Placement TESTS

All degree/certificate-seeking students must have current placements in reading, English, and math before they can register for classes. See below for more information concerning a specific placement.

Reading Placement New and returning students must have reading placement on file before contacting Academic Advising/registering for courses.

Check the Parkland College Placement Manual to determine what measures can be used for reading placement.

Any documents used for a reading placement must be submitted to Parkland College Admissions and Records for entry and evaluation.

If you do not have a reading placement on file, you can take the Parkland College Accuplacer reading test. 

For test scheduling information visit Test Scheduling .

The Learning Commons may have test preparation resources available.

Retesting Policy:

You must wait 48 hours between placement assessments. Currently, the reassessment fee of $10 is being waived. 

Placement measures expire after 3 academic years.

English Placement New and returning students must have English placement on file before contacting Academic Advising/registering for courses.

Check the Parkland College Placement Manual to determine what measures can be used for English placement.

Any documents used for an English placement must be submitted to Parkland College Admissions and Records for entry and evaluation.

If you do not have an English placement on file, you can take the Parkland College Accuplacer English test.

For test scheduling information visit Test Scheduling.

Writing Sample (essay):

The writing sample is a 60 minute, computer based essay. A pencil and paper essay must be requested. When writing the essay, one of two given topics will be chosen to write about. These topics are general information/personal opinion topics that do not require specific content information or prior knowledge. The evaluators are more interested in how you state your ideas rather than what those ideas are.

Composition faculty will evaluate your essay to determine if you have the skills necessary for a college-level composition course. They look at the essay's organization and development of ideas as well as how clearly you express your thoughts and how well you use grammar and punctuation. Because the time to write your essay is limited, they suggest that you make your main point clear in the first paragraph and then use subsequent paragraphs to provide supporting details and discussion.

Retesting Policy:

You must wait 48 hours between placement assessments. Currently, the reassessment fee of $10 is being waived. 

Placement measures expire after 3 academic years.

Mathematics Placement New and returning students must have mathematics placement on file before contacting Academic Advising/registering for courses.

Check the Parkland College Placement Manual to determine what measures can be used for mathematics placement.

Any documents used for a mathematics placement must be submitted to Parkland College Admissions and Records for entry and evaluation.

If you do not have a mathematics placement on file, you can take the Parkland College ALEKS mathematics test. 

For account setup instructions and more information visit Math Placement .

The Learning Commons may have test preparation resources available.

Retesting Policy:

You must wait 24 hours between placement assessments. You may take up to five placement assessments. However, it is required that you spend five hours working in your ALEKS Prep and Learning Module before proctored placements 3, 4, and 5.

Login to access the prep modules for ALEKS PPL reassessment.

Currently, the $10 reassessment fee is being waived.

Placement measures expire after a minimum of 2 academic years.

Non-Native Speaking (NNS) assessment used for course placement New and returning students whose first language is not English will have to take the NNS assessment.

English as a Second Language (ESL) or Non-Native Speaking (NNS) Placement Tests

Parkland College uses the Michigan Language Assessments Michigan English Placement Test (known as CaMLA) to determine ESL/NNS placement. The MichiganEPT test is designed to quickly and reliably place ESL/NNS students into appropriate ability levels. It provides an accurate assessment of a test taker’s general language proficiency by measuring performance in key skill areas.You DO NOT need to take the ESL Placement test if you scored a 61 or higher on the IBT TOEFL or a 6 on the IELTS and submitted your score report to Admissions and Records. You would be eligible for the ESL writing sample and math placement tests

 

# Assessment Minimum Eligibility

1

TOEFL

61

Eligible for Non-Native Speaker Writing Sample

2

TOEFL

61

Eligible for Parkland Math Placement Assessment

3

IELTS

6

Eligible for Non-Native Speaker Writing Sample

4

IELTS

6

Eligible for Parkland Math Placement Assessment

5

Michigan EPT

69  

Eligible for Non-Native Speaker Writing Sample

6

Michigan EPT

51

Eligible for Parkland Math Placement Assessment



Key Skill Areas:

Listening comprehension
Grammatical knowledge
Vocabulary range
Reading comprehension


If you need to take the test:

The Michigan EPT  placement test consists of 80 questions. 20 Listening Skills questions and 60 Sentence Skills and Reading 

Comprehension questions.
Level Score Placement

Beginner

0-26

071/081/091

Beginner (high)

27-40

071/082/092

Intermediate (low)

41-50

072/083/093

Intermediate (high)

51-61

073/084/094

Advanced (low)

62-68

074/085/095

Advanced

69-80

ESL Writing Sample


Writing Sample (essay):

Certain results may qualify an assessor to complete a Writing Sample. Successful completion of the writing sample may allow a student to place higher.

The writing sample is a 60-minute, pencil-and-paper essay. When writing the essay, one of two given topics will be chosen to write about. These topics are general information/personal opinion topics that do not require specific content information or prior knowledge. The Composition faculty are more interested in how you state your ideas rather than what those ideas are.

Composition faculty will evaluate your essay to determine if you have the skills necessary for a college-level composition course. They look at the essay's organization and development of ideas as well as how clearly you express your thoughts and how well you use grammar and punctuation. Because the time to write your essay is limited, they suggest that you make your main point clear in the first paragraph and then use subsequent paragraphs to provide supporting details and discussion.  

Students that receive a score of 3 on the writing sample will be placed into college level NNS courses. 

Retesting Policy:

You must wait 48 hours between Placement Assessments. You can retest once a year. Currently, the retest fee of $10 is being waived. Placement Results expire after 2 academic years.
Chemistry Competency assessment Chemistry Competency Exam is a 90 minute computer based exam used for placement into BIO 121.

Chemistry Competency Placement Test

To be eligible for the Chemistry Competency test, you must first be approved by the Natural Sciences Department Chair. A passing score of 23, or higher, makes a student eligible to register for BIO 121.

Links for test preparation:

Chemistry Competency Exam Topic List

Retesting Policy:

The Chemistry Competency assessment can only be taken once every 3 academic years. Once taken, no retest is allowed until the 3 academic years have passed.

Spanish Assessment information Students that want to register for a Spanish course will take this assessment.

Spanish Placement Test

The Spanish placement test is a timed, 75 minute, computer-based test.

In order to sign up for the test, English 101 placement or completion of English 101 is required.

Interpreting Your Spanish Placement Exam Score 


Score Placement
0-24 SPA 101 (No assessment required to register)
25-38 SPA 102
39-48
 SPA 103
49-70 SPA 104

No minimum score or prerequisite for SPA 100 or SPA 500 

After the Test:

After you have taken the Spanish Placement exam, contact Admissions in U214 (217/351-2482) or Academic Advising in U267 (217/351-2219).

Retesting Policy:

There is a 6 month waiting period between Spanish Placement exams. Placement Results expire after 2 academic years.