Place Into Your First Semester Courses
Lackawanna College offers computerized assessment testing in mathematics, reading and writing using ACCUPLACER, a testing package produced by the College Board.
Your test results will determine your acceptance and course placement at Lackawanna College.
The tests are administered on-campus in the Lackawanna College Office of Enrollment assessment room or a designated computer lab. On-campus test dates and times are dependent on Lackawanna Center location. Remote proctoring is available on a case-by-case basis only for those students who reside 30 or more miles from any Lackawanna College campus location. Please click here to schedule your on-campus placement test or contact your enrollment counselor to determine other available times.
The assessment tests are untimed, so you can focus on doing your best to demonstrate your skills. Most students finish their testing in less than two hours. All test questions are multiple choice questions. A student needs no special computer skills to take these tests. The student can contact Admissions@lackawanna.edu to discuss any potential accommodations available for students with disabilities.
Bring a valid photo ID with you to your test. Lackawanna College staff will provide you with all other necessary materials, including scrap paper, pencil, and/or eraser.
You will receive your test results via email. Score reports are also accessible via your Accuplacer account or by contacting Admissions@lackawanna.edu. Your results are valid for three years. Retests within one year are rarely given and then only under special circumstances.
The Academic Development Division at Lackawanna College will evaluate your test results and your transcripts (high school and/or college) to determine your course level: developmental, transitional, or college. Students who test into a developmental or transitional level are required to complete the appropriate course(s) at the beginning of their Lackawanna College studies to remediate their skills.
Information About ACCUPLACER
The College Board provides information about ACCUPLACER on its website. Information on this page includes sample questions and tips for taking ACCUPLACER exams.
Each test is multiple-choice. You must answer every question. Before you move on to the next question, you may change your answer to that question. Once you have completed a question and moved to the next questions, you cannot return to a previous question.
Sentence Skills Test (20 questions)
The Sentence Skills Test requires you to understand sentence structure, the logic of the sentence, and the relationship between coordination and subordination. There are 20 questions of two types. The first type of question involves sentence correction. The second type of question involves construction shift.
Reading Comprehension Test (20 questions)
The Reading Comprehension Test requires you to understand what you read, to critically analyze the main ideas of a passage, and to draw inferences. There are 20 questions of two types. The first type includes both long and short reading passages with questions based on the text. Passages are classified by their degree of difficulty. The second type involves sentence relationships. Two sentences are presented followed by a question about the relationship between the two sentences.
Mathematics Test
The majority of mathematics test items correspond to content normally encountered by students in high school mathematics courses. Lackawanna College urges you to review the following information to prepare yourself for the test. Please do not assume that your knowledge of arithmetic and elementary algebra will return to you at the time of the test without prior review. The best prepared students review math for at least five hours.
Arithmetic portion of the test (17 questions) covers:
- Operations with whole numbers and fractions: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, recognizing equivalent fractions and mixed numbers, and estimating.
- Operations with decimals and percents: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with decimals. Other topics include percents, recognition of decimals, fraction and percent equivalencies, and estimation.
- Applications and problem solving: rate, percent, measurement, simple geometry, and distribution of a quantity into its fractional parts.
The Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS) portion of the test (12 questions) covers:
- Operations with integers and rational numbers, computation with integers and negative rational numbers, the use of absolute values, and ordering.
- Operations with algebraic expressions using evaluation of simple formulas and expressions, adding and subtracting monomials and polynomials, multiplying and dividing monomials and polynomials, the evaluation of positive rational roots and exponents, simplifying algebraic fractions, and factoring.
- Solving equations, word problems, linear equations, and inequalities. Also, solving quadratic equations by factoring, solving verbal problems presented in an algebraic context including geometric reasoning and graphing, and translating written phrases into algebraic expressions.
Accuplacer Practice Test Preparation
If you plan to take an assessment test, Lackawanna College strongly encourages you to review appropriate materials before you test. The students who do not do well on the assessment tests tend to be the students who have not reviewed.
Remember: No one passes or fails ACCUPLACER tests, but it’s important to complete the test using your best effort, so you can get an accurate measure of your academic skills and be placed in the appropriate course.