Placement Exams

PLACEMENT TESTING GUIDELINES


Here at YSU, every student’s application is evaluated for college readiness/remediation free status as outlined by the State of Ohio’s College Readiness Guidelines found on their website and shown below as adapted to YSU’s accepted placement measures.

*Students in a major requiring a STEM intensive pathway may be subject to college level pre-requisite or supportive coursework (e.g., co-requisite, supplemental instruction) to fulfill major requirements.
The Ohio Department of Higher Education guidelines also specifies that “assessment exam scores will be valid for two years from the completion of that assessment, after which institutions may require students to repeat an assessment to determine the currency of their college readiness.” Therefore, students who have not taken the ACT or SAT test or whose ACT and SAT tests were taken more than two years ago ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE PLACEMENT TESTING BEFORE ATTENDING ORIENTATION AND ENROLLING IN COURSES AT YSU.

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  • The Composition/English Placement Test

    The Composition/English Placement Test

    • The Composition Placement Test is a one-time written essay in which students have 40 minutes to write a response to a prompt provided at the start of the exam. The written response will be evaluated according to the clarity of the main idea, logical and adequate support of the main idea, grammar, spelling and punctuation.
    • The English Placement Score is a "multiple measure," meaning, when available, YSU uses TWO scores for placement. The two scores used are the Composition Placement Test AND the ACT English Subscore or the SAT Evidenced-based Reading/Writing Score. We encourage those lacking ACT/SAT test scores or whose ACT/SAT test scores are more than two years old to take the ACT or SAT test for use in placement decisions. This test is given once with no opportunity for retesting.
    • Students may select "Schedule Placement Testing" to make an appointment to take placement tests at YSU. The Composition, Reading and/or Math Placement tests can be taken on the same testing date.
  • The Math Placement Test

    *Effective Fall 2019, a new student who is accepted with a Math ACT/SAT subscore below 27(ACT)/630(SAT) must complete the ALEKS Math Assessment unless they have approved credit through the AP or CLEP Examinations. All transfer students must complete the ALEKS Math Assessment for placement unless they have approved credit through their previous institution that is equivalent to a YSU prerequisite course.

    The Math Placement Test

    • The YSU Math Department uses a placement assessment called ALEKS PPL. The ALEKS Placement Assessment covers material from Basic Math through Pre-calculus and will take approximately 90 minutes to complete. After the first assessment, a targeted Prep and Learning Module is available for you to review and learn material, and to improve placement with the opportunity to retest. For more information on the ALEKS Math Placement Test, please see "ALEKS Math Placement Assessment.
    • If, after receiving your score on the Math Placement Test, you would like to try testing again, you may retake the Aleks placement test. However, before rescheduling your exam, you are required to work for a minimum of TEN hours in the Prep and Learning Modules within Aleks. You must also wait a minimum of 48 hours between each test attempt.
    • Students may select "Schedule Placement Testing" to make an appointment to take the placement tests. Multiple placement tests (Math, Composition and Reading) can be taken on the same testing date.
  • The Foreign Language Placement Tests
    • Students planning to major in the following programs are required complete foreign language coursework as a requirement of the degree program:
      • Africana Studies; American Studies; Anthropology; Applied Music (Instrumental & Voice) (CCAC); Art History (CCAC); Economics; English; French; Geography; Gerontology; History; Italian; Journalism; Mathematics; Music Theory (CCAC); Music History (CCAC); Philosophy; Political Science; Pre-Law; Professional Writing and Editing; Psychology; Religious Studies; Statistics; Social Studies; Sociology; Spanish; Communication Studies (CCAC); Telecommunication Studies (CCAC); and Theater (CCAC); BA degrees in the College of STEM, such as Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics/Astronomy, Geology, and some Individualized Curriculum Programs (ICP).
    • Students planning to major in a program requiring foreign language study (see list above) or those students intending to take a foreign language course may choose to take the Foreign Language Placement Test (FLPT) only if they want to register for an INTERMEDIATE or higher foreign language course. Students who have taken a foreign language in high school may enroll in any elementary language course without taking the FLPT.
    • The Foreign Language Placement Test is given in the commonly taught languages: French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. Placing at the elementary level in one language automatically qualifies you for the elementary course in any language, not just the language tested.
  • CLEP: Credit by Exam
    • The CLEP College Algebra and Calculus exams are designed to measure knowledge and skills typically learned in a similar college level course. The College Algebra exam is comprised of 60 questions to be answered in 90 minutes whereas the Calculus exam contains 44 questions to be answered in 90 minutes.
    • The CLEP Foreign Language exams are designed to measure knowledge and skills typically learned in the first and second year of college language study. The exam contains approximately 121 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. The CLEP exams require that students demonstrate their ability to understand spoken and written language.
    • Students may register for a CLEP exam. After registering for a CLEP exam, go to the Testing Center page to schedule your CLEP appointment. Taking the CLEP exams will allow you to earn college credit toward your language or mathematics requirements. **Please note there are fees involved when taking the CLEP exam. Additional information can be found on the Credit By Exam page.