Test Specications
Version 2.0
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
The College Board
The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-prot organization that connects
students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College
Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership
association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading education institutions
and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the
College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful
transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and
college success—including the SAT
®
and the Advanced Placement Program
®
.
The organization also serves the education community through research and
advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools.
For further information, visit collegeboard.org.
This document describes the redesign of ACCUPLACER
®
being undertaken by the
College Board. This initial release provides an overview of the rationale behind
the redesign, its aims and nature, and information about key components of the
new, next-generation ACCUPLACER. Subsequent releases will provide additional
information for various audiences on specic topics related to the redesign.
© 2017 The College Board. College Board, ACCUPLACER, Advanced Placement Program, AP, SAT,
WritePlacer, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. COMPANION and PSAT
are trademarks owned by the College Board. PSAT/NMSQT is a registered trademark of the College
Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All other marks are the property of their respective
owners. Visit the College Board on the web: collegeboard.org.
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Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
Contents
5 List of Tables
6 Executive Summary
7 SECTION I: Behind the Redesign
7 1.1 Rationale for the Redesign
7 1.2 Alignment to the Redesigned SAT Suite of Assessments
10 SECTION II: Overview of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
11 2.1 Computer-Adaptive Testing
12 SECTION III: Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
12 3.1 Reading Placement Test
12 3.1.1 Test Description
12 3.1.2 Test Summary
13 3.1.3 Key Features
15 3.2 Writing Placement Test
15 3.2.1 Test Description
16 3.2.2 Test Summary
18 3.2.3 Key Features
20 3.3 Math: Arithmetic Placement Test
20 3.3.1 Test Description
21 3.3.2 Test Summary
21 3.3.3 Key Features
22 3.4 Math: Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics Placement Test
22 3.4.1 Test Description
23 3.4.2 Test Summary
24 3.4.3 Key Features
24 3.5 Math: Advanced Algebra and Functions Placement Test
24 3.5.1 Test Description
25 3.5.2 Test Summary
26 3.5.3 Key Features
27 SECTION IV: Developing Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
27 4.1 Guiding Principles of the College Board’s Test Development Process
27 4.2 The Test Development Process
28 4.2.1 Dening the Test Domains
28 4.2.2 Test and Question/Task Specications
28 4.2.3 Stimuli and Question Development
29 4.2.4 Content and Fairness Reviews Prior to Pretesting
30 4.2.5 Pretesting
30 4.2.6 Postoperational Administration Statistical Review
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Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
List of Tables
10 Table 1: ACCUPLACER Suite (2016 Launch)
12 Table 2: Reading Placement Test Content Specications
13 Table 3: Reading Placement Test Question Content
16 Table 4: Writing Placement Test Content Specications
17 Table 5: Writing Placement Test Question Content
21 Table 6: Arithmetic Placement Test Content Specications
21 Table 7: Arithmetic Placement Test Question Content
23 Table 8: Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics Placement Test
Content Specications
23 Table 9: Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics Placement
Test Question Content
25 Table 10: Advanced Algebra and Functions Placement Test Content
Specications
26 Table 11: Advanced Algebra and Functions Placement Test
Question Content
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Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
Executive Summary
For over 30 years, ACCUPLACER
®
has been used successfully in combination with
factors such as high school GPA to assess student preparedness for postsecondary
education. Tests within the ACCUPLACER suite are delivered over the internet
1
and are used extensively by high schools, community colleges, four-year colleges,
and technical schools around the world. ACCUPLACER test scores are used to
inform college placement decisions and to identify where students are likely to be
positioned or likely to succeed within a postsecondary course framework. In 2016,
11 million ACCUPLACER tests were administered.
While research conrms that ACCUPLACER eectively identies students’
strengths and weaknesses in core subjects—reading, writing, and math—research
has emerged in recent years showing that:
there has been an increase in the number of students enrolling in college
remediation courses
remedial course enrollment and/or completion may not propel students toward
college completion.
Recognizing the need for a comprehensive eort to help all students achieve
both college readiness and college success, the College Board has committed
to an agenda that focuses on propelling students toward attainment of these
goals. A major component of this agenda is the redesign of ACCUPLACER, or the
development of next-generation ACCUPLACER.
This document describes the redesign of ACCUPLACER. Section I discusses
the rationale for the redesign and presents the alignment of the next-generation
ACCUPLACER tests to the redesigned SAT
®
Suite of Assessments. Section II
provides a summary of the features of the next-generation ACCUPLACER. Section III
oers detailed information about the individual components of the new tests.
Section IV discusses the exacting process of the redesign.
1. COMPANION™ forms are available for students who need special accommodations or when technology
is lacking for online testing. These xed-length linear tests are equivalent to the online, computer-adaptive
tests (CAT) in specications. Test formats include braille, regular and large-print test booklets and answer
sheets, and audio CD.
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Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION I
Behind the Redesign
1.1 Rationale for the Redesign
ACCUPLACER, an assessment for measuring student readiness for credit-bearing
college courses, has been administered for over 30 years. During this time, the
College Board has paid close attention to:
evidence concerning essential prerequisites for college and career readiness
and success
changes in academic standards, curriculum, and instruction in the areas of
reading, writing, and math
feedback from ACCUPLACER users, including faculty, teachers, counselors,
focus groups, advisory panels, and institutions
feedback from high school and higher education stakeholders who use criteria
other than ACCUPLACER scores to make course placement decisions
The next-generation ACCUPLACER tests, incorporating the above input and
feedback, aim to:
clearly and transparently focus on knowledge, skills, and understandings that
research evidence shows are essential for college and career readiness and
success
assist high school and higher education institutions in selecting and
implementing a course placement system that reduces, as much as possible,
student testing time while increasing course placement accuracy and precision
provide assessment scores that are used, along with information from other
sources (e.g., high school transcripts, noncognitive data, degree program
requirements, SAT scores), by academic advisors to make course placement
recommendations
direct test takers to specic, actionable, evidence-based interventions intended
to accelerate their progress toward college and career readiness and success
1.2 Alignment to the Redesigned
SAT Suite of Assessments
Next-generation ACCUPLACER is deeply informed by evidence attesting to the
essential requirements for college and career readiness and success. The new
tests are constructed to validly and reliably measure students’ attainment of those
key requirements. The evidentiary base supporting the redesign encompasses
the College Board’s own research, including the results of its national curriculum
surveys; state standards with a clear, evidence-based approach to fostering
college and career readiness and success for all students; highly regarded
scholarly research in relevant elds; focus-group feedback from educators,
including ACCUPLACER users; and other sources. The new ACCUPLACER reading,
writing, and math designs are predicated on the same evidentiary base as that
informing the redesigned SAT Suite of Assessments.
While the relationship between next-generation ACCUPLACER and the SAT Suite is
clear and robust, the two testing programs retain important dierences that derive
largely from their overlapping yet distinct purposes. The SAT Suite, which includes
7
SECTION I Behind the Redesign
8
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT
®
and PSAT™ 10, and PSAT™ 8/9, oers a broad, longitudinal
measure of students’ attainment of essential college and career readiness
outcomes. ACCUPLACER retains its core function as a tool to aid informed college
placement decisions, as well as its role in diagnosing students’ academic strengths
and weaknesses in reading, writing, and math.
Some of the key next-generation ACCUPLACER Reading and Writing placement
test features aligned with the evidentiary base of the redesigned SAT Suite of
Assessments include:
the use of a specied range of text complexity aligned to college and career
readiness levels of reading
Text complexity is a measure of passages’ inherent reading challenge
irrespective of question complexity or diculty. Next-generation
ACCUPLACER passages range in text complexity from “somewhat
challenging” to “highly complex,” with “complex” reecting the college
and career readiness threshold. (See appendix for further details.)
a focus on relevant words in context and on word choice for rhetorical eect
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Reading placement test includes
both set-based and discrete word and phrase meaning and word choice
questions. The next-generation ACCUPLACER Writing placement test
includes a category of questions on eective language use.
attention to a core set of important English language conventions and to
eective written expression
Like the redesigned SAT, next-generation ACCUPLACER supports a
thoughtful emphasis on language conventions and language use in
several important ways. Eective language use and mastery of a core set
of conventions linked with college and career readiness and success are
two key elements of the next-generation ACCUPLACER Writing placement
test, which assesses these language skills in the context of multiparagraph
passages that test takers must revise and edit.
the requirement that students work with texts across a wide range of
disciplines
The range of content areas for texts included in next-generation
ACCUPLACER supports recent research ndings that students’ literacy
development should not be seen as merely the fostering of generic
communication skills but instead should be grounded in making students
familiar with the diering literacy demands of particular elds of study.
Similarly, some of the key next-generation ACCUPLACER Math features aligned
with the evidentiary base of the redesigned SAT Suite of Assessments include:
an emphasis on mathematical reasoning questions over reasoning questions
disconnected from the mathematics curriculum
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Math placement tests focus on applied
reasoning skills that are both essential for college and career readiness
and are taught in math classrooms. More questions will require reasoning
and insight as they relate to important curricular and career skills.
a strong emphasis on both uency and understanding
As students can’t be ready for college and career without being
mathematically procient, the next-generation ACCUPLACER Math placement
tests assess fluency with mathematical procedures and conceptual
understanding with equal intensity.
SECTION I Behind the Redesign
9
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
the inclusion of questions with one or more calculator options, as well as
no-calculator questions
No-calculator questions: These questions assess uency in rational
number arithmetic and include conceptual questions for which a calculator
is not needed. They should help assure postsecondary instructors that
students who earn high scores on the next-generation ACCUPLACER Math
placement tests do not lack the ability to perform calculations manually.
Calculator questions: Questions with calculator options give insight
into students’ capacity for strategic use of the tool to address problems
eciently. If a question is congured to allow for the use of a calculator
on computer-based tests, the calculator icon will present in the top right
corner of the screen.
2
For questions that are congured for multiple
calculators, clicking on the icon will provide the student with a drop-down
menu that could include two or three of the following:
–
Basic calculator, or four-function calculator
–
Square root calculator, or four-function calculator with square root
button
–
Graphing calculator, or TI-84 graphing calculator
richer applications emphasizing career- and college-appropriate contexts
Students will be asked to address problems in real-world contexts
drawn from career and academic settings to demonstrate a capacity for
sustained sequential reasoning.
a stronger connection to multiple mathematics pathways in college curricula
Because the mathematics prerequisites of college majors and career paths
can be vastly dierent, the next-generation ACCUPLACER Math placement
tests deliver a stronger connection to the wide variety of course sequences in
both STEM and non-STEM elds of study.
2. The use of handheld calculators should not be allowed on ACCUPLACER Math tests taken on the computer.
For calculator use on COMPANION tests, see information in the Test Description section of each next-generation
ACCUPLACER Math placement test in this document.
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION II
Overview of Next-Generation
ACCUPLACER
The ACCUPLACER redesign described in this document focuses on introducing a
number of key elements into the national ACCUPLACER assessments in an eort
to address longstanding requests from current and potential users of the program.
The following are important changes to the ACCUPLACER national program:
In (formerly Reading Comprehension), the introduction of paired
passages, literary passages, and vocabulary questions
In Writing (formerly Sentence Skills), the movement from a discrete-question
basis to a set basis, as well as a greater emphasis on broader issues of
development, organization, and eective language use at the multisentence,
paragraph, and passage levels
In the three Math placement tests, the alignment of test content to clear
“pathways”:
2
Table 1 presents the ACCUPLACER suite, with the ve new tests highlighted. The
redesign of the remaining tests is the subject of active research; meanwhile, they
will continue to be oered alongside the new tests. The ve tests being replaced
3
will also continue to be oered for a time so that current ACCUPLACER users can
plan their transition to the new tests.
Table 1: ACCUPLACER Suite 33
Placement Tests
Writing
Diagnostic Tests
Reading Comprehension
Sentence Skills
Arithmetic
Elementary Algebra
WritePlacer® (Essay)
Computer Skills
ESL Placement Tests
Reading Skills
Sentence Meaning
Language Usage
Listening
WritePlacer ESL (Essay)
3. Reading Comprehension, Sentence Skills, Arithmetic, Elementary Algebra, and College-Level Math.
10
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Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION II Overview of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
2.1 Computer-Adaptive Testing
All ACCUPLACER tests, with the exception of Computer Skills Placement,
WritePlacer, and WritePlacer ESL, are computer adaptive. Computer-adaptive
testing is a test administration system in which a computer selects and delivers
test questions to individual test takers. An adaptive test draws on a pool of
questions
4
written to the specications of the test and representing a range of
diculty. The questions themselves and the sequence in which they are presented
vary from student to student. Each question administered to a test taker is
automatically chosen to yield the most information about the test taker based on
the skill level indicated by answers to all prior questions. The criteria for selecting
the next question to be administered are complex; however, the primary goal is to
align the diculty of the question to the test taker’s current estimated prociency
in order to assess and improve the accuracy of that estimate. Unlike many
traditional tests, in which all test takers take a single form of an exam, computer-
adaptive tests are tailored for each test taker.
In its tailoring, ACCUPLACER uses a question-selection algorithm based on a
weighted deviations model. During testing, the rst question presented is of
moderate diculty and is chosen randomly from several starter questions of the
same level of diculty. If a student answers the question incorrectly, the next
question is selected from a group of easier questions. If the student answers the
question correctly, the next question presented will be somewhat more dicult.
The test delivery system repeats this process throughout the test, selecting each
consecutive question on the basis of its potential to yield the most information
about the test taker.
In the Math placement tests, the algorithm adapts at the discrete-question level.
For a portion of the Reading placement test and for the entire Writing placement
test, which contain set-based questions, the algorithm adapts at the set level; that
is, it selects the next set or discrete question based on a test taker’s responses to
a group of questions clustered around a single passage.
To ensure that each test administration conforms to content specications and
that the kinds of questions presented do not dier greatly from one student to
another except in diculty, constraints are built into the program to guide the
selection of questions. Although fewer questions are presented for each test than
would be given in a comparable linear paper and pencil test, greater measurement
precision can be achieved by providing challenging tests that correspond to each
student’s skill level. Because of the adaptive nature of the tests, the questions
presented on successiveadministrations of the tests will vary, thereby greatly
reducing the eects of repeated practice on the tests.
4. In this document, the term “question” is used broadly to refer to discrete (one question per stimulus)
and set-based (multiple-question sequences linked to a common stimulus) questions. In the Math tests,
all questions are discrete; the Reading test utilizes a combination of discrete and set-based questions; the
Writing test utilizes only set-based questions. The diculty of a set of questions is derived from the average
diculty of all the questions in the set.
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III
Specications of
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
3.1 Reading Placement Test
3.1.1 Test Description
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Reading placement test is a broad-spectrum
computer-adaptive assessment of test takers’ developed ability to derive meaning
from a range of prose texts and to determine the meaning of words and phrases
in short and extended contexts. Passages on the test cover a range of content
areas (including literature and literary nonction, careers/history/social studies,
humanities, and science), writing modes (informative/explanatory, argument,
and narrative), and complexities (relatively easy to very challenging). Both
single and paired passages are included. The test pool includes both authentic
texts (previously published passages excerpted or minimally adapted from
their published form) and commissioned texts (written specically for the test).
Questions are multiple choice in format and are either discrete (standalone) or part
of sets built around a common passage or passages. Four broad knowledge and
skill categories are assessed:
Information and Ideas (reading closely, determining central ideas and themes,
summarizing, understanding relationships)
Rhetoric (analyzing word choice rhetorically, analyzing text structure, analyzing
point of view, analyzing purpose, analyzing arguments)
Synthesis (analyzing multiple texts)
Vocabulary
3.1.2 Test Summary
The following tables provide a synopsis of key content dimensions of the Reading
placement test.
Table 2: Reading Placement Test Content Specications
Content Areas Number of Questions Percentage of Test*
1 literary set 4 20
1 informational paired set 4 20
Informational 12 60
Total 20 100
Question content distribution
Information and Ideas 7–11 35–55
Rhetoric 7–11 35–55
Synthesis
Vocabulary
2
2–4
10
10–20
* Percentages do not necessarily add up to 100.
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13
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
Table 3: Reading Placement Test Question Content
Content Dimension Description
These questions focus on the informational content of text.
Reading closely The student will identify information and ideas explicitly stated in text and will draw
reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from text.
Determining central The student will identify explicitly stated central ideas and themes in text and determine
ideas and themes implicit central ideas and themes from text.
Summarizing The student will identify a reasonable summary of a text.
Understanding relationships The student will identify explicitly stated relationships or determine implicit relationships
between and among individuals, events, or ideas (e.g., cause-eect, comparison-
contrast, sequence).
These questions focus on the craft and structure of writing.
Analyzing word choice The student will determine how the selection of specic words and phrases or the use of
rhetorically patterns of words and phrases shapes meaning and tone in text.
Analyzing text structure The student will describe the overall structure of a text or analyze the relationship between a
particular part of a text (e.g., a sentence) and the whole text.
Analyzing point of view The student will determine the point of view or perspective from which a text is related or
the inuence this point of view or perspective has on content and style.
Analyzing purpose The student will determine the main or most likely purpose of a text or of a particular part
of a text (typically, one or more paragraphs).
Analyzing arguments The student will analyze claims and counterclaims, assess an author’s reasoning for
soundness, and analyze how an author uses or fails to use evidence to support a claim
or counterclaim.
These questions focus on synthesizing multiple sources of information.
Analyzing multiple texts The student will synthesize information and ideas from multiple texts. (Note: All of the
skills listed above may be tested with either single or paired passages.)
These questions focus on determining the meaning of words and phrases in the contexts in which they appear.
3.1.3 Key Features
Computer adaptive (with two COMPANION forms also available)
Multiple-choice (four-option) xed-length placement test
20 questions per CAT administration; 40 questions per COMPANION form
Mix of set-based and discrete formats
Single placement score
Reading Passages
Reading passages are either commissioned texts (i.e., texts written specically
for the test) or authentic in that they are excerpted or adapted from previously
published texts. Passages are self-contained, requiring no topic-specic
background knowledge.
Reading stimuli are either single or paired passages. Single
passages are texts on a unied subject. Paired passages present dierent
perspectives on the same topic or two closely related topics. Paired texts are
closely related enough to serve as the basis of “bridging” (Synthesis) questions
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
14
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
drawing meaningful connections between the two but distinct enough in purpose,
perspective, informational content, or the like, that test takers can readily separate
the two texts in their minds.
Reading passages are one of two basic genres: literary or informational.
Literary passages take the form of prose ction or literary nonction (such
as selections from memoirs and personal essays); poetry and drama are not
represented. The informational genre includes texts spread across a dened
range of content areas.
Reading passages represent one of three content areas.
1. Careers/history/social studies: This category includes texts about career-
related topics, as well as texts in the academic social science disciplines.
2. Humanities: This category includes texts about arts and letters.
3. Science: This category includes texts in the academic natural science
disciplines.
Reading passages represent one of three writing modes.
1. Narrative: The passages use chronology or sequence as the organizing
principle. They are chiey literary in genre, although a small number of
informational texts also rely on narrativistic techniques.
2. Informative/explanatory: These passages convey or describe new information
and ideas. These texts are chiey informational in genre.
3. Argument: These passages seek to move readers to action or to change belief
through logical argumentation. Persuasive texts that rely on other types of
appeals, such as to emotion, are also classied as arguments for the sake of
this scheme. These texts are chiey informational in genre.
Passages in the pool for the next-generation ACCUPLACER
Reading placement test represent a range of text complexities from early high
school to rst-year postsecondary, with a large proportion of the passages
reective of college and career readiness level. To ensure that texts are
appropriately challenging, test development sta make use of quantitative and
qualitative measures of text complexity, as well as feedback from secondary and
postsecondary subject-matter experts and test data on student performance. The
computer-adaptive test design, to some extent, inuences the distribution of text
complexity encountered by any given test taker.
The qualitative text complexity rubric can be found in the appendix to this
document.
The College Board is committed to presenting students with a test-
taking experience that is reective of the diversity of the United States and the
world. To that end, the College Board works to ensure that Reading passage and
question pools include substantial content that visibly reects:
U.S.-based racial and ethnic diversity, including African American/black,
American Indian/Native American, Asian American, and Latino/a individuals,
culture, and experiences
international or global (non-U.S.) perspectives, cultures, or settings
balanced representation of genders, including passages that focus on women
and girls and their experiences
Reading passages fall into one of four length levels, as determined by
a standard word count formula in which a “word” is dened as six characters.
Very short passages are 75 to 100 standard words; short passages are 150 to 200
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
15
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
standard words; medium-length passages are 250 to 300 standard words; and long
passages are 350 to 400 standard words.
Reading Questions
Reading questions are classied into four content categories.
1. Information and Ideas questions focus on the informational content of
passages. Subcategories include reading closely, determining central ideas
and themes, summarizing, and understanding relationships.
2. Rhetoric questions focus on craft and structure and on authors’ techniques.
Subcategories include analyzing word choice, text structure, point of view,
purpose, and arguments.
3. Synthesis questions focus on the integration of information and ideas between
related texts.
4. Vocabulary questions focus on the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in particular contexts.
3.2 Writing Placement Test
3.2.1 Test Description
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Writing placement test is a broad-spectrum
computer-adaptive assessment of test takers’ developed ability to revise and
edit a range of prose texts for eective expression of ideas and for conformity
to the conventions of Standard Written English sentence structure, usage, and
punctuation. Passages on the test cover a range of content areas (including literary
nonction, careers/history/social studies, humanities, and science), writing modes
(informative/explanatory, argument, and narrative), and complexities (relatively easy
to very challenging). All passages are commissioned—that is, written specically
for the test—so that “errors” (a collective term for a wide range of rhetorical and
conventions-related problems) can more eectively be introduced into them.
Questions are multiple choice in format and appear in sets built around a common,
extended passage; no discrete (standalone) questions are included. In answering
the questions, test takers must determine the best revision or editing decision in
a particular case (or that no change should be made to the passage as originally
presented). Two broad knowledge and skill categories are assessed:
Expression of Ideas (development, organization, eective language use)
Standard English Conventions (sentence structure, usage, and punctuation)
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Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
3.2.2 Test Summary
The following tables provide a synopsis of key content dimensions of the
Writing placement test.
Table 4: Writing Placement Test Content Specications
Content Areas Number of Questions Percentage of Test*
1 literary set 5 20
4 informational sets 20 80
Total 25 100
Question content distribution
Expression of Ideas
Development
Organization
Eective Language Use
Standard English Conventions
Sentence Structure
14–16
9–11
56–64
36–44
Conventions of Usage
Conventions of Punctuation
* Percentages do not necessarily add up to 100.
17
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
Proposition The student will add, revise, or retain central ideas, main claims, topic sentences, and the like
to structure texts and to convey arguments, information, and ideas clearly and eectively.
Support The student will add, revise, or retain information and ideas (e.g., details, facts, statistics)
intended to support claims or points in text.
Focus The student will add, revise, retain, or delete information and ideas in text for the sake of
relevance to topic and purpose.
Logical sequence The student will revise text as needed to ensure that information and ideas are presented
in the most logical order.
Introductions, conclusions,
and transitions
The student will revise text as needed to improve the beginning or ending of a text or paragraph
or to ensure that transition words, phrases, or sentences are used eectively to connect
information and ideas.
Precision The student will revise text as needed to improve the exactness or content appropriateness
of word choice.
Concision The student will revise text as needed to improve the economy of word choice (i.e., to eliminate
wordiness and redundancy).
Style and tone The student will revise text as needed to ensure the consistency of style and tone within a text
or to improve the match of style and tone to purpose.
Syntax The student will use various sentence structures to accomplish needed rhetorical purposes.
Sentence boundaries
The student will recognize and correct grammatically incomplete sentences (e.g., rhetorically
inappropriate fragments and run-ons).
Subordination and
coordination
The student will recognize and correct problems in coordination and subordination in
sentences.
Parallel structure
Modier placement
Inappropriate shifts
in verb tense
The student will recognize and correct problems in parallel structure in sentences.
The student will recognize and correct problems in modier placement (e.g., misplaced or
dangling modiers).
The student will recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense within and
between sentences.
Inappropriate shifts in
verb voice and mood
The student will recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood within
and between sentences.
Inappropriate shifts in
pronoun person and number
The student will recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun person and number
within and between sentences.
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
Table 5: Writing Placement Test Question Content
Content Dimension Description
These questions focus on revising text in relation to rhetorical purpose. (Prior knowledge of the topic is not assessed, though
consistency of the material within a passage may be.)
These questions focus on revision of text to improve the logic and cohesion of text at the sentence, paragraph, and whole-
text level.
These questions focus on revision of text to improve the use of language to accomplish particular rhetorical purposes.
Possessive determiners The student will recognize and correct cases in which possessive determiners (its, your,
their), contractions (it’s, you’re, they’re), and adverbs (there) are confused with each other.
Noun agreement The student will recognize and correct lack of agreement between nouns.
Pronoun clarity The student will recognize and correct pronouns with unclear or ambiguous antecedents.
18
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
Pronoun-antecedent
agreement
The student will recognize and correct lack of agreement between pronoun and antecedent.
Subject-verb agreement The student will recognize and correct lack of agreement between subject and verb.
Frequently confused words The student will recognize and correct instances in which a word or phrase is confused with
another (e.g., accept/except, allusion/illusion).
Logical comparison The student will recognize and correct cases in which unlike terms are compared.
Conventional expression The student will recognize and correct cases in which a given expression is inconsistent with
Standard Written English.
End-of-sentence punctuation The student will recognize and correct inappropriate uses of ending punctuation in cases
in which the context makes the intent clear.
Within-sentence punctuation The student will correctly use, recognize, and correct inappropriate uses of colons, semicolons,
and dashes to indicate sharp breaks in thought within sentences; ellipses to indicate a pause or
omission; and colons to introduce lists or quotations.
Possessive nouns
and pronouns
The student will recognize and correct inappropriate uses of possessive nouns and pronouns, as
well as dierentiate between possessive and plural forms.
Items in a series The student will correctly use, recognize, and correct inappropriate uses of punctuation
(commas and sometimes semicolons) to separate items in a series.
Nonrestrictive and
parenthetical elements
The student will correctly use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set o
nonrestrictive and parenthetical sentence elements, as well as recognize and correct cases in
which restrictive or essential sentence elements are inappropriately set o with punctuation.
Hyphenation conventions The student will recognize and correct violations of hyphenation conventions.
Unnecessary punctuation The student will recognize and correct cases in which unnecessary punctuation appears
in a sentence.
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
Table 5: Writing Placement Test Question Content (
Content Dimension Description
Continued )
3.2.3 Key Features
Computer adaptive (with two COMPANION forms also available)
Multiple-choice (four-option) xed-length placement test
25 questions per CAT administration; 40 questions per COMPANION form
Set-based format
Single placement score
Writing Passages
Writing passages are commissioned texts (i.e., texts written specically for the
test). These passages, which are self-contained and require no topic-specic
background knowledge, serve as the basis for the revising and editing task
test takers perform in the questions.
Writing passages are one of two basic genres: literary or informational.
The literary genre takes the form of literary nonction (such as brief reective
and personal essays); prose ction, poetry, and drama are not represented. The
informational genre includes texts spread across a dened range of content areas.
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
19
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
Writing passages represent one of three content areas.
1. Careers/history/social studies: This category includes texts about career-
related topics, as well as texts in the academic social science disciplines.
2. Humanities: This category includes texts about arts and letters.
3. Science: This category includes texts in the academic natural science
disciplines.
Writing passages represent one of three writing modes.
1. Narrative: These passages use chronology or sequence as the organizing
principle. They are chiey literary in genre, although a small number of
informational texts also rely on narrativistic techniques.
2. Informative/explanatory: These passages convey or describe new information
and ideas. These texts are chiey informational in genre.
3. Argument: These passages seek to move readers to action or to change belief
through logical argumentation. Persuasive texts that rely on other types of
appeals, such as to emotion, are also classied as arguments for the sake of
this scheme. These texts are chiey informational in genre.
Passages in the pool for the next-generation ACCUPLACER
Writing placement test represent a range of text complexities from early high
school to rst-year postsecondary, with a large proportion of the passages
reective of college and career readiness level. To ensure that texts are
appropriately challenging, test development sta use quantitative and
qualitative measures of text complexity, as well as feedback from secondary and
postsecondary subject-matter experts and test data on student performance. The
computer-adaptive test design, to some extent, inuences the distribution of text
complexity encountered by any given test taker.
The qualitative text complexity rubric can be found in the appendix to this
document.
The College Board is committed to presenting students with a
test-taking experience that is reective of the diversity of the United States and
the world. To that end, the College Board works to ensure that Writing passage and
question pools include substantial content that visibly reects:
U.S.-based racial and ethnic diversity, including African American/black,
American Indian/Native American, Asian American, and Latino/a individuals,
culture, and experiences
international or global (non-U.S.) perspectives, cultures, or settings
balanced representation of genders, including passages that focus on women
and girls and their experiences
Writing passages are between 300 and
350 standard (six-character) words and typically contain 12 to 16 sentences.
Writing Questions
Writing questions are classied into two clusters, each of which includes three
content categories.
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
20
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
The following content categories compose the Expression of Ideas cluster:
1. Development questions address revision of text to improve structure, support,
and focus.
2. Organization questions address revision of text to improve logical sequencing,
as well as achieving eective introductions, conclusions, and transitions.
3. Eective Language Use questions address revision of text to improve the
precision and concision of expression, to maintain style and tone or to meet
particular rhetorical goals, and to use syntax to achieve specied rhetorical
purposes.
The following content categories compose the Standard English Conventions
cluster:
1. Sentence Structure questions address editing of text to improve sentence
formation and consistency in construction (i.e., correcting inappropriate shifts
in verb tense, voice, and mood, and in pronoun person and number).
2. Conventions of Usage questions address editing of text to make it conform to
Standard Written English usage conventions.
3. Conventions of Punctuation questions address editing of text to make it
conform to Standard Written English punctuation conventions.
3.3 Math: Arithmetic Placement Test
3.3.1 Test Description
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Arithmetic placement test is a computer-
adaptive assessment of test takers’ developed ability for selected mathematics
content. Questions will focus on computation, order of operations, estimation and
rounding, comparing and ordering values in dierent formats, and recognizing
equivalent values across formats. In addition, questions may assess a student’s math
ability via uency with mathematical procedures and conceptual understanding,
but may also present a real-world context that requires students to demonstrate
the ability to analyze a situation, determine the essential elements required to
solve the problem, represent the problem mathematically, and carry out a solution.
All questions are multiple choice in format and appear discretely across the
assessment. The following knowledge and skill categories are assessed:
1. Whole number operations
2. Fraction operations
3. Decimal operations
4. Percent
5. Number comparisons and equivalents
Calculator Use
The use of handheld
calculators should not be allowed on any computer-based ACCUPLACER
Math placement tests. Questions that are congured to allow for the use of a
calculator will present a calculator icon in the top right corner of the screen.
Students who take the COMPANION
Arithmetic placement test should not be allowed the use of handheld calculators,
as some of the important material that these tests assess cannot be measured
properly when using a calculator. Students with a documented disability may use
a handheld calculator if it is a prescribed accommodation.
21
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
3.3.2 Test Summary
The following tables provide a synopsis of key content dimensions of the Arithmetic
placement test.
Table 6: Arithmetic Placement Test Content Specications
Content Areas Number of Questions* Percentage of Test
Whole number operations 3–5 15–25%
Fraction operations 3–5 15–25%
Decimal operations 3–5 15–25%
Percent 3–5 15–25%
Number comparisons and equivalents 3–5 15–25%
Total 20 100
* Values not nal. The number of questions will vary based on results of research simulations not yet
completed.
Table 7: Arithmetic Placement Test Question Content
Content Dimensions and Descriptions
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, including order of operations, estimation and rounding,
and applying operations to real-life contexts
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions and mixed numbers, including order of operations, estimation
and rounding, and applying operations to real-life contexts
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of decimal numbers, including order of operations, estimation and rounding,
and applying operations to real-life contexts
Calculation with percent with or without a context, including percent increase, percent decrease, determining the percent of a
number, and applying percent to real-life contexts
Comparisons of dierently formatted values by ordering, using the number line, and using equality/inequality symbol notation;
and evaluation of equivalent number statements (to assess mental math strategies)
3.3.3 Key Features
Computer adaptive (two COMPANION forms available for pre- and posttesting)
Multiple-choice xed-length placement test
20 questions per CAT administration; 40 questions per COMPANION form
Discrete question format
Single placement score
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
22
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
3.4 Math: Quantitative Reasoning,
Algebra, and Statistics Placement Test
3.4.1 Test Description
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics
placement test is a broad-spectrum computer-adaptive assessment of test
takers’ developed ability for selected mathematics content suited for students
entering many non-STEM elds of study or for students who are undecided on
a major. Questions focus on a range of topics including computing with rational
numbers, applying ratios and proportional reasoning, creating linear expressions
and equations, graphing and applying linear equations, understanding probability
and sets, and interpreting graphical displays. In addition, questions may assess a
student’s math ability via uency with mathematical procedures and conceptual
understanding, but may also present a real-world context that requires students
to demonstrate the ability to analyze a situation, determine the essential
elements required to solve the problem, represent the problem mathematically,
and implement a solution. All questions are multiple choice in format and appear
discretely across the assessment. The following knowledge and skill categories are
assessed:
1. Rational numbers
2. Ratio and proportional relationships
3. Exponents
4. Algebraic expressions
5. Linear equations
6. Linear applications and graphs
7. Probability and sets
8. Descriptive statistics
9. Geometry concepts for Pre-Algebra
10. Geometry concepts for Algebra 1
Calculator Use
The use of handheld calculators should not be allowed on any computer-
based ACCUPLACER Math placement tests. Questions that are congured to allow
for the use of a calculator will present a calculator icon in the top right corner of the
screen.
A four-function calculator can be used on the next-generation COMPANION
Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics placement test, but a scientic or
graphing calculator must not be used.
23
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
3.4.2 Test Summary
The following tables provide a synopsis of key content dimensions of the Quantitative
Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics placement test.
Table 8: Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics Placement Test
Content Specications
Content Areas Number of Questions* Percentage of Test**
Rational numbers 1–3 5–15
Ratio and proportional relationships
Exponents 2–3 10–15
Algebraic expressions
Linear equations 2–4 10–20
Linear applications and graphs
Probability and sets 1–3 5–15
Descriptive statistics
Geometry concepts for Pre-Algebra 1–2 5–10
Geometry concepts for Algebra 1
3–4
2–3
2–4
1–3
1–2
15–20
10–15
10–20
5–15
5–10
Total 20
* Values not nal. The number of questions will vary based on results of research simulations not yet
completed.
** Percentages do not necessarily add up to 100.
Table 9: Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics Placement
Test Question Content
Content Dimensions and Descriptions
Calculating and applying rational numbers (with or without a context), including usage of absolute value
Calculating with rates, ratios, and proportions (with or without a context), and using unit conversions
Calculating with exponents, radicals, fractional exponents, and applying scientic notation
Creating and evaluating expressions to represent situations, and using properties of operations to combine like terms and
identify equivalent expressions
Creating linear equations in one or two variables, solving linear equations, simplifying linear equations and inequalities, and
solving systems of two linear equations
Applying linear equations to real-life contexts, using elementary linear functions to describe relationships, and graphing
linear equations in two variables, linear inequalities, parallel and perpendicular lines, and systems of equations
Calculating probability (simple, compound, and conditional), and dening sample spaces and events using set notation
24
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
Table 9: Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics Placement Test
Question Content
Content Dimensions and Descriptions
(Continued )
Interpreting graphical displays of data (histograms, box plots, and scatterplots), describing shape and spread of a sample set,
and calculating measures of center
Determining area and perimeter, circle area and circumference, and volume of prisms
Creating expressions for area, perimeter, and volume, using distance formula and Pythagorean theorem, and evaluating
basic geometric transformations
3.4.3 Key Features
Computer adaptive (two COMPANION forms available for pre- and posttesting)
Multiple-choice xed-length placement test
20 questions per CAT administration; 40 questions per COMPANION form
Discrete question format
Single placement score
3.5 Math: Advanced Algebra and
Functions Placement Test
3.5.1 Test Description
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Advanced Algebra and Functions placement
test is a broad-spectrum computer-adaptive assessment of test takers’ developed
ability for selected mathematics content suited for students entering STEM elds
of study, as well as students entering non-STEM elds of study that require some
advanced math (e.g., medicine, economics, accounting). Questions will focus on
a range of topics including a variety of equations and functions, including linear,
quadratic, rational, radical, polynomial, and exponential. Questions will also delve
into some geometry and trigonometry concepts. In addition, questions may assess
a student’s math ability via uency with mathematical procedures and conceptual
understanding, but may also present a real-world context that requires students
to demonstrate the ability to analyze a situation, determine the essential elements
required to solve the problem, represent the problem mathematically, and implement
a solution. All questions are multiple choice in format and appear discretely across
the assessment. The following knowledge and skill categories are assessed:
1. Linear equations
2. Linear applications and graphs
3. Factoring
4. Quadratics
5. Functions
25
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
6. Radical and rational equations
7. Polynomial equations
8. Exponential and logarithmic equations
9. Geometry concepts for Algebra 1
10. Geometry concepts for Algebra 2
11. Trigonometry
Calculator Use
The
use of handheld calculators should not be allowed on any computer-based
ACCUPLACER Math placement tests. Questions that are congured to allow
for the use of a calculator will present a calculator icon in the top right corner
of the screen.
A
four-function or scientic calculator can be used on the next-generation
COMPANION Advanced Algebra and Functions placement test, but a graphing
calculator must not be used.
3.5.2 Test Summary
The following tables provide a synopsis of key content dimensions of the Advanced
Algebra and Functions placement test.
Table 10: Advanced Algebra and Functions Placement Test Content
Specications
Content Areas Number of Questions* Percentage of Test**
Linear equations 2–3 10–15
Linear applications and graphs 2–3 10–15
Factoring 1–2 5–10
Quadratics 2–3 10–15
Functions 2–4 10–20
Radical and rational equations 1–3 5–15
Polynomial equations 1–3 5–15
Exponential and logarithmic equations 1–3 5–15
Geometry concepts for Algebra 1 1–2 5–10
Geometry concepts for Algebra 2 1–2 5–10
Trigonometry 1–3 5–15
Total 20
* Values not nal. The number of questions will vary based on results of research simulations not yet
completed.
** Percentages do not necessarily add up to 100.
26
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION III Specications of Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
Table 11: Advanced Algebra and Functions Placement Test Question Content
Content Dimensions and Descriptions
Creating linear equations in one or two variables, solving linear equations, simplifying linear equations and inequalities, and
solving systems of two linear equations
Applying linear equations to real-life contexts, using elementary linear functions to describe relationships, and graphing
linear equations in two variables, linear inequalities, parallel and perpendicular lines, and systems of equations
Factoring methods applied to quadratics, cubics, and polynomials
Quadratics
Creating quadratic equations in one or two variables, solving quadratic equations (via factoring or using the quadratic
equation), simplifying quadratic equations and inequalities, and solving systems that involve a quadratic equation
Creating functions using function notation, evaluating linear and quadratic functions, graphing functions, and interpreting
functions within a context
Creating radical and rational equations and functions in one variable, determining domain and range for radical and rational
functions, graphing radical and rational functions, and simplifying radical and rational expressions and equations
Creating polynomial equations in one and two variables, solving polynomial equations, and graphing polynomial functions
Creating exponential and logarithmic equations in one and two variables, solving exponential and logarithmic equations,
graphing exponential and logarithmic functions, and interpreting exponential and logarithmic functions
Creating expressions for area, perimeter, and volume, using distance formula and Pythagorean theorem, and evaluating
dilations, rotations, translations, and reections
Determining volume of nonprism objects, using intersecting line theorems, using triangle similarity and congruency theorems,
and using circle equations in the coordinate plane
Solving trigonometric equations, using right triangle trigonometry including special triangles, evaluating equivalent
trigonometric functions, graphing trigonometric relationships, determining arc length and radian measures, and using the law
of sines and the law of cosines
3.5.3 Key Features
Computer adaptive (two COMPANION forms available for pre- and posttesting)
Multiple-choice xed-length placement test
20 questions per CAT administration; 40 questions per COMPANION form
Discrete question format
Single placement score
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION IV
Developing Next-Generation
ACCUPLACER
The College Board works with various committees and consultants throughout the
test design and development process to produce the highest-quality assessments
possible, assessments that serve students well as they work to become college and
career ready. Our independent external committees and consultant pools, which
include secondary and postsecondary classroom teachers, advise us throughout
the design and development process, from designing the test to helping develop
specications to reviewing every question before it is used operationally. Our
reviewers help us to ensure that ACCUPLACER questions are measuring important
knowledge, skills, and understandings, that the questions align well with the
test specications in terms of content and rigor, that the questions are fair to all
students, and that the questions are written in a way that models and reects good
instruction for the teacher and productive practice for the student.
4.1 Guiding Principles of the College
Board’s Test Development Process
To achieve the vision outlined above, each and every test question for next-
generation ACCUPLACER is developed with care and expertise at every stage
of the process. To that end, we follow a rigorous test development process that
ensures that ACCUPLACER questions:
are evidence based, focused on the core set of knowledge, skills, and
understandings that are most important to preparing students for the rigors of
college and career
measure student knowledge, skills, and understandings as directly and
authentically as possible by employing a range of question types relevant to
instruction and life
are crafted from rich, engaging passages and contexts, reective of best
instructional practices, and reward the academic excellence that any student
can attain through deliberate practice
are motivating and interesting, and are as engaging and relevant to students
as possible
are written with the help of classroom teachers at the high school and
postsecondary levels
are reviewed by independent experts active in the eld of education for
content and fairness issues prior to being administered to students
are accessible and fair to all students in that they are content relevant,
accurate, authentic and respectful in representation, and consistent with
universal design principles
4.2 The Test Development Process
The primary purposes of next-generation ACCUPLACER are to determine whether
placement into college-entry, credit-bearing course work is appropriate for a
given student and, if not, whether remedial work is needed. ACCUPLACER tests
are also frequently used as postintervention assessments to monitor a student’s
27
SECTION IV Developing Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
course progress and to suggest whether continued remediation or a change in
course assignment or both are warranted. All test content aligns with these uses.
Each next-generation ACCUPLACER question is designed to collect evidence
from student performance for the purposes of assessing a student’s readiness for
college-entry, credit-bearing courses, and need for remediation.
4.2.1 Dening the Test Domains
The content of next-generation ACCUPLACER has as its foundation the knowledge,
skills, and understandings essential for college and workforce training readiness
and success. Scholarly research and empirical data derived from studies conducted
by the College Board and other organizations play an important role in informing
the foundational content. This evidence base, which also undergirds the redesign of
the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10, and PSAT 8/9, was used to dene the domains
of the various next-generation ACCUPLACER tests, which were in turn reviewed
and discussed with consultants and focus groups, including expert educators at
both the secondary and postsecondary (two- and four-year) levels, counselors, and
administrators in testing and enrollment.
4.2.2 Test and Question/Task Specications
Given the dened test domains, College Board measurement and content sta
also work with education experts to prepare test and question/task specications
that represent the depth and breadth of the dened domains and help ensure the
consistent development of assessments of the highest quality. The specications
dene the question/task types and formats required to measure most directly and
authentically the domains of knowledge, skills, and understandings relevant to
ACCUPLACER’s primary purposes.
4.2.3 Stimuli and Question Development
Next-generation ACCUPLACER measures durably powerful knowledge, skills, and
understandings needed in postsecondary education, work, and life. All content
area tests are developed to elicit meaningful engagement from students through
questions that resemble the best classroom practices. To these ends, the College
Board works with K–12 teachers and instructors of college-entry, credit-bearing
postsecondary courses across the United States.
In order to consistently develop tests with engaging, authentic stimulus materials
and contexts that lend themselves to high-quality questions, the College Board has
developed and continues to maintain a range of test-support materials intended
to help make sure that all questions are evidence based, valid, and accessible to all
students—in short, that they meet the highest possible standards. These materials
include question writer guidelines, prototypes, and templates; fairness guidelines;
and accessibility guidelines. The College Board contracts with classroom teachers
at both the high school and postsecondary levels and with other independent
content and instructional experts to develop and/or review all questions. In this
way, those most familiar with the student population of interest and knowledgeable
in instructional best practices in the eld make the most signicant contribution
to assessment content. This helps ensure that the test materials included in the
assessment are engaging, instructionally appropriate, and fair to all students.
Reading
In the next-generation ACCUPLACER Reading placement test, students
engage with worthwhile texts that warrant careful consideration. Some texts
are commissioned (i.e., written specically for the test), but many (an increasing
proportion) are excerpted or adapted from previously published, authentic writing
that represents the best of the genres represented on the test.
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
28
SECTION IV Developing Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
29
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
The essential rst step of question development is a close and careful reading of
the text. Test questions resemble those that might emerge naturally in a thoughtful
classroom conversation, and they return students to the text to examine closely
the information and ideas within it. Moreover, they develop out of a sensitive
engagement with the passage rather than an attempt to cover in a mechanical way
every possible testing point in the domain. Such supercial coverage weakens
the overall quality of the assessment, favoring rigid adherence to specications
over a more organic development process that respects the unique nature of rich,
authentic texts in a variety of content areas.
Writing
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Writing placement test comprises passages
that are engaging and challenging and questions that focus clearly on a core
of writing and language skills empirically linked to college and career readiness
requirements. These commissioned passages (passages written for the test
rather than excerpted or adapted from preexisting sources) are designed to
provide meaningful contexts for the knowledge, skills, and understandings being
addressed. Passages are held to the highest standards of accuracy and writing
quality and exemplify the qualities of eective arguments, informative/explanatory
texts, and nonction narratives. Test questions assess writing and language
knowledge, skills, and understandings in extended prose contexts rather than in
isolation and require students to revise and edit rather than simply identify errors.
Math
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Math placement tests are focused on the
mathematics that matter most for college and career readiness and success.
Students are asked to demonstrate their command of the math topics most
provably useful in a range of college courses and career environments. Students
gain wide-ranging readiness from knowing these focused topics well, rather than
trying to master broad knowledge across a wider range of mathematical topics.
The next-generation ACCUPLACER Math placement tests provide the opportunity
for richer applications of the most essential math to address real-world situations
and problems and include multipart applications of this core of useful math.
Test questions are thoroughly examined by teachers who possess deep knowledge
of the target mathematical content and practices. The problems on each test
explore the full dynamic range of each content area through precisely crafted
questions that emphasize the use of math in unlocking insights and solving
problems. The test design allows the core of math to be examined with the range
of rigor required (as dened through evidence) for college and career readiness,
addressing at the same time procedure, understanding, and application.
4.2.4 Content and Fairness Reviews Prior to Pretesting
Prior to pretesting, all questions are reviewed by external, independent reviewers
who are asked to evaluate each question according to a set of criteria for content
soundness and fairness. These reviewers are typically active classroom teachers
drawn from both secondary and postsecondary levels across the nation and
are extremely familiar with the student population of interest and the nature and
purpose of the test under review.
Content reviewers are focused on ensuring the soundness of each question
and stimulus and evaluating its relationship to the construct being measured
(e.g., reading), its relevance and appropriateness to the work students do in high
school, and its value in terms of measuring students’ degree of college and career
readiness. Fairness reviewers are charged with helping ensure that test questions
and stimuli are broadly accessible to the wide-ranging student population that
SECTION IV Developing Next-Generation ACCUPLACER
takes the exam, that the questions are clearly stated and unambiguous in their
intent, and that the questions do not oer unfair advantages to some students.
4.2.5 Pretesting
All questions are then pretested on a motivated sample of students that resembles
the test-taking population and is sucient in size to allow the College Board
to evaluate the materials statistically in terms of diculty, to discern whether
the questions can dierentiate between lower- and higher-achieving students,
and to ensure that students from dierent gender and racial/ethnic groups do
not dierentially respond to the questions. The questions are embedded into
operational test administrations and administered to students. The data from 1,000
to 3,000 students responding to each question are used to evaluate question
performance.
Once questions and tasks have been pretested and statistics associated with
them have been computed, the materials are reviewed by measurement and
content specialists (including active classroom teachers at both the secondary
and postsecondary levels) for content accuracy, fairness, statistical discrimination,
diculty, and dierential performance among groups of tested students.
4.2.6 Postoperational Administration Statistical Review
Questions that pass the pretest evaluations are included in the calibration process,
where item response theory parameters are estimated and evaluated to ensure
that the tests reliably measure the intended knowledge and skills of the test takers.
After successfully passing the calibration process, the questions are considered
part of the operational pool. Throughout the life of the pool, statistical analyses of
individual questions are conducted after operational administrations to ensure that
all questions are functioning as expected.
By taking all of these steps and engaging educators at key points in the process,
the College Board strives to ensure that ACCUPLACER consistently reflects the
guiding principles of its design and the best of rigorous classroom instruction.
4.3 COMPANION Forms
ACCUPLACER COMPANION forms are alternative formats available to students
with documented disabilities or those who may need an alternate version of the
corresponding computer-adaptive test for other reasons. COMPANION forms are
available in paper and pencil format, on compact discs, in braille, and in large print.
Each ACCUPLACER CAT placement test has two corresponding COMPANION
forms, one of them typically used for retest purposes.
Test questions on these accommodated forms are developed following the same
procedures as those for CAT questions and are pretested in the operational CAT-
administered tests to determine question parameters. Initial operational test forms
are constructed according to the test specications of the corresponding CAT,
with content coverage of primary concern and statistical requirements secondary.
All assembled forms are evaluated to ensure that they meet specications and are
parallel in terms of both content and statistics.
4.3.1 COMPANION Form Content and Fairness Review
Once test forms are initially constructed, they undergo internal and external
content and fairness reviews prior to nalization and preparation for publication.
External reviewers are typically active classroom teachers drawn from both
secondary and postsecondary levels across the nation.
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
30
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
SECTION V
Conclusion
The College Board continues its work to make sure ACCUPLACER accurately
measures students’ readiness for and likelihood of success in college and career
training programs. The organization will continue to be guided by evidence as next-
generation ACCUPLACER is developed. The College Board remains steadfast in its
commitment to equity and opportunity. To that end, the organization continues to
forge a powerful and dynamic connection between assessment and instruction so
that the assessment components reect rigorous instructional tasks and, in turn,
inform rigorous instruction; help propel students into the opportunities they have
earned both in high school and in college; identify those students who have fallen
behind so that timely interventions can help them catch up; and continue to focus
on the knowledge, skills, and understandings that the best available research tells
us are most essential for college and career readiness and success.
31
APPENDIX Text Complexity (Qualitative): Reading and Writing
COMPLEXITY GRADE BAND
4–5 6–8 9–10
11–PE (postsecondary
entry; entry level)
Lower-division
undergraduate
Dimension Basic Somewhat challenging Moderately challenging Complex Highly complex
Single
Clear and direct
Single
Generally clear and direct
Single
Relatively straightforward
Single or multiple
Relatively subtle
or complex
Possibly hidden or
intentionally obscured
Multiple
Subtle or comple x
Possibly hidden or
intentionally obscured
Chiey informational
Chiey literary
One or multiple; if multiple,
text can be understood/
enjoyed on a literal level
One or multiple; if multiple,
text can be understood/
enjoyed on a literal level
One or multiple; if
multiple, useful to a full
understanding of the text
Multiple and important
to a full understanding
of the text
Multiple and
necessary to a
full understanding
of the text
Explicit
Straightforward
Explicit or implicit; if
implicit, easy to infer
Relatively straightforward
Explicit or implicit;
if implicit, relatively
easy to infer
Relatively subtle
Explicit or implicit;
if implicit, relatively
challenging to infer
Relatively subtle
or complex
Explicit or implicit; if
implicit, challenging
to infer
Subtle or complex
Straightforward;
connections ar e
explicit and clear
Somewhat challenging;
connections may be
implicit but easy to infer
Moderately challenging;
connections may be
implicit but relatively
easy to infer
Challenging;
connections are oft en
implicit and relatively
challenging to infer
Highly challenging;
connections ar e
frequently implicit and
challenging to infer
Common or easily
relatable
Sometimes unfamiliar Sometimes unfamiliar Often unfamiliar Frequently unfamiliar
Concrete Generally
concrete Sometimes abstr act
or theoretical
Often abstract or
theoretical
Frequently abstract
or theoretical
Low to moderately low
Slow to fairly slow
Moderately low
Fairly slow
Moderate
Fairly rapid
Moderately high to high
Fairly rapid to rapid
High to very high
Rapid to very rapid
Basic; easy to predict Straightforward; generally
easy to predict
Relatively straightforward Relatively intricate
or complex
Intricate or complex
Mostly simple sentences Mostly simple and
compound sentences
Simple, compound, and
complex sentences
Many complex sentences Mostly complex
sentences
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
32
APPENDIX Text Complexity (Qualitative): Reading and Writing
(Continued)
COMPLEXITY GRADE BAND
4–5 6–8 9–10
11–PE (postsecondary
entry; entry level)
Lower-division
undergraduate
Dimension Basic Somewhat challenging Moderately challenging Complex Highly complex
Diction Similar to everyday
language; may be
conversational in
style and tone
Familiar
Moderately low tier 2 and/
or tier 3 demands; tier 3
words/phrases routinely
glossed and foregrounded
Archaic, foreign, and
otherwise unc ommon
words/phrases
generally absent
W
orld/Cultural,
Subject matter
Moderately low
Absent, low, or incidental
to full understanding
of the text
Little maturity
specically expected
Generally similar to
everyday language;
may be conversational
in style and tone
Generally familiar
Moderate tier 2 and/or
tier 3 demands; tier 3
words/phrases routinely
glossed and foregrounded
Archaic, foreign, and
otherwise unc ommon
words/phrases generally
absent, discernible
from context, or not
central to meaning
Moderate
Absent, low, or incidental
to full understanding
of the text
Certain degree of maturity
sometimes expected;
recognition that one’s
viewpoint may di er from
that in the text is required
Somewhat elevated and
somewhat distinct fr om
everyday language
Moderate
High tier 2 and/or tier 3
demands; tier 3 words/
phrases less explicitly
foregrounded
Archaic, foreign, and
otherwise unc ommon
words/phrases more
likely to appear and
to be relevant to a full
understanding of the text
Moderate t o
moderately high
Absent, low, or incidental
to full understanding
of the text
Some degree of maturity
and ability to distance
oneself from text expected
Elevated and distinct
from everyday language;
ironic, ambiguous, or
intentionally misleading
language possible
Moderately high
Very high tier 2 and/or
tier 3 demands; relatively
little sca olding for
tier 3 words/phrases
Archaic, foreign, and
otherwise unc ommon
words/phrases much
more likely to appear and
to be important to a full
understanding of the text
Moderately high to high
Low to moderate; may
be important to full
understanding of the text
Maturity and ability to
distance oneself fr om
text often expected
Elevated and
sharply distinct from
everyday language;
ironic, ambiguous,
or intentionally
misleading language
possible
High
Major tier 2 and/or
tier 3 demands; little
sca olding for tier
3 words/phrases
Archaic, foreign, and
otherwise unc ommon
words/phrases highly
likely to appear and
to be central to a
full understanding
of the text
High to very high
Moderate to high;
may be central to
full understanding
of the text
Maturity and
ability to distance
oneself from tex t
routinely expected
Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specications
33
