1. College Readiness vs. the ACCUPLACER®
Stephanie Reynolds
University of Massachusetts Boston, College of Counseling and School Psychology; Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School
Introduction
• The ACCUPLACER® by CollegeBoard is a placement test that
colleges use to place students into the appropriate classes. If
a student scores below the college’s cutoff levels, then the
student will be placed into remediation classes. Remediation
classes cost full tuition and fees; however these classes meet
no graduation requirements and do not carry any course
credit
• A large number of students, especially students entering two
year colleges, do not score well enough to test out of college
remediation classes. This is not because they are incapable
but because they are not well prepared.
• This presentation will demonstrate how preparing students
for the ACCUPLACER® will help to decrease the number of
students needing to take remedial English and math courses in
college.
Method
Procedures
• Presentations were given to each classroom about the
importance of the exam. Handouts were given to the students to
read and understand the process. A letter was sent to parents as
well.
• The next day students were tested collectively in a computer lab.
Instructions were given at the beginning of the class. All students
finished the exam during the hour class time.
• The English classes worked weekly through lesson planning on
tips and strategies on the ACCUPLACER®. One student voluntarily
attended after-school ACCUPLACER® tutoring for math.
• Students were tested again eight weeks later in the same
computer lab. Procedures were followed the same as in the first
trial.
Results
• Four Bridgewater-Raynham classes were selected to
be tested on the ACCUPLACER®. Two academic English
classes were selected as well as two academic
trigonometry classes. These classes are college
preparatory classes. The trigonometry class is for
students who do not choose to take the recommended
pre-calculus class during their senior year but who
need a fourth year of math to apply to college.
Discussion
• The average scores for English D and English E improved in both
classes, mostly in the E block class. Trigonometry classes
showed improvement as well, especially with the F block class.
• The reading exam showed a relationship between the MCAS 10
results, however the MCAS math results showed no
relationship.
• Overall, these findings indicate that students could benefit from
taking the ACCUPLACER® while still in high school, helping them
to learn how to take a computerized adaptive exam and to,
ultimately, prevent the need for remedial classes in college.
Class Participants Female: Male Ratio Caucasian African American Hispanic Multiracial Other
English D 22 11:11 16 4 2 0 0
English E 9 7:02 8 0 0 0 1
Trigonometry B 23 11:12 21 1 0 1 0
Trigonometry F 21 10:11 18 2 1 0 0
Class Grades MCAS Score GPA
English D 82 248 2.96
English E 80 249 2.78
Trigonometry B 86 249 2.94
Trigonometry F 87 252 2.95
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
College Reading I College Reading II No Course Required
PercentageofStudents
Courses Required
Placement Results For English
English D Pre-Test
English D Post-Test
English E Pre-Test
English E Post-Test
80.5
82.7
56.5
70.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
D Pre-Test D Post-Test E Pre-Test E Post-Test
AverageScoresPerClass
English Class Pre-test or Post-test
Average Scores On The Reading Exam
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
4 year college 2 year college Post-Secondary School No College
PercentageofStudents
Type of Plan
After High School Plan
English D
English E
Trigonometry B
Trigonometry F
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Fundamentals of
Mathematics
Introductory Algebra Intermediate Algebra Special Topics Any Course
PercentageofStudents
Type of Class Students Would Be Placed Into
Class Placement for Trigonometry
Trigonometry B Pre-test
Trigonometry B Post-test
Trigonometry F Pre-test
Trigonometry F Post-test
225
230
235
240
245
250
255
260
265
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
MCASSCORESPERSTUDENT
Scores on the Reading Comprehension ACCUPLACER
MCAS And The ACCUPLACER
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
MATHMCASSCORESPERSTUDENT SCORES ON THE ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA ACCUPLACER
MCAS Math and The ACCUPLACER
*The orange line represents the cut off level for Massachusetts state Colleges and universities