Preparing for the Accuplacer® in 2019 and Beyond: Next Generation

Preparing for the Accuplacer® in 2019 and Beyond: Next Generation

If you are preparing to enter college, there’s a good chance you’ll need to take some sort of college placement test. And the test used by over 2,000 secondary institutions in the U.S. is the Accuplacer®. There are a number of sections in this test, and some of them are changing this year (2019).

For about 30 years, the College Board has provided a test called “the Accuplacer®” to colleges and technical schools around the country for the purpose of determining students’ readiness for college-level instruction. It is still doing so, but, within the last several years, has introduced new versions of five of the main sections of the test. These new sections are labeled “Next Generation Accuplacer®” and vary widely from the original test sections.

So that there could be a “phase-in” period, for the last couple of years, institutions could administer either version of the Accuplacer®, but not both. This testing option ends very soon. As of January 28, 2019, the “old” Accuplacer sections in these five areas will no longer be administered, and students may take only the “Next Generation Accuplacer®” test. It’s really important to know what to prepare for, so here are the changes:

\[\begin{array}{|c|c|} \hline \text{OLD SECTIONS—} & \mathbf{NEW \;SECTIONS—} \\ \text{(Do}\; not \;\text{use Accuplacer® prep}& \text{(Look for test prep} \\ \text{with these titles.)}& \text{labeled like this.)} \\ \hline \text{Reading Comprehension} & \mathbf{Next \;Generation \;Reading} \\ \hline \text{Sentence Skills} & \mathbf{Next\; Generation \;Writing} \\ \hline \text{Arithmetic} & \mathbf{Next \;Generation \;Arithmetic} \\ \hline \text{Elementary Algebra} & \mathbf{Next\; Generation\; Quantitative \;Reasoning,} \\ \text{} & \mathbf{Algebra, \;and \;Statistics} \\ \hline \text{College-Level Math} & \mathbf{Next\; Generation \;Advanced} \\ \text{} & \mathbf{Algebra \;and \;Functions} \\ \hline \end{array}\]

The Accuplacer® also contains English-as-a-Second-Language sections for students whose English speaking and writing ability need evaluation. These sections will remain the same for now. They are called:

ESL—Language Use
ESL—Listening
ESL—Reading Skills
ESL—Sentence Meaning

So, be really sure you spend all of that study time preparing for the right test. You will find all of the right stuff at Union Test Prep. Also note that, early in February 2019, Union Test Prep will be removing all of the old test practice materials and that we have practice materials for all of the “Next Generation” sections: practice questions, flashcards, and study guides. So, you’ll be all set to show your true ability on the Accuplacer® sections that are currently being administered. This could save you both money and class time by recommending placement in the classes that are on your level of ability and skills.

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