Sonoma State Placement Tests

Students contact me after they have been accepted to college to study for the college placement tests. College placement tests are given to students to determine whether they are ready for college-level Math and English courses.

Why study for a placement test when I have already been accepted into the college?

You don’t have to study for a college placement test because they are only meant to guide the college into placing you into the appropriate course level. If for some reason you did not reach an acceptable level in Math or English for your major the college wants you to study the prerequisites before you tackle the college-level courses. This is only to assure you will not become discouraged in a class you are not quite ready for. This helps you and helps the college retain you as a student.

You are probably not going to change your results by studying for the placement test that much. However, Math and Grammar rules may have gone out of your head a little while you were experiencing “senioritus” so a couple of hours of brush-up will bring you back to the level you were at in the middle of senior year.

You must take two exams when entering Sonoma State, the English Placement Test (EPT) and the Entry Level Mathematics Test (ELM). You can opt out of this test in several ways including scoring high on your SAT, or ACT. Also if you have already taken a college level English or Math test.

Click here for the Sonoma State website about the EPT and click here for information about the ELM.

The English Placement Test

Essay: 45 minutes on an assigned topic
Reading Skills: 30 minutes to answer 45 multiple-choice questions
Composing Skills: 30 minutes to answer 45 multiple-choice questions

Here is a PDF of a study guide from the CSU placement college English preparation website. They have information for students as young as 10th grade in order to prepare for English in college.

The Entry Level Math Test

You cannot use a calculator and the formulas you will need are given to you.
The test consists of the following skills:
Numbers and Data
Algebra
Geometry

Here is a PDF of a study guide from the CSU college math preparation website. They have information for high school students as young as 11th grade to begin to prepare for college.