Basic skill for colledge 2 docx

reparing to enter the world of higher education, whether at the local community college or a four-year liberal arts college or university, requires that you take a look at your abilities

CHAPTER 5: Practice Tests in Grammar, Writing, and Reading Comprehension 101

LearningExpress Skill Builders • INTRODUCTION vii

SUMMARY

First, this chapter explains the rationale behind the testing methodologies used for college placement exams, and then

it answers some FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) that you may have Next, you will also get a feel for what you should expect after the test, both academically and socially as you embark on the wondrous thing that is the college experience Last, you’ll explore the myths versus realities about college from those who have been there So start making the most

of your college days even before classes start.

reparing to enter the world of higher education, whether at the local community college or a four-year liberal arts college or university, requires that you take a look at your abilities in the basic skills areas Fundamental for success in any academic sit-uation is knowledge of reading, writing, and mathematics This is not to say that there aren’t other important skills, but the foundation for the most effective learning rests on your ability to read with understanding, write with clarity and precision, and understand basic mathematical operations These are the skills you’ll use to build knowledge They are also the skills that will be tested when you apply for college because just as you need to analyze your strengths and weaknesses in these areas, so do the schools where you plan to study

INTRODUCTION

P

INTRODUCTION • LearningExpress Skill Builders

viii

Almost all institutions of higher learning require

a placement test to determine your ability to handle

col-lege level English Many schools accept a score on the

verbal portion of the SAT or the SAT II essay, or an ACT

score These are nationally administered tests, and the

scores are recognized as reliable indicators of your

ver-bal abilities However, if you haven’t taken these tests

or if you will be attending a school that requires an

addi-tional assessment of your skills, you will be asked to take

a placement test Usually, the institution you are

plan-ning to attend develops the test, and it is not part of the

application process Basically, it is used to provide you

with a freshman English class that meets your needs and

ensures that you get the instruction you need to be

effec-tive in all your courses

Similarly, these schools look to the mathematics

scores on standardized tests to access your level of

knowledge and problem solving capabilities If you

haven’t taken the SAT or ACT, your abilities can be

gauged through a math college placement test

FAQ S

IS THERE A STANDARD TEST THAT

COLLEGES USE FOR PLACEMENT?

There are several tests that a college may use for math

placement One test is called ASSET and another is

called COMPASS Additionally, colleges may design

their own test to give to incoming students You can ask

your college if they use a particular test Also, ask them

if the test is given on the computer or with paper and

pencil Some computer tests may just be on-screen

ver-sions of paper tests Other computer tests may be

adap-tive, which means that after you answer one question,

the computer decides what question to give you next

based on how well you answered the first Adaptive tests

are nothing to be afraid of Just read and answer

care-fully, because you will not have the opportunity to double-check your work Adaptive tests have the ben-efit of being relatively quick and painless

DOES IT COST MONEY?

It is unheard of for a college to charge you an extra fee for a placement test You should expect this test to be free

WHAT SHOULD I BRING WITH ME

ON THE DAY OF THE TEST?

You should bring ID (driver’s license or equivalent), a number 2 pencil, and a calculator if permitted for the math portions, and you should know your Social Secu-rity number Also bring any forms the school asks for

CAN I USE A CALCULATOR FOR THE MATH SECTIONS?

Ask your school if calculators are permitted during the test Some schools allow calculators, others don’t Don’t

be too upset if your school doesn’t permit calculators

In this case, you should expect to see questions that work out “nicely,” without elaborate scratch work and cal-culations

IS IT A TIMED TEST?

Most tests give you a very generous time frame to work with Ask your school what the time limit is, if any

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

For the English test, you should feel comfortable

responding to a given statement, or prompt Most likely,

you will also be tested on reading comprehension and language use (grammar, spelling, and so forth) For the math assessment, most schools test basic arithmetic and elementary algebra Additionally, many schools test basic geometry Ask your school for the specific

sub-– BASIC SKILLS FOR COLLEGE –

LearningExpress Skill Builders • INTRODUCTION ix

ject areas that will be on your test, so that you can

pre-pare accordingly

HOW DO I PREPARE?

It is a good idea to brush up on the above-mentioned

basic skills This book is designed to walk you through

sample questions and and to provide you with practice

questions in the Skill Builder sections After working

through these sample essays, questions, and problems,

you should take the end test You can also ask your

school if they have a sample test Usually these sample

tests are brief and do not come with detailed answer

explanations Comparing these specific sample tests to

a book such as this one will allow you to focus and learn

all the necessary material Just be sure to practice under

simulated test conditions For example, if you will not

have access to a calculator for the real test, answer all

practice questions without a calculator as you study

WHAT IF I FAIL?

Relax You cannot fail a placement test The whole

ra-tionale behind the test is to gauge the level of

incom-ing students Once your level of ability is assessed,

your school will be able to place you into an

appropri-ate class in a suitable track

CAN I RETAKE IT?

Each school sets its own restrictions regarding retakes

For example, you might be allowed to take one

place-ment test per term Ask your school about their policy

WHAT’S NEXT?

After the test, you should schedule an appointment with

an advisor if one has not been scheduled already Your

advisor can give you information on registration and

orientation

M YTH VERSUS R EALITY

MOST STUDENTS KNOW WHAT THEIR MAJORS WILL BE BEFORE THEY

ENTER COLLEGE

First of all, you may be overwhelmed at the prospect

of going to college You may ask,“Is this school the right one?”“What will I major in?”“If I take the wrong classes, will I ruin the rest of my life?” Here’s a secret: Most everyone entering college feels the same way It’s per-fectly natural, and you are not alone

Many students start school with an “undecided” major Some say they know exactly what they want In fact, you may hear, “I’m definitely going to be a doc-tor,” or “I’m definitely going to be a lawyer, a veterinar-ian ” and they may even profess that their whole life

is mapped out However, sometime during the second year, when all the dust settles, those same people switch their majors Once they have a taste of the courses needed to be a doctor, lawyer, and so on, they often decide they want to pursue another career Don’t let any-one intimidate you for being “undecided” at first The best thing you can do for yourself is to sample a little of everything your first year and then make your decision

IT’S BETTER TO BE A BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND THAN A SMALL FISH IN

A BIG POND

Guidance counselors usually give this advice It basi-cally means that you are better off being a star at a small school than just being another faceless “number” in a large school In reality, these are not words to take to heart Even if you choose to go to a large school, you will ultimately choose a specific course of study, and each department has its own kind of family atmosphere

If you strive to be your best, you can always make your mark no matter what size school you attend

– INTRODUCTION –

INTRODUCTION • LearningExpress Skill Builders

x

Don’t be afraid to get to know your instructors

In college, especially at a larger school, it is important

to develop a good rapport with your professors as you

pursue your studies It is also a good idea to keep in

touch with these professors because later you might

need letters of recommendation from them File these

references in a special folder The day will come when

you will be very glad that you did

YOU CAN TAKE ANY CLASS YOU

WANT

This is mostly true You generally have a great degree

of control over your class schedule each semester Many

schools, however, have a large block of courses called

the “core curricula” that all students must take Schools

want to make sure that your collegiate experience is a

well-rounded one, so you will have to take certain

humanities, fine arts, math, English, and foreign

lan-guage courses, no matter what major you choose Some

schools even require physical education courses The

good part is that there is always a certain degree of choice

involved For example, if your school has a foreign

lan-guage requirement, you will be able to pick which

for-eign language you want to study Once you declare a

major, there will be required courses for that major as

well as electives—courses within the major that you pick

yourself

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO STUDY

One student shares this method:“During my junior year

I discovered a relatively painless way to do some

study-ing I would attend class with my ‘scrap’ notebook and

scribble down everything my teacher was saying Then

when I returned to my room to study, I would get my

‘real’ notebook and copy everything I had written

down, neat as a pin, with colors, highlighted, and so on.”

When you are sitting there just copying over notes it

seems very easy, but you may not realize it all starts to

sink in while you are doing this And not only that, you have a nice, neat, organized book to study from later

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO TO CLASS

Your teachers will let you know, up front, what their attendance policies are Smaller classes tend to have stricter attendance policies than courses held in large lecture halls For the most part, you will find yourself attending class even if no attendance is taken, simply because you want and need to learn more than what you read or do on your own Remember that whimsi-cally taking a trip to the mall with your friends is not

an academically sound reason for cutting class and is therefore not recommended Some professors make it very clear that missing more than a limited number of classes without an approved excuse will result in an automatic failure for that course They are not bluff-ing, and they are allowed to fail you if you violate their written policy Don’t waste your money by failing courses this way Also, if you receive federal or state financial aid, you have to make “satisfactory academic progress” to keep that aid—which means going to class

YOU WILL HAVE LOTS OF FREEDOM

This is definitely true You won’t be sent to the princi-pal’s office in college, although there are deans and judi-cial boards who control student discipline You are in charge of yourself So it’s a good idea to follow your school’s regulations Too much freedom creates prob-lems for freshmen when they forget that they are really

in school to study and not to party It is important to stay focused on your courses and not to get distracted

by the many temptations that face you With each course you take, you are presented with an opportunity

to do your best While classes are in session, make them the priority You can reward yourself later with relax-ation and recrerelax-ation after the term is over

– BASIC SKILLS FOR COLLEGE –