Placement tests the placement testing process

Research Supporting Placement Testing and Remedial Mathematics
A Standardized Placement Test Example
A longitudinal study of the cohort of students entering a Connecticut community-technical college in Fall 1990 covered the period from Fall 1990 to Spring 1993 (Sturtz and McCarroll, 1993). All students took the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) which included two mathematics sections - mathematical computation and elementary algebra. Students' scores resulted in recommendations for placement in one of three courses - Basic Math I, Basic Math II, or a college-level math course. Details of the cut scores and numbers of students recommended for each are presented in tables 2 and 3 which have been adapted from Sturtz, Alan J. & McCarroll, Judith A. (1993).

Table 2: Cut scores for mathematics tests in the NJCBSPT
MATHEMATICS (NJCBSPT)
RANGES (Scaled scores)	RECOMMENDATIONS
<= 160 in Computation	Basic Math I (Computation)
>= 161 in Computation and <= 171 in Algebra	Basic Math II ( Algebra)
>= 172 in Algebra	College Math

Table 3: Recommended course placements for New Jersey college-entry students (1990)