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What to Know About the Accuplacer Exam

The Accuplacer is commonly used to determine academic abilities for placement in college courses.

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Students should check with individual colleges to see what scores they should aim for based on their goals.

The SAT is a household name and AP classes are ubiquitous. But the Accuplacer, a lesser-known suite of tests from the College Board, also plays an important role in helping gauge college readiness and is used by some schools to determine accurate course placement.

While the SAT has a reputation as a high-stakes exam traditionally tied to admissions decisions and scholarships, college officials say the Accuplacer is more about finding out where student abilities stand in order to place them in the proper classes. Often the exam is used by high schools to determine dual enrollment capabilities and by colleges to measure the abilities of adult learners.

"The Accuplacer placement test is designed to help see where (prospective) students are currently at with the course content," says Hannah Mathes, associate director of the testing center at Heartland Community College in Illinois.

The Accuplacer is commonly used at community colleges to help determine which classes are appropriate for entering students. Other placement options include high school GPA and standardized test scores.

Mathes says the Accuplacer is likely to be taken by prospective students who don't have recent grades or SAT or ACT scores. While traditional-age college freshmen straight out of high school have recent GPA data and possibly test scores, that is less true of adult students who haven't been in the classroom in years.

College applicants may also use the Accuplacer to test into higher-level math courses, such as calculus, if they want to take those classes but don't have the classroom experience to show they can do the work.

But experts say the exam is ultimately about recognizing where students are and placing them in programs to help achieve their end goals, which vary greatly. For example, a student aiming for an associate degree will have greater requirements than someone enrolling in a short-term certificate program , which may have limited requirements for math and emphasize other skills instead.

"We want to ensure that students are prepared and we want to accurately place students in the right courses so they can complete those courses successfully," says Traci Van Prooyen, Heartland's associate vice president for academic affairs.

What to Expect When Taking the Accuplacer

While other standardized exams may feel like a race against the clock, the Accuplacer is untimed. How quickly a student finishes will depend on his or her abilities, but completion time is typically two to three hours depending on placement level.

Though some other exams may take weeks after the test day for the results to be released, Accuplacer scores are provided immediately.

According to the College Board website, the Accuplacer "uses the latest computer-adaptive technology, which means the questions you see are based on your skill level." How a test-taker responds to a question will determine the difficulty of the next question. Additionally, colleges have some flexibility in determining what is on the test in order to suit their own program assessment needs.

Prices to administer the test are set by individual colleges, and some don't charge students a fee. Both in-person and remote testing opportunities are available but may vary by college. Students should visit the College Board website to find testing options .

How to Understand Accuplacer Scores

The universal question when taking a standardized test is, "What's a good score?" The answer often depends on what the student is aiming for, and the same rings true regarding the Accuplacer. It comes down to what placement the student is targeting.

Some students may be looking to get into higher-level courses while others are just looking to get into college. That may mean one student is happy with avoiding remedial classes while another needs this work to build a solid academic foundation.

Essentially, there is no such thing as passing or failing the Accuplacer, experts say.

"One of the things that we frequently tell students is that at our institution, there's no passing and there's no failing," Mathes says. "Regardless of how they score on the test, they will get a placement at the end of the day."

The Accuplacer "supports students ready to start earning credits toward their degree as well as those who need to develop their skills before taking college-level courses," Jerome White, director of media relations and external communications at the College Board, wrote in an email. He added that "test results let students know where they stand academically, which makes it easier for them to plan a successful path toward a college degree."

Students should think of the Accuplacer as a series of tests, all with slightly different scoring mechanisms. For example, the Accuplacer reading, writing, quantitative reasoning and statistics, and advanced algebra and functions tests each have a score range of 200 to 300.

The best way to get a sense of what those scores mean is to understand the threshold needed to get into desired college classes. Students should check with individual colleges to see what scores they should aim for based on their goals.

The essay portion of the exam, WritePlacer, has a score range of 1 to 8.

The Accuplacer can also be used to determine placement for students who speak English as a second language. The College Board offers four Accuplacer ESL tests – language use, listening, reading and sentence skills – which are each scored on a range of 20 to 120. The essay portion, WritePlacer ESL, is scored on a range from 1 to 6.

"To help students understand what their score means, they can review the Skills Insight statements for each test," White says.

Where to Find Accuplacer Test Prep Resources

Unlike the SAT and ACT, which have seemingly endless options of free and paid resources, Accuplacer test prep content isn't as widely available from third-party providers. But the College Board does offer complimentary exam practice resources online.

Some schools, such as Heartland, also offer tutoring services for applicants planning to take the Accuplacer. In addition to in-house tutoring services, Mathes also recommends that students sign up for practice sessions on the College Board website. She cites the Khan Academy website as another useful test prep resource, particularly to help students with the math tests.

However prospective students choose to study, Van Prooyen encourages them to get an early start. "Instead of studying the night before – which tends to increase anxiety – if you spread out test preparation over a week or two, that helps lower test anxiety."

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WritePlacer Essay Guide

During the ACCUPLACER test, you will have to take the WritePlacer exam, which requires you to write an essay. Your essay will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Purpose and focus
• Organization and structure
• Development and support
• Sentence variety and style
• Mechanical Conventions
• Critical thinking

You will have 1 hour to plan, write, and proofread this essay.

Your Accuplacer essay is only required to be 300–600 words in length, so a simple 5 paragraph essay will be more than sufficient. Scores on WritePlacer range from 1 to 8, with 8 being the highest.

An essay that is too short to be evaluated, written on a topic other than the one presented, or written in a language other than English will be given a score of zero.

The biggest differences between a low-scoring and a high-scoring essay is LENGTH and CLARITY. Aim to achieve multiple paragraphs with good organization, and this essay should be fairly easy!

WritePlacer Tips and Strategies

• This essay DOES NOT require you to have any outside knowledge. The essay will be based off a provided prompt meant to spark your creativity. Everything you need to answer the question will be part of the prompt!
• You must take a clear stance. Unlike real life where most of our opinions are a mix of gray, the ACCUPLACER essay requires you to take a strong stance on the issue provided in the prompt. Essays that don’t take a clear stance will score low on the rubric.
• Your stance doesn’t affect your score. The test is not steering you to one side of the argument or another. The side you choose doesn’t matter; what matters is how well you craft your argument.
• Don’t change your stance. Part of taking a clear stance means following it through to the end of the response. Even if you are struggling with the stance you chose, work your way to the end.
• Be specific in your argument. As long as you can argue logically that it supports your thesis, no example is “too” specific. One of the biggest issues that writers have with the WritePlacer exam is being too vague and general. If you are using an example from personal experience, using some names, dates, places, and other concrete details can go a long way. Try to avoid hypothetical examples as well.
• Incorporate a counter-argument. While you need to take a clear stance, that doesn’t mean you have to ignore the other side of the argument. The best writers take the opposing side into account before criticizing it and effectively securing their stance as the correct one. This is a great tool to use in your conclusion, although many students include it in an additional body paragraph.
• Keep the introduction and conclusion brief . Don’t take forever to get to the topic. The function of an introductory paragraph is to introduce the reader to the topic in the prompt, and then to clearly and forcefully state your position on it. This should be done in no more than 3–4 sentences. In the conclusion, 1–2 sentences are enough to reiterate your position and leave the essay with a closing idea. Save the bulk of your writing-time for your body paragraphs!
• Use Transition Words . Scroll down to the bottom of this article to see a good list of common transition words. Be sure to use them as you move between paragraphs! Always make sure the reader will understand why you are moving from one paragraph to the next paragraph!

WritePlacer Template

This is a sample outline for the ACCUPLACER Essay. Notice we are aiming for 5 paragraphs total. You may opt for a shorter 4 paragraph version if 5 paragraphs are too many for you to write, but aim for 5 paragraphs if you can. If you have trouble completing 5 paragraphs, see if you can streamline your body paragraphs. They can often be bloated with unnecessary wordiness. Keep the introduction and the conclusion short and sweet.

Paragraph 1 — Introduction (3–4 sentences)

You will want to begin your essay with one of the following:

• a generalization about the topic,
• a quotation,
• a short anecdote to set-up the correctness of your position,
• a historical framework,
• or a piece of news illustrating the contemporariness of the issue.

Admit to the complexity of the issue. You have two goals in the beginning part of the essay: to introduce the  topic , and to express your  opinion  on it. Be sure to place your thesis as the final sentence in your introduction.

Paragraph 2 — First Example (4–6 sentences)

Start with your most-powerful or relevant example. Remember that you won’t have any material to work from, so it’s OK that you don’t have direct quotes, statistics, or other incredibly specific details in your examples. However, be as specific as you can be about how your example supports your position. Anything can be an example, but choose ONE only for each paragraph. It needs to be something you are knowledgeable about and also something that you believe strongly supports your thesis. You have three tasks in your body paragraphs:

• Introduce your example (history, science, politics, business, entertainment, pop culture, current events, personal experience, etc).
• Describe your example as specifically as you can (do not make up fact/statistics; readers can usually tell when you’re making something up).
• Explain how it fully supports your thesis. This is the most important step and should be your main focus. This is where you prove your point.

You should be spending the majority of your body paragraph accomplishing the third step:  explaining how it fully supports your thesis . Aim to convince the reader through very concrete details how your position on the issue is correct.

Paragraph 3 — Second Example (4–6 sentences)

Use a transition phrase to introduce the second example, and then follow the same format as the previous paragraph with your new example. It’s OK to mention your first example, but the main focus of your paragraph should be on the new example, and, most importantly, how the new example proves your thesis.

Paragraph 4 — Third Example (4–6 sentences)

Use another transition phrase to introduce your third example. Then, follow the same format as the previous two paragraphs. Again, make sure the focus of your paragraph is on your new example and how it proves your thesis.

Paragraph 5 —  Conclusion (2–4 sentences)

Many writers struggle with the conclusion. A good way to end your essay is with a counter-argument. Introduce an opposing opinion, explain it in general terms, then refute it. Finish the paragraph by reinforcing the correctness of your own stance. Here’s how it might look:

Despite the fact that                     , some people will argue that                     . However,                     (refute the opposing viewpoint as wrong and/or shortsighted) . Instead,                     (discuss how your viewpoint is more valid than the viewpoint of the opposition ). Therefore,                     (leave the reader thinking about how correct your stance is) .

ACCUPLACER Essay Practice

Be sure to write at least 2 sample essays before your exam. This will help you sharpen your skills and ensure that you are comfortable with the format. Have a teacher, friend, or mentor read through your exam and give you feedback. Use the links below to find our 2 practice ACCUPLACER essay prompts. As you write your practice essays try to follow the above template to the best of your ability:

Practice Essay 1

Practice Essay 2

Transition Words List

Agreement Words

• in the first place
• not only … but also
• as a matter of fact
• in like manner
• in addition
• coupled with
• in the same fashion / way
• first, second, third
• in the light of

Opposition Words

• in contrast
• different from
• of course …, but
• on the other hand
• on the contrary
• at the same time
• in spite of
• (and) still

Causation Words

• in the event that
• for the purpose of
• with this intention
• with this in mind
• in the hope that
• in order to
• … then

Example Words

• in other words
• to put it differently
• for one thing
• as an illustration
• in this case
• for this reason
• to put it another way
• that is to say
• with attention to

More Resources

We have plenty of additional resources to help you with your Accuplacer test prep. Check out both of our practice essays for more WritePlacer practice, or head over to our home page for a full-length practice test.

Accuplacer Practice Test

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, what are good accuplacer test scores.

General Education

For some new college students, taking an ACCUPLACER exam is the first step to enrolling in the right courses for their skill level. That’s because the ACCUPLACER is a placement test that some colleges use to determine whether you’re ready for credit-earning courses or whether you need to take a few remediation classes. 

That’s to say that if you do well on the ACCUPLACER exam, you’ll be able to start taking credit-earning courses right away! 

But what constitutes a “good” ACCUPLACER score, exactly? In this article, we’ll give you all the information you need about ACCUPLACER test scores, including: 

• What the ACCUPLACER test is, who takes it
• Why doing well on the ACCUPLACER exams is important
• How the ACCUPLACER exams are scored and the score range
• How to interpret your ACCUPLACER test scores

Then, we’ll wrap things up with our top tips for doing well on the exam. So let’s get started!

What Is the ACCUPLACER Test? 

The CollegeBoard’s ACCUPLACER exam is a test that U.S. colleges and universities use to assess student readiness for introductory-level, credit bearing college courses. Put another way, universities use the ACCUPLACER test to make sure you’re ready to take credit-earning classes!

Who needs to take the ACCUPLACER test? The short answer is that it depends on your university’s requirements . Not all schools require the ACCUPLACER test, and those that do may have criteria that allows students with high grades or test scores to be exempt from the exam. Additionally, some universities require non-native English speakers to take the ESL version of the exam. 

Ultimately, the best way to know if you have to take the ACCUPLACER exam is to check with your university. 

But what does the ACCUPLACER exam cover, exactly? And what concepts and skills do you need to have to pass with flying colors? 

The ACCUPLACER exam tests five different subject areas: Reading; Writing; Arithmetic; Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics; and Advanced Algebra and Functions. 

There are also f our ACCUPLACER ESL (English as a Second Language) exams: Language Use, Listening, Reading, and Sentence Skills. ACCUPLACER ESL tests assess English language learners' command of the English language.

Keep in mind that the ACCUPLACER exam is designed to test your college readiness. If you want to start taking credit-earning courses as soon as possible, then you’ll need to get good ACCUPLACER scores. If you want to learn more about the ACCUPLACER exam, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide .

Each university determines what constitutes a "good" ACCUPLACER test score. Given that, our general advice is that you should aim for a score at least a 237 or higher. 

How Is the ACCUPLACER Test Scored?  

The ACCUPLACER score range for the Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics, and Advanced Algebra and Functions tests is 200-300. 

ACCUPLACER Score Ranges

Within this ACCUPLACER score range are five “score bands,” or smaller score ranges that are defined and explained by Skills Insight statements. The Skills Insight statements , designed by the College Board, break down ACCUPLACER exam scores into the following five “score bands”:

Each university determines the minimum scores you need to make in order to bypass remediation classes and start earning college credit.

Having said that, we recommend that you aim to score a 263 or above. That’s because students scoring in the highest two score bands demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the complex skills and knowledge you need to succeed in college courses.

The Skills Insight statement for each ACCUPLACER subject exam provides a full description of each score band. These descriptions explain what skills and knowledge students scoring within a specific score band can typically demonstrate .

For example, the Skills Insight statement for the ACCUPLACER Reading exam says the following about students scoring in the 276-300 score band:

Students scoring in this band can typically demonstrate the following additional skills and knowledge in complex to highly complex texts:

• Determine a complex function of a part of a text in relation to the whole text
• Determine a complex to highly complex central claim or counterclaim of a text
• Reach complex to highly complex or subtle assessments of an author’s reasoning or use of evidence

Luckily, the College Board provides a comprehensive breakdown of the score bands for each of the subject tests . Students can learn about the normal skills and knowledge associated with each score band on each exam by reading through the ACCUPLACER Skills Insight document .

ACCUPLACER ESL Score Range/h3>

The four ACCUPLACER ESL tests use a different score range. The Language Use, Listening, Reading, and Sentence Skills ESL tests each have a score range from 20–120 , with 120 being the highest possible score. The College Board does not provide score bands or Skills Insight statements for these exams, but you can learn more about what the ESL exams assess here . 

The WritePlacer Essay Exam Score Range

There’s also the WritePlacer essay exam and WritePlacer ESL essay exam, which use a score range of 1-8 and 1-6, respectively . Just like the other ACCUPLACER tests, the higher the number, the better the score. 

The College Board provides sample essay prompts and sample essay response s for each of the possible WritePlacer and WritePlacer ESL exam scores on their website. Reading through those materials will give you an excellent idea of what constitutes a strong, high-scoring essay. 

Understanding your ACCUPLACER test score doesn't have to feel like this. We're here to help!

How to Interpret Your ACCUPLACER Test Scores

The ACCUPLACER tests are administered online, and scores for the exams are made available to test takers immediately following completion of the test. 

In addition to test scores, these instantaneous score reports include custom messages from the student’s college or university and additional information about course placement. Basically, you’ll know if you qualify for credit-earning courses as soon as you finish your test. 

Individual colleges and universities that use the ACCUPLACER are responsible for establishing their own course placement scores to facilitate placement decisions. ACCUPLACER doesn’t mandate or recommend how any school implements course placement scores. This means that the best way to interpret your ACCUPLACER scores is by talking with your academic advisor about your college or university’s placement score requirements.

The good news is that the ACCUPLACER exam is a placement exam, meaning that you can’t fail the test . Additionally, your score on the ACCUPLACER won’t affect your enrollment at your school. The purpose of the test is to determine whether you need to take developmental classes or not.

To sum things up, no one passes or fails ACCUPLACER exams, and there isn’t a universal score that can be considered a “good score” on the ACCUPLACER tests. Talking with your academic advisor or high school guidance counselor should help you set a goal for which score band you need to score within in order to achieve a score that will help you get placed in the course you want to take.

So what’s the benefit to doing well on the ACCUPLACER test? The main benefit to scoring well on an ACCUPLACER test is that you’ll likely get out of taking developmental courses (sometimes called “basic” or “remedial” courses) and go straight into the introductory-level courses in a subject area at your school. While developmental courses can be important to your success in college, you still have to pay for them...and they don’t count for college credit. Testing out of those developmental courses by doing well on the ACCUPLACER tests will save you time and money!

4 Tips for Boosting Your ACCUPLACER Scores

Now that you know a little more about the ACCUPLACER test and ACCUPLACER scores, it’s time to start preparing for the test.

That’s why we’ve put together four tips for preparing for the exams so your ACCUPLACER scores are top notch --check them out below!

Tip 1: Review the Skills Insight Statements 

The best place to start in terms of setting yourself up to score well on the ACCUPLACER exams is by reviewing the ACCUPLACER Skills Insight statements . Remember: these Skills Insights statements explain the score bands. Specifically, they tell you the competencies you demonstrate at each score level. Not only will the Skills Insights statements help you better understand what a “good” ACCUPLACER score is, they will also help you figure out what you need to study to do well on the test. 

Tip 2: Study the CollegeBoard ACCUPLACER Sample Questions

Once you’re familiar with the skills and knowledge you’ll be tested on, you’ll be ready to practice answering real ACCUPLACER questions using the sample questions provided on the ACCUPLACER website . These sample questions and essay prompts are free and downloadable in PDF format. You can use the sample materials to get a sense of what to expect from the content and format of the different ACCUPLACER tests. Understanding the test format and material is a great first step to getting a great ACCUPLACER score! 

While there are lots of ACCUPLACER sample questions out there, we recommend starting with the ones on the CollegeBoard website. Since the CollegeBoard administers the ACCUPLACER exam, these questions are guaranteed to reflect the format and material you’ll see on the real ACCUPLACER test.  

Additionally, each set of samples comes with an answer key and rationale for each correct answer at the end. If you don’t understand why you answered a question incorrectly, the answer rationales can help you understand your mistakes and answer the questions correctly next time. 

Tip 3: Download the ACCUPLACER Study App

The College Board also provides a free ACCUPLACER Study App that can be used on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. The main purpose of the ACCUPLACER Study App is to provide practice tests that are formatted just like the real ACCUPLACER tests, and to provide immediate score results and explanations for correct and incorrect answers. 

If you want to boost your ACCUPLACER scores, whipping out your phone or tablet when you have a little spare time and working through a practice test can help you get really comfortable with the format and content of the ACCUPLACER exam. The ACCUPLACER Study App can also help you get used to completing the test on a digital device, which you’ll have to do when the actual test day arrives. 

Tip 4: Talk With Your Guidance Counselor or Academic Advisor

One of the most important things you can do to ensure you score well on the ACCUPLACER exams is to talk to your guidance counselor or academic advisor before you take the test. Your counselor or advisor will be able to explain how your college or university uses ACCUPLACER tests and advise you on what score band you should shoot for. Knowing this information can help you make better decisions about how to best prepare for the ACCUPLACER exam.

Since individual colleges and universities determine their own scoring policies for the ACCUPLACER tests, it’s important that you understand what your school considers to be a “good” score. Checking in with your academic advisor can also help you make sure that taking an ACCUPLACER test is actually the right option for you based on your academic record and learning habits. You may end up qualifying for an exemption!

What’s Next?

Are you ready to start studying for the ACCUPLACER exam, but you aren’t quite sure where to start? Don’t worry: we have a comprehensive study guide for the ACCUPLACER exam . This article will walk you through the topics covered on each subject exam, and it gives you tons of amazing study resources, too.

Like we mentioned earlier, some colleges offer ACCUPLACER exam exemptions if you have a solid high school GPA. But what constitutes a “good” GPA? You can learn more about what makes for a “good” GPA here . ( And if you need to raise your GPA in a hurry , we’ve got you covered, too!)

Studying for the ACCUPLACER can seem daunting. After all, you’re also trying to choose a major , enroll in classes, and apply for financial aid . But studying doesn’t have to be time consuming if you’re doing it efficiently. Our top study tips can help you get the most out of your study time !

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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