You can only take Accuplacer once per semester. You will be charged $25 each time you take the test.

Colorado law (CRS 23-1-113) requires all incoming freshmen and transfer students to be assessed for their basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. The assessments are made according to procedures approved by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

If we have your ACT or SAT scores that are less than three years old, or you have taken previous coursework at another institution, we will use that information to place you into your introductory mathematics and composition classes. If we are missing the information required for assessment, you must take Accuplacer. Students who fail to take the assessment/placement test within 30 days of the beginning of the term will have a hold placed on their academic records. You may also take Accuplacer if you wish to challenge your existing placement in mathematics or composition.

Students may contact us to schedule an individual appointment to take an Accuplacer test during Testing Center Hours of Operation. Testing will be held in the Testing Center, Noble Hall, Room 287.

Accuplacer is administered on a computer and is very easy to use. The test is untimed so that you can think about each question for as long as you like.  It is also a computer-adaptive test, meaning that the questions are chosen for you on the basis of your answers to previous questions.

Testing begins with the proctor selecting the appropriate set of exams for you on the computer. You will then answer a basic information form.

• Reading Exam (Reading Comprehension): This test has between 17-22 questions that focus on your reading comprehension. The multiple-choice questions will appear one at a time on the computer screen. You will select your answers by clicking with the mouse. When you have completed the question and verified your answer, a new screen will appear with the next question. No dictionaries are allowed during the exam.
• Writing Exam (Sentence Skills): This test measures your understanding of sentence structure -- how sentences are put together and what makes a sentence complete and clear. The multiple-choice questions will appear one at a time on the computer screen. You will select your answers by clicking with the mouse. When you have completed the question and verified your answer, a new screen will appear with the next question.
• Mathematics Exam (Elementary Algebra, Arithmetic, and/or College Level Math): This test has two parts. It will begin with elementary algebra questions (10-12 questions). The multiple-choice questions will appear one at a time on the computer screen. You will select your answers by clicking with the mouse. When you have completed the question and verified your answer, a new screen will appear with the next question. If you answer a certain proportion of the elementary algebra questions correctly, you will then take a more advanced test (college-level mathematics). If you are not successful with the elementary algebra test, you will then take a more basic test (arithmetic). No calculators are allowed during the exam, but you will be able to use scratch paper for figuring (provided by the Testing Center).

The Accuplacer test is untimed. If you need longer than the scheduled time to complete a test, you may stay until you’re finished.

There is a $25 charge for Accuplacer exams administered on campus. Continuing FLC students can charge the fee to their student accounts if they present their current FLC student ID card. All other new and non-FLC students need to bring a check, made out to Fort Lewis College, or $25 in cash. You must have a picture ID to take the exam, preferably a student ID, driver’s license, or passport.

There are many student guides to Accuplacer available on the web that you can find through search engines.  However, the most accurate place that you can look for information is on the College Board website (the makers of Accuplacer), at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/preparation-sample.html. 

Here are some study guides compiled by Front Range Community College:
http://www.frontrange.edu/FRCCTemplates/FRCC7.aspx?id=1195