CPTS

The State of Florida has
selected a common entry
placement test for all
students beginning college
course work. The
Accuplacer Online, a
computer adaptive test,
commonly referred to as
CPT, is untimed and is
given in the Assessment
Center or at any IRSC
Campus throughout the
semester. As the name
suggests, the student reads
the instructions and
questions on a computer
monitor and selects
answers using the
computer. If the student
answers correctly, the
computer selects a question
from a large data bank
which builds on the skill of
the previous correct answer.
If the student answers
incorrectly, it selects a
question of equal or lesser
difficulty. Computerized
Placement Tests (CPTs)
provide information about
reading comprehension,
English, and mathematics
skill accomplishments.
These tests help to
determine the most
appropriate courses for
each student. Because
these test scores determine
initial course placement at
IRSC, the test should be
taken very seriously. The
Assessment Center is
located in W Building,
Room 109.

READING
COMPREHENSION

This test measures how well the student
understands what he/she reads. Some
questions are of the sentence relationship
type in which one must choose how two
sentences are related. Other questions
test recognizing distinctions between main
and secondary points and making simple
deductions from a series of facts. Specific
skills to be tested are main ideas
supporting details, words in context,
author’s purpose and tone, relationships
within and between sentences, fact and
opinion, inferences, and conclusions.
There are 20 items on the Reading
Comprehension test.

SENTENCE SKILLS

Two kinds of questions are given in this
test. Sentence correction questions ask
the student to choose a word or a phrase
to substitute for an underlined portion of a
sentence. Construction shift questions
ask that a sentence be rewritten in a
specific way without changing the
meaning . Specific skills to be tested are
word choice, sentence structure,
grammar, and punctuation. There are 20
items on the Sentence Skills test.

ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA

The Elementary Algebra Test measures
skills in three categories. The first,
operations with integers and rational
numbers, includes computations with
integers and negative rationals, the use of
absolute values, and ordering. The
second category, operations with algebraic
expressions, test skills with the evaluation
of simple formulas and expressions , and
adding and subtracting monomials and
polynomials , the evaluation of positive

COLLEGE-LEVEL
MATHEMATICS

A score on the Elementary Algebra test of
90 - 120 is required in order to take the
optional College-Level Mathematics test
which assesses proficiency from
intermediate algebra through precalculus.
Six categories are covered. The first
category, algebraic operations, includes
simplifying rational algebraic expressions,
factoring and expanding polynomials, and
manipulating roots and exponents . The
second category, solutions of equations
and inequalities , includes the solution of
linear and quadratic equations.
Coordinate geometry asks questions
about plane geometry, the coordinate
plane, straight lines, conics, sets of points
in the plane, and include complex
numbers and series and sequences,
determinants, permutations and
combinations , fractions, and word
problems. The last category, functions
and trigonometry, presents questions
about polynomial, algebraic, exponential,
logarithmic and trigonometric functions .
There are 20 items on the College-Level
Mathematics test.

See Reverse Side for Placement
Scores

COST

Students who do not have current test scores on file (2 years or less) will register for the full test battery
(Reading Comprehension,
Sentence Skills, Elementary
Algebra, and optional College Level Mathematics) and pay a $10 fee. Students may retest every 45 days on individual subtests and pay
$10 each time they test. The
student will register for the test at Student Services or at one of the IRSC Campus offices. Main Campus students must pay fees at the Cashier’s Office, located in the “W” Building. The student will then take the validated receipt and photo
ID to the Assessment Center in W- 109 when he/she decides to take the test. A paid receipt is valid for one year. The tests will be administered
based on space availability.

CPT HOURS

Main Campus - Fort Pierce
Monday - Thursday
8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Friday
8:00 a.m. - 12 noon

Consult Chastain, Mueller, Dixon Hendry, and St. Lucie West campuses for test dates and times.

Testing under “special conditions” will be handled individually through the Office of Student Disabilities and
the Assessment Office.

RETEST POLICY

A student must wait for at least 45 days to elapse before retesting on the CPT or any individual subtest previously tested on during that 45-
day period. Scores will be voided if a student retests before the 45-day retest period.

SCORES FOR COURSE
PLACEMENT

English
20 - 60
* ENC 0080, Basic English Review
or
** EAP 0380, Grammar and Writing I

61 - 82
* ENC 0001, Fund of Writing
or
** EAP 0480, Grammar and Writing II

83 - 120
ENC 1101, English Composition I
and
REA 1204, Adv Col Reading I

Reading
20 - 57
* REA 0001, Col Prep Reading I
or
** EAP 0320, Reading and Writing I

58 - 82
* REA 0002, Col Prep Reading II
or
** EAP 0420, Reading and Writing II

83 - 120
REA 1205, Adv Col Reading I
Recommended, Not Required

* College Preparatory Credit (does not
apply towards degree program)

** For Foreign born students who speak a
native language other than English.

COURSE PLACEMENT SCORES ARE
SUBJECT TO CHANGE

20 - 42
* MAT 0012, Pre-Algebra

43 - 71
* MAT0024 Intro to Algebra

72 - 120
MAT 1033, Intermediate Algebra

College-Level
Mathematics

30 - 43
MGF 2106, Math for Lib Arts I
or
MTG 2204, Elem Geometry

44 - 59
MAC 1105, College Algebra
or
STA 2023, Elem Statistics I

60 - 89
MAC 1140, Pre Calculus Algebra
or
MAC 2233, Business Calculus I
or
MAC 1114, Plane Trigonometry

90 - 120
MAC 2311, Calculus I with Analytic
Geometry