Testing

Information

• How can students meet City University's basic skills requirements?
• How do the Skills Assessment Tests affect University admission?
• What are the testing requirements for transfer students?
• What are the CUNY/ACT Basic Skills Tests in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics?
• What are the passing scores for the CUNY/ACT Tests in Reading and Writing?
• What skills do each of the tests measure?
• If I need special arrangements for testing, are they available?

How can students meet City University's basic skills requirements?
As part of City University's admissions process, students are required to demonstrate their competence in reading, writing, and mathematics. Students can do this by scoring at the required levels on either the SAT Exams, the NYS Regents Exams, or CUNY's Skills Assessment Tests: The passing criteria for each of these tests, are as follows: SAT/ACT. Entering students who achieve a score of 480 or above on the Verbal section of the SAT (20 or above on the ACT) have demonstrated competence in reading and writing. Likewise, students who achieve a score of 480 or above on the Mathematics section of the SAT (20 or above on the ACT) demonstrate competence in mathematics and are exempted from taking the first part (pre-algebra) of the CUNY Mathematics Assessment Test. (However, all colleges reserve the right to test entering students with all four parts of the CUNY Mathematics Test for placement into appropriate levels of mathematics and mathematics-related courses.) NY State Regents Examinations. Entering students who achieve a score of 75 or higher on the English Regents Exam have demonstrated competence in reading and writing. Likewise, students are exempted from taking the CUNY Mathematics Assessment Test (part 1) if they achieve a score of 75 or higher on the new Mathematics A Regents Exam, or the Sequential II or III Exam.

Students who do not achieve the required scores on SAT or Regents Exams can satisfy basic skills requirements by passing the CUNY/ACT Basic Skills Tests in Reading and Writing and the CUNY Mathematics Assessment Test.

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How do the Skills Assessment Tests affect University admission?
Community Colleges . At CUNY's community Colleges ( Bronx, Borough of Manhattan, Hostos, Kingsborough, LaGuardia, and Queensborough) the Skills Tests are used to determine placement into, or exemption from, remedial reading, writing, and mathematics courses. Students usually cannot begin a full program of college-level work at a community college until they have passed all three Skills tests, or, as noted above, have otherwise demonstrated through results on the tests listed (SAT, ACT, NY State Regents) their readiness for college-level work.

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What are the testing requirements for transfer students?
Transfers from outside of CUNY
Students with fewer than 45 credits (unless exempted by virtue of SAT, ACT, or Regents scores) are required to pass all Skills Tests prior to transferring to a CUNY senior college.
Students with 45 or more credits are exempted from the Skills Test requirements.
Students with 45 or more credits who also meet the University definition of ESL status will receive letters scheduling them for the placement tests in Reading and Writing. Information from the tests can then be used to make appropriate judgments about the language needs of these students.
All colleges reserve the right to test entering students with all four parts of the Mathematics SkillsTest to determine appropriate placement.

Transfers from within CUNY
CUNY community college students (unless exempted by virtue of SAT, ACT, or Regents scores) are required to pass all Skills Tests prior to transferring to a CUNY senior college.

Until September 1, 2003, students who entered before September 1999 may use a CPE pass to satisfy the skills requirements in Reading and Writing.

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What are the CUNY/ACT Basic Skills Tests in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics?
Reading: The CUNY/ACT COMPASS Reading Skills Test, is an un-timed, multiple-choice, computer-delivered test of reading. The test measures reading comprehension   Writing: The CUNY/ACT Writing Sample is a 60minute essay test in which students are required to respond to a prompt that is presented at the time of testing.

Math: The COMPASS Mathematics Test is an untimed, multiple choice, computer based test composed of four sections:Numerical skills/pre-algebra, algebra, college algebra and trigonometry.

What are the passing scores for the CUNY/ACT Tests in Reading and Writing?
Reading: a scaled score of 70 or more (COMPASS).

Writing Sample:a total score of 7 or more.

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What skills do each of the tests measure?
The COMPASS Reading Skills Test measures reading comprehension as a combination of referring and reasoning skills. Test items require students to derive meaning from several texts by (1) referring to what is explicitly stated and determining the meaning of words through context, and (2) reasoning to determine implicit meanings, to draw conclusions, and to make comparisons and generalizations. The test consists of several prose passages, varying somewhat in length, that are representative of the level and kinds of reading commonly encountered in college first-year courses. Each passage is accompanied by a set of multiple-choice test items.

The Writing Sample assesses your writing skills based on a sample of your writing. Students are given a choice of two questions, and are asked to write an organized, focused essay. The essay questions are similar to one another in the following way: each one describes a choice that a person in a position of authority must make between two alternatives. The writer is asked to advise the authority on the best choice and explain why the group should agree with the writer’s position.

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The COMPASS Mathematics Test is designed to measure students’ knowledge of a number of topics in mathematics. The test is organized into four sections: numerical skills/pre-algebra (integers, fractions, decimals, absolute values, percentages, and exponents), algebra (equations, polynomials, formula manipulations, and algebraic expressions), collegealgebra (functions, exponents, matrices, and factorials), and trigonometry (trigonometric functions and identities, right-triangle trigonometry, and graphs of trigonometric functions).

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