What is a common placement test?
Colleges and Universities across the United States use placement tests or entrance exams to determine the proficiency of accepted students in the core competencies for Math and English. Students not meeting that necessary standards for college level courses in these areas must then enroll in remedial or entry-level classes to get caught up. This isn't unusual because so many college students are actually veteran students, returning after a hiatus from academia to earn their college degrees and enhance their careers.
It is therefore important to do your best on the exam since by doing well on a placement test, students can avoid being placed into remedial classes....saving time and money!!!
Florida's College Placement Test ... PERT
What is the PERT exam?
The Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT) is a college placement test used exclusively by all 28 Florida State Colleges as well as most major Florida Universities to determine college readiness in reading, writing and math of incoming freshman students.
There are three PERT assessments each containing 30 questions. Only 25 of the questions are scored, the other 5 are field test items used for development purposes and future refinement of the test. You should do your best on every question because the field tests items are not distinguished from scored questions. The assessments are Mathematics, Reading and Writing. The Florida Department of Education provides a list of concepts that are tested in each assessment.
The PERT is a computerized adaptive test (CAT) which starts at average difficulty and adjusts as the test progresses based on whether previous questions were answered correctly. Since the test is a computer adaptive test and questions are graded as you progress through the exam, you cannot return to a previously visited question to change your answer and your final score will be displayed onscreen once you complete the exam.
Why was the PERT test developed and what happened to the CPT?
So many high schools students graduate and enter college but for whatever reason, are not fully prepared for college level courses. They enroll in upper level courses and as a result of being ill prepared, they withdraw or fail and are forced to retake the course again and again. College Placement Tests seek to avoid this by placing students into prep courses to refresh their skills and ensure that they have the tools necessary to succeed in their college courses.
Before October 2010, schools in Florida used the nationally recognized Accuplacer College Placement Test (CPT). Once the contract with the College Board expired, Florida chose to utilize another vendor to customize the placement test to meet Florida’s specific needs. Hence the PERT was created.
How is the PERT different from other College Placement Tests?
Since the PERT was customized for Florida, the competencies tested in the exam are different. Whereas the College Placement Test uses competencies from College Level Math that include trigonometry, the PERT focuses more on concepts from Intermediate Algebra.
Will I have to take the PERT test?
In the 2011 legislative session, the passing of House Bill 1255 affected Florida Statutes section 1008.30 which now requires high school students scoring in a certain range on the 10th grade FCAT to take the PERT. Therefore, you will be required to take the PERT in the 11th grade if you score a Level 2 or 3 on FCAT Reading or score a Level 2, 3 or 4 on FCAT Mathematics unless you demonstrate college readiness using some other accepted standardized test (ACT, SAT or Accuplacer). The Bill also requires that high schools must provide students not meeting the cutscores with adequate test prep.
How much time am I given on the PERT exam?
The PERT is untimed so you may take as long as you need. We suggest reserving at least one hour to take the test which allows an average of 2 minutes per question. By making sure that you set aside enough time on test day, you can eliminate much of the anxiety that is associated with test taking as you can relax and take time to breathe and calm your thoughts in between questions as necessary.
What scores do I need?
The test is not pass or fail. The Florida Department of Education has set score ranges for the PERT with the cut score for math being 133. Scoring in a certain range can mean the difference between being placed in remedial (prep) classes or college level classes. A score of less than 133 indicates that the student is not ready for college level classes and should be placed into a prep course. Prep courses are meant to do what they imply, get you prepared for college level work so they cost money but do not count towards getting your degree. The most obvious benefits of doing well are the time and money saved while trying to acquire your degree.
Why did we create the CPT and PERT study guides?
Track 2 Success provides a study guide for the PERT math assessment because we know that prep courses are not only expensive but time consuming. We understand that in some situations, a student might just need a refresher because they were out of school for a while or may have missed a few high school classes. We also wanted to contribute towards the goal of making more high school students prepared for college.
Here are some helpful links for more information:
- Take a FREE PERT Math practice test on our website for PERT sample questions and to evaluate your readiness
- Florida Department of Education general information on Common Placement Testing
- Florida Department of Education PERT FAQs
