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The Assessment/Testing Center at PVCC offers assessments for course placement on a walk-in basis, no appointment is needed. Click here for walk-in testing hours. You must present a valid photo ID and have a Student Information Form on file in order to test. You may complete this information online at my.maricopa.edu or fill out the form the Admissions, Records, and Registration Office. Valid Photo ID includes government issued ID such as driver's license or military ID, or ID issued by your school or work which contains a recognisable photo and your first and last names.

Allow approximately one hour for English and reading, and one and a half hours for math to allow time for check-in, completing demographic information, scoring your test, and printing results. You must arrive at least one hour prior to closing for English and reading and one and a half hours prior to closing for math, no placement assessments will be started after that time.

PVCC offers COMPASS, an untimed computer based placement assessment used for placement into English or reading courses. Only minimal computer skill is required. Questions are presented in a multiple choice format and are answered by pointing and clicking with the mouse. Although the test is untimed, allow yourself plenty of time so you do not rush through the test. Most students will complete each test in less than one hour including completing demographics, scoring, and printing results.

For math placement, PVCC now offers ALEKS placement assessment. The ALEKS assessment is open response (not multiple choice) and adaptive, that is, the number and level of questions are adapted to your math level depending on how you answer the questions. The length of the assessment runs from 20-35 questions. The exact number of questions will vary due to the adaptive mechanism.
Click here for more information about ALEKS.

Course Placement Assessment results are valid for 2 years and can be used at any of the Maricopa Community Colleges, with the exception of ALEKS, which is valid for one year. PVCC will accept test results from any of the other Maricopa campuses including Accuplacer or ASSET scores in addition to COMPASS, CELSA, and ALEKS. One retest in each subject area is permitted each year.

• Click here for online sample test questions or downloadable guides for English or reading using the COMPASS test.
• Test Soup offers free flashcards for COMPASS for current or prospective PVCC students at pvc.testsoup.com (registration or link through Facebook account is required)
• For sample test questions for ALEKS math placement, go to www.aleks.com and sign up for a Free Trial in the ?Higher Education? area located in the lower left corner of the page. You will be able to see and work sample questions, practice entering your answers, and see how your diagnostics will look when you finish your test. You will not be able to see which problems you answered correctly.
  The free sample tests that will be most useful in preparing for the MCCCD ALEKS Placement Tests include the following:
  • Prep for Beginning Algebra
  • Prep for Intermediate Algebra
  • Prep for College Algebra
  • Prep for Precalculus
  • Prep for Calculus
• Click here to download MCCCD's Student Information Guide for Assessment for Course Placement
• Click here to view the MCCCD District-wide Placement Chart to see which courses you should take based on your course placement assessment scores

Last updated: April 26, 2011
Paradise Valley Community College- URL-http://www.pvc.maricopa.edu/assessment/placement.html
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