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MONTGOMERY COLLEGE
Office of the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs
Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
May 2, 2017
MEMORANDUM
To:
The College Community
From:
Dr. Monica R.M. Brown, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs
Dr. Sanjay Rai, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Subject:
Information on Assessment and Placement of Students
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In
order to promote student success and retention, students need to enroll in
courses for which they demonstrate the appropriate academic readiness. This
memorandum is a reminder of the College’s procedures regarding assessment and
placement of students, including retesting and review of placement. Information
on assessment testing may be found at
: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/assessment.
Placement
Procedures
Most students are placed into reading,
English, and math courses based on their placement test, SAT, ACT, IB, or AP
scores, TOEFL, IELTS, or based on coursework
completed at another college. In addition, most college-level courses at
Montgomery College list assessment levels for reading, English, and math, as
appropriate for the courses. For such courses, students must place at the
designated assessment level(s) or higher in order to enroll. There is also a
chemistry placement test for students who intend to take CHEM 131
Principles of Chemistry I. Students who wish to take CHEM 131 should take the
chemistry placement test at one of the campus assessment centers at least one
day before they plan to register for CHEM 131. Students who have taken CHEM 099
Introductory Chemistry (and earned a grade of C or better) do not need to take
the chemistry placement test. Students who do not pass the chemistry
placement test must register for and pass CHEM 099 (grade of C or better) prior
to CHEM 131.
New
students whose first language is American English or who attended at least 10
years of school (elementary, middle, and high school) in the United States take
the English, reading, and math sections of the Accuplacer. Everyone else who is
required to be assessed must take the Accuplacer ESL plus writing sample.
Test
Results “Shelf Life”
English and reading Accuplacer scores are
valid for placement for two years. Math Accuplacer scores are valid for
placement for one year. If a student’s request for a retake is approved, the
student should be encouraged to review the online information about Accuplacer
Test preparation with links to review problems and test-taking tips. This
may be found at
: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/AssessCtr/accuplacer.htm.
Tests
Taken at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
When a
student takes the assessment test in a high school, using the MCPS Accuplacer
code, only scores that permit enrollment in college-level courses have been
sent by MCPS electronically to Montgomery College and entered in Banner. Paper
or informal results are not accepted. When a student who has tested at MCPS has
both college-level and developmental placement scores, only the college-level
scores have been sent to Montgomery College and will appear on SOATEST.
Students who indicate they have MCPS scores that are college ready but are not
in Banner SOATEST, should be referred to MCPS. Note: All Accuplacer attempts
that count towards a student’s total MC attempts will be on SOATEST.
Alternative Placement Program
(APP)
Instituted
in FY17, APP provides an alternative pathway to placing college-capable
students in college credit-bearing courses. MC will place incoming
Montgomery County Public Schools students in college courses based on a final
semester grade of B or higher in one or more of the courses listed below.
Students who qualify for placement in college credit courses as part of the APP
are deemed as “college and career ready” for Maryland State Department of
Education reporting purposes.
o
AP Language and Composition
o
Honors English 12
o
Modern World History (including honors level or
higher)
o
Algebra 2 (any level)
Retake
Procedures
Students
who believe that their Accuplacer scores do not reflect their knowledge and
skills, based on prior coursework and achievement, should be referred to a
counselor or adviser to determine whether or not they meet the criteria for a
retake.
If a
student has taken the assessment test at a Montgomery College campus or at a
high school (using the Academic Initiatives code), this counts as his or her
first Accuplacer attempt. These scores will be on SOATEST in Banner with a
campus or Academic Initiatives designation. Students in this category may
retest at Montgomery College one time only and should not retest sooner than 48
hours after the initial test session.
Students
who take the Accuplacer ESL plus writing sample may not retake the test during the same semester. However,
during the first week that they are enrolled in an ELAP (formerly AELP) course,
students are given a diagnostic test. In some instances, based on their
diagnostic test score, they may be permitted to enroll in a higher-level
course.
Third
Retake Requests
Students
who are dissatisfied with their course placements after two Accuplacer attempts
may consider requesting a review of placement; the Accuplacer will not be given
a third time.
Only a
dean of student affairs or his/her designee may approve a third attempt within
the placement validity of the test at the dean’s discretion for extraordinary
situations. In these situations, the student should present a written request
and must provide evidence to the dean that a third attempt is warranted.
Comments regarding the reason for approving a third attempt will be entered
into Banner by the dean.
Contacts
for Requesting a Placement Review
Students
who wish to request a review of placement in reading should go to the English
& Reading Department on their campus to see the department chair,
coordinator, or designee. Those contacts are as follows:
Germantown Reading
o Dr. Mary Robinson – Office: PK
123
Rockville Reading
o Professor Teri Hurst – Office: SB
107C
Takoma Park/Silver Spring Reading
o Professor Sharon Teuben-Rowe –
Office: P3 204
Students
who wish to request a review of placement in math should go to the Mathematics
Department on their campus to see the department chair or designee. Those
contacts are as follows:
Germantown Math
o
Professor Darren Smith
– Office: HT 129
o
Professor Kathryn
Linehan – Office: HT 221
o
Professor Pallavi
Bhale – Office: HT 128
Rockville Math
o
Dr. Ben Nicholson –
Office: SC 50B
o
Dr. Luc Desir – Office:
SC 354Q
o
Professor Alison Rose
– Office: SC 454N
Takoma Park/Silver Spring Math
o
Dr. Milton Nash –
Office: MP 245
o Dr. Amit Trehan – Office: MP 248
o
Professor Alice Wang –
Office: MP 242
Students
who wish to request a review of placement in chemistry should go to the
Chemistry Department on their campus to see the department chair or designee. Those contacts are as
follows:
Germantown Chemistry
o Dr. Don Newlin – Office: BE208
Rockville Chemistry
o Dr. Laura Anna – Office: SC 331C
Takoma Park/Silver Spring Chemistry
o Dr. Fotis Nifiatis – Office: SN
306
Students
who have questions about their initial placement in ELAP prior to the first day
of class should go to the Department where ELAP is located on their campus to
see the department chair, coordinator, or designee. Those contacts are as
follows:
Germantown ELAP
o Dr. Jorinde van den Berg –
Office: HS 176
Rockville ELAP
o Professor Usha Venkatesh –
Office: MT 512B
Takoma Park/Silver Spring ELAP
o Professor Angela Nissing –
Office: P4 110
These
individuals’ phone numbers and e-mail addresses can be found in the college
directory.
If the
department chair or designee determines, by using other relevant information,
that the student should be placed in a course other than one based on test
scores, this action must be entered in Banner as an override in
the SFASRPO screen with a brief comment on the rationale for the override in
the comment screen, SPACMNT.
Thank
you for promoting student success by adhering to our assessment and placement
procedures.
