radicals– Rational and exponential expressions, equations, and

functions– Word problems and applications

Current Policy


• Standard setting completed October 2012• Students who score XX or higher will be placed into

College Algebra• Test has been piloted at 13 colleges and 2 universities

starting February 2013• Attempt to standardize the pilot testing May 2013

Current Policy


• Some pilot sites are also using this test for placement into Intermediate Algebra.

• Students spend an hour or more on just this test.• Fewer students place into College Algebra using this new test

vs. the Accuplacer College Level Test• Some pilot sites have abandoned using the Intermediate

Algebra Test.

Current Policy


• We failed.

FutureAccuplacer Intermediate Algebra Test for MN Pilot Project, Version 2

• Math faculty of ACPC met with Accuplacer in March 2014

• Agreement to shorten test to 20 questions from 40 questions

• Agreement MnSCU faculty will develop sample questions to provide to Accuplacer that more accurately represent the types of questions we ask our students to complete– In progress

• Goal: Version 2 ready by June 2014

FutureAccuplacer Contract with MnSCU

• Contract expires June 30, 2014

• Will it be renewed?

• Alternative Test?– Compass

FutureACT Test

• New MN Law

• Starting 2014-2015 all 11th grade students will take ACT test (or another similar test)

• More entering students will have an ACT score

• Will students take the test seriously?

• Will placement levels increase?

Student Resources for Review

Accuplacer

• http://accuplacerpractice.collegeboard.org

• http://accuplacer.collegeboard.org/students


MnSCU

• http://www.century.edu/files/assessment/math_assessmt.pdf

• http://www.century.edu/files/assessment/cptprep.pdf

• http://www.century.edu/files/assessment/CLMstudy.pdf


MnSCU

• http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/bordwell/accuplacer%20study%20material/accuplacer%20study%20main%20page.htm

• http://www.minneapolis.edu/Admissions/Accuplacer-Placement-Tests/~/media/5A6EF019C99B401FA9A57C211FAD0CCE.ashx

• http://www.minneapolis.edu/Admissions/Accuplacer-Placement-Tests/Accuplacer-Test-Preparation


NROC

• http://thenrocproject.org/• http://nrocmath.org/

• http://www.hippocampus.org/


NROC

• http://edready.org/– Just went live last week– Students indicate which college(s) they are interested in attending– Students take diagnostic – Automated individual study plan based on result and college plans– Students can re-take diagnostic when they feel prepared

Student Resources for ReviewOther

• http://www.aims.edu/student/testing/studyguides/• http://demo-test.accuplacer-test.com/• http://www.studyguidezone.com/accuplacertest.htm• http://www.studyguidezone.com/accuplacer_arithmetic.htm• http://php.yccd.edu/assessment/sample.html• http://www.accuplacertestquestions.com/

• http://www.mathtv.com/ (also in Spanish)• http://www.tareasplus.com/ (in Spanish)

Accuplacer Proficiency Statements

Proficiency Statements for Arithmetic

Total Right Score of about 31Students at this level have minimal arithmetic skills and can:• perform simple operations with whole numbers and decimals (addition, subtraction, and multiplication)• calculate an average, given integer values• solve simple word problems• identify data represented by simple graphs

Total Right Score of about 57Students at this level have basic arithmetic skills and can:• perform the basic arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using wholenumbers, fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers• make conversions among fractions, decimals, and percents

Proficiency Statements for Arithmetic

Total right score of about 90Students at this level have adequate arithmetic skills and can:• estimate products and squares of decimals and square roots of whole numbers and decimals• solve simple percent problems of the form p% of q = ? and ?% of q = r• divide whole numbers by decimals and fractions• solve simple word problems involving fractions, ratio, percent increase and decrease, and area

Total right score of about 112Students at this level have substantial arithmetic skills and can:• find equivalent forms of fractions• estimate computations involving fractions• solve simple percent problems of the form p% of ? = r• solve word problems involving the manipulation of units of measurement• solve complex word problems involving percent, average, and proportional reasoning• find the square root of decimal numbers• solve simple number sentences involving a variable

ACCUPLACER Program Manual 39 August 2009

Proficiency Statements for Elementary Algebra

Total right score of about 25Students at this level have minimal pre‐algebra skills.These students demonstrate:• a sense of order relationships and the relative size of signed numbers• the ability to multiply a whole number by a binomial

Total right score of about 57Students scoring at this level have minimal elementary algebra skills.These students can:• perform operations with signed numbers• combine like terms• multiply binomials• evaluate algebraic expressions


Total right score of about 76Students at this level have sufficient elementary algebra skills. At this level, the skills that were beginning to emerge at a Total Right Score of 57 have been developed.Students at this level can:• add radicals, add algebraic fractions, and evaluate algebraic expressions• factor quadratic expressions in the form ax^2 + bx + c, where a = 1• factor the difference of squares• square binomials• solve linear equations with integer coefficients


Total right score of about 108Students at this level have substantial elementary algebra skills.These students can:• simplify algebraic expressions• factor quadratic expressions where a = 1• solve quadratic equations• solve linear equations with fractional and literal coefficients and linear inequalities with integer coefficients• solve systems of equations• identify graphical properties of equations and inequalities


Proficiency Statements for College‐Level Math

Total Right Score of about 40 or lessThese students should take the Elementary Algebra test before any placement decisions are finalized.

Total Right Score of about 40Students scoring at this level can:• identify common factors• factor binomials and trinomials• manipulate factors to simplify complex fractions.

These students should be considered for placement into intermediate algebra. For further guidance in placement, have these students take the Elementary Algebra test.


Total Right Score of about 63Students scoring at this level can demonstrate the following additional skills:• work with algebraic expressions involving real number exponents• factor polynomial expressions• simplify and perform arithmetic operations with rational expressions, including complex fractions• solve and graph linear equations and inequalities• solve absolute value equations• solve quadratic equations by factoring• graph simple parabolas• understand function notation, such as determining the value of a function for a specific number in the domain• a limited understanding of the concept of function on a more sophisticated level, such as determining the valueof the composition of two functions• a rudimentary understanding of coordinate geometry and trigonometry


Total Right Score of about 86Students scoring at this level can demonstrate the following additional skills:• understand polynomial functions• evaluate and simplify expressions involving functional notation, including composition of functions• solve simple equations involving trigonometric functions, logarithmic functions, and exponential functions

Total Right Score of about 103 or aboveStudents scoring at this level can demonstrate the following additional skills:• perform algebraic operations and solve equations with complex numbers• understand the relationship between exponents and logarithms and the rules that govern the manipulation of logarithms and exponents• understand trigonometric functions and their inverses• solve trigonometric equations• manipulate trigonometric identities• solve right‐triangle problems• recognize graphic properties of functions such as absolute value, quadratic, and logarithmic


Assessment for Course Placement Committee (ACPC)

• System Director for College Transitions– Karen Hynick– [email protected]

• System Director of Research– Craig Shoenecker

• System Associate Director of Research– Susan Carter


• two-year college faculty members appointed by MSCF

• four-year university faculty members appointed by IFO

– Reading– Writing– Mathematics – English for Speakers of Other Languages


• campus placement test administrators

• students appointed by their associations

Questions?

What’s New with Placement Testing in MnSCU?

Session #28

Beth Hentges [email protected]

MCTM/MinnMATYC Spring Conference

2 May 2014

what's new with placement testing in mnscu 28 · 2014. 5. 4. · – accuplacer intermediate...

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