Empowering Students to Succeed Through Accuplacer Preparation

Mandy WilliamsCaldwell Community College and

Technical Institutemwilliams@cccti.edu

828.726.2274

Workshop Objectives

• Become more familiar with the Accuplacer test• Learn about the College Placement Test (CPT)

Preparation course design • Learn about the impact of the CPT Preparation

course on student Accuplacer scores• Be provided with CPT resources• Brainstorm and share ideas about how workshop

content may be used in your own classes and programs

Icebreaker

Which Placement Test Does Your College Use?

• ACCUPLACER• COMPASS• ASSET• Other

The Problem• GED and Adult High School Diploma (AHSD) graduates were

taking the College Placement Test (Accuplacer) and placing into developmental courses.

• Students were unfamiliar with the Accuplacer and were not reviewing or practicing before taking it.

• Studies indicate that less than 25 % of community college students in developmental education earn a degree within eight years.

Our Solution• Designed the College Placement Test Preparation Course

• Offered the course to currently enrolled GED/AHSD students and recent graduates

• During the summer, offered the course to local high school graduates who scored into developmental courses when taking the Accuplacer

Overall Results

• 96 % increased their scores in at least one subject area

• 81 % placed out of at least one developmental course

• 39 % placed completely out of all developmental courses

Results by Subject Area• Reading: • 84 % placed out of at least one developmental level• 61 % placed out of all developmental reading

• Sentence Skills: • 86 % placed out of at least one developmental level • 65 % placed out of all developmental English

• Arithmetic: • 79 % placed out of at least one developmental level• 74 % placed out of all developmental arithmetic

• Algebra: • 58 % placed out of at least one developmental level • 48 % placed out of developmental Algebra

More Results

Accuplacer (Out of those pre-tested)• Greatest individual gain – 52 points• Average gain – 20 points

TABE• 70 % increased on TABE • Greatest TABE gain – 3.5 grade levels• Average TABE gain – 2.2 grade levels

Student Comments• “In my opinion this class has helped me throughout these last

couple weeks. Mrs. Williams taking the time to actually sit down and discuss my problem areas with me has helped me place out of my math class. I am very thankful that I received the opportunity to take this class. I think it will help me in my college career.”

• “I'm feeling very good about this class. It has really helped me review all I need for math. I had forgotten how to do math without a calculator, which is really bad!”

• “Thanks to this class I’ve been able to go from a basic understanding of the subject areas to a deeper understanding. I was able to pass all of my placement tests!”

Design of CPT Preparation Course

• 30 – 60 contact hours

• Face-to-face instruction in reading, sentence skills, arithmetic, algebra, and test-taking strategies

• Computerized instruction• ITTS (Instruction Targeted for TABE Success, Level A)• Various online resources including practice CPT

CPT Preparation Course Objectives

• Improve reading comprehension• Determine relationships between sentences• Understand correct sentence structure• Rewrite sentences according to specified criteria• Perform basic arithmetic operations• Solve relevant, multi-step mathematical problems• Perform algebraic operations• Apply algebraic concepts in problem solving

ACCUPLACER (CPT) Test

• Reading Comprehension• Sentence Skills• Arithmetic• Algebra

Reading Comprehension

Passage-Based Reading Selections

• Short reading passages followed by questions based on the reading selection.

• These questions check understanding of• Main idea• Supporting details• Inference• Purpose• Tone• Persuasive strategies

Sentence Relationships• Two sentences followed by a question asking how the sentences are

related• Relationships include • Support• Detail• Contradiction• Repetition• Cause• Effect• Comparison• Contrast• Exception

12 Powerful Words• Analyze• Infer• Evaluate• Describe• Support• Explain• Summarize• Compare• Contrast• Predict• Formulate• Trace

Ten Steps to Building College Reading Skills

This book covers the following ten key reading skills:

1. Dictionary Use2. Vocabulary in Context3. Main Ideas4. Supporting Details5. Locations of Main Ideas6. Relationships that involve addition and time7. Relationships that involve examples, comparison/contrast,

and cause/effect8. Inferences9. Implied Main Ideas10. The Basics of Argument

Cheating is the ultimate trick a student plays on him or herself. Aside from the primary point of making an absolute mockery of the purpose of a college education, there is also the fact that there is no way a student can avoid being found out - there is at least one person who will always know about it.

With which of the following statements would the author agree?

a. Students should not cheat because someone will find out and report it.

b. Cheating really hurts the cheater. c. Professors should expect students to cheat.

Answer: B

Reading Sample Question: Inferring Information

Many college students do not want to take a math class. When they learn that math is a requirement, these students hope for a way to avoid it. These students may be suffering from math anxiety, an overwhelming fear of the subject, rather than an intellectual impairment.

The main idea of this passage is:

a. Many students are bad at math b. Students who are bad at math can avoid taking it. c. Students who hope to avoid math may have math anxiety.

Answer: C

Reading Sample Question: Main Idea

The owning of an automobile allows Americans the opportunity to explore this vast country.

In failing to develop a national public transportation system the ability of Americans to travel is severely limited. The above 2 sentences:

a. Contradict each other b. The second sentence supports the first c. The first sentence introduces the second

Answer: A

Reading Sample Question: Relationship Question – Comparing Two Sentences

Sentence Skills Test

The Sentence Skills section of the Accuplacer placement test has two types of multiple-choice questions.

• Sentence Correction – These questions require an understanding of sentence structure and ask you to choose the most appropriate word or phrase for the underlined portion of the sentence.

• Construction Shift – These questions ask that a sentence be rewritten according to the criteria shown while maintaining essentially the same meaning as the original sentence.

Sentence Skills Questions

These questions test one’s ability to recognize correct sentences in written English.

• Pronoun-antecedent agreement• Subject-verb agreement and verb tense• Misplaced and dangling modifiers• Diction and logic • Sentence structure (fragments, subordination/coordination,

and parallelism)• Comma splices and run-on sentences

Sentence Skills Sample Question: Sentence Correction

Jose wanted to study he tried to keep his roommates quiet; but he did not succeed.

Select the best version of the underlined part of the sentence

a. Jose wanted to study he tried to keepb. Jose wanted to study, he tried to keepc. Because he wanted to study, Jose tried to keepd. Jose wanting to study, and trying to keep

Answer: C

Sentence Skills Sample Question: Construction Shift

“She thought that advertising should have an immediate, powerful impact and, as a result of this notion of hers, she made commercials with a strong emotional content.”

Rewrite this sentence, beginning with

Her new commercials had…

The new sentence will include

a. they resulted fromb. the result was thatc. caused by thinkingd. because she thought

Answer: D

Construction Shift Tips

• When you have to rewrite a portion of a sentence or a whole sentence, never make a choice without reading all of the options. A sentence with a mechanical error will often sound okay until you have read the other choices.

• Finally, since there are two types of construction shifts, be very careful to note how you are being asked to rewrite a sentence. The phrasing is usually:

• The next words will be

or • The new sentence will include

Arithmetic Test

The Arithmetic section of the Accuplacer placement test measures your ability to perform basic arithmetic operations and to solve problems that involve fundamental arithmetic concepts. There are 17 questions on the Arithmetic test divided into three topic areas.

• Operations with whole numbers and fractions

• Operations with decimals and percents

• Applications and problem solving

Arithmetic Topics• Whole Numbers and Fractions• Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division• Equivalent fractions and mixed numbers• Estimation

• Decimals and Percents• Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division• Percent problems• Recognition of decimals, fraction, and percent equivalencies• Estimation

• Applications and Problem Solving• Rate, percent, and measurement problems• Simple geometry problems• Distribution of a quantity into its fractional parts

Arithmetic Sample Question

All of the following are ways to write 30 percent of N EXCEPT

a. 0.30 N

b. 30N/100

c. 3/10 N

d. 30N

Answer: D

Algebra Test

The Algebra section of the Accuplacer placement test measures your ability to perform algebraic operations and to solve problems that involve algebraic concepts. There are 12 questions on the Algebra test divided into three topic areas.

• Operations with integers and rational numbers

• Operations with algebraic expressions

• Translating written phrases into algebraic expressions and solving equations, inequalities, and word problems

Algebra Topics

• Integers and Rational Numbers• Exponents and Square Roots• Absolute Value• Order of Operations• Simplifying Expressions• Evaluating Expressions• Solving Equations and Inequalities• Multiplying Polynomials and Factoring• Algebraic and Complex Fractions• Radicals

Algebra Sample Question

1. (3x – 2y) ²

a. 9x² - 4y²

b. 9x² + 4y²

c. 9x² - 12xy + 4y²

d. 9x² - 6xy + 4y²

Answer: C

Websites• http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/topic.html

• http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwrtp/instrdg.htm

• http://www.literacyworks.org/learningresources/index.html

• www.chompchomp.com

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

• http://www.testprepreview.com/accuplacer_practice.htm

• http://www.khanacademy.org/

• http://www.themathpage.com/ARITH/arithmetic.htm

• http://www.cpcc.edu/testing_assessment/placement-testing/accuplacer-study-guides/accuplacer-review-videos-coming-soon

• http://wcb.neit.edu/asc/prctctst.htm

How do you think you will use the workshop content in your class or program?

Group Activity

Mandy WilliamsCaldwell Community College and Technical Institute

mwilliams@cccti.edu828.726.2274

Questions