Assessment and Course Placement

Certain disciplines, most notably English, mathematics, and science, build on requisite knowledge. College courses in those disciplines assume a student’s knowledge base is gained in high school or other previous experiences. Students who are not assessed as college ready in these fundamental disciplines must participate in supplemental instruction or co-requisite courses within the first 24 college level hours attempted.

To maximize student success, USAO provides crucial course placement assessment opportunities through evaluation of high school and prior college performance, ACT subject area scores, SAT subject area scores, and USAO subject area assessment exams.

Course placement in English, mathematics and science will be determined by the following assessment criteria.

English

High School GPA
Score
Placement

 HS Unweighted GPA

3.0 or higher
IDS-1113

 HS Unweighted GPA

Less than 3.0
ENGL-0122 and IDS-1113

 

College GPA (for incoming transfer students)
Score
Placement

 College GPA

3.0 or higher
IDS-1113

 College GPA

Less than 3.0
ENGL-0122 and IDS-1113

 

ACT
Score
Placement

 ACT English

19 or higher
IDS-1113

 ACT English

Less than 19
ENGL-0122 and IDS-1113

 

SAT
Score
Placement

 SAT EB Reading & Writing

510 or higher
IDS-1113

 SAT EB Reading & Writing

Less than 510
ENGL-0122 and IDS-1113

 

USAO Accuplacer
Score
Placement

 USAO English Accuplacer

5 or higher
IDS-1113

 USAO English Accuplacer

Less than 5
ENGL-0122 and IDS-1113

Mathematics

High School GPA
Score
Placement

 HS Unweighted GPA

3.0 or higher
IDS-1223*

 HS Unweighted GPA

Less than 3.0
MATH-0100

 

College GPA (for incoming transfer students)
Score
Placement

 College GPA

3.0 or higher
IDS-1223*

 College GPA

Less than 3.0
MATH-0100

 

ACT
Score
Placement

 ACT Math

19 or higher
IDS-1223*

 ACT Math

Less than 19
MATH-0100

 

SAT
Score
Placement

 SAT Math

510 or higher
IDS-1223*

 SAT Math

Less than 510
MATH-0100

 

USAO Accuplacer
Score
Placement

 USAO QAS Accuplacer

255 or higher
IDS-1223*

 USAO QAS Accuplacer

Less than 255
MATH-0100
 USAO Arithmetic Accuplacer
275 or higher
IDS-1223 or MATH-0120**
 USAO Arithmetic Accuplacer
Less than 275
MATH-0100

*Or other college level math required for major.

**MATH-0120 is only necessary for students in majors requiring MATH-1513 or higher.

Science

High School GPA
Score
Placement

 HS Unweighted GPA

3.0 or higher
IDS-2013

 HS Unweighted GPA

Less than 3.0
NSCI-0120

 

College GPA (for incoming transfer students)
Score
Placement

 College GPA

3.0 or higher
IDS-2013

 College GPA

Less than 3.0
NSCI-0120

 

ACT
Score
Placement

 ACT Science

19 or higher
IDS-2013

 ACT Science

Less than 19
NSCI-0120

 

USAO Accuplacer
Score
Placement

 USAO Science Assessment

27 or higher
IDS-2013

 USAO Science Assessment

Less than 27
NSCI-0120