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The Texas Higher Education Assessment THEA was designed to ensure that students in Texas obtainthe reading, math, and writing skills necessary to take on college-level work.. ■ you score

The Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) was designed to ensure that students in Texas obtain

the reading, math, and writing skills necessary to take on college-level work The test portion of the program is administered and developed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and National Evaluation Systems, Inc (NES) It was created to help educators identify students who may need remedial help before pursuing higher-education courses

 W h o M u s t Ta k e t h e T H E A ?

All students who plan on enrolling in a Texas public institution of higher learning must take the THEA test Educational institutions decide what to do with students who do not pass portions of, or the entire test

The THEA must also be passed by the following:

those who are entering a public higher education institution in Texas

C H A P T E R

What Is the THEA?

C H A P T E R S U M M A R Y

This chapter gives you the basic information you need to know about the THEA: who has to take it, how to register, what is on the test, and how it is scored

1

You may not have to take the THEA if one of the

following is true of you:

■ you have an ACT composite score of 23, with a

minimum of 19 on both the English and Math

tests

■ you have an SAT combined Verbal and Math

score of 1070, with a minimum of 500 on both

the Verbal and Math tests (NOTE: The SAT is

changing in March 2005 These criteria may

change.)

■ you score 1770 on the Texas Assessment of

Academic Skills (TAAS) Writing test; score 89 on

the Texas Learning Index on the Reading test; and

score 86 on the Texas Learning Index on the

Math test

■ you enroll in a certificate program of 42 semester

credit hours or less at a public community college

or technical college

■ you have an associate’s or baccalaureate degree

NOTE: There are several other exemptions, and

institutions may have their own guidelines for

exemp-tion You should understand whether these exemptions

apply to you before registering for the exam

 H o w D o I R e g i s t e r

f o r t h e T H E A ?

You may register for the THEA by mail or online (NOTE: You may only register by phone if you are reg-istering late or are seeking emergency registration.) If you are registering by mail, complete the form found in the THEA Test Registration Bulletin Your high school guidance office or college admissions office will have free copies of this bulletin If you are registering online,

go to www.thea.nesinc.com Once you have registered, you will receive a registration receipt, and later an admission ticket to the exam You must bring your admission ticket with you on exam day

Registration Fee

There is a registration fee for the THEA test At the time this book was printed, this fee was $29 If you can’t afford the fee and you think you might qualify for a waiver, contact the financial aid office of the institution you wish to attend or your high school guidance office

to see if it can be arranged

THEA CAT

It is possible to take the THEA test on a computer If you miss dates for the paper-and-pencil exam, this may

be a way for you to take the test on a different date; the Computer-Administered Test (CAT) is given more fre-quently The THEA CAT is administered once a week at 12 different locations in Texas However, keep in mind that seating is limited and the registration fee is higher than the fee for the paper-and-pencil test

 I m p o r t a n t C o n t a c t I n f o r m a t i o n

For questions as to whether you are exempt from

tak-ing the THEA test, about registration procedures, test

taking, score reports, or alternative dates and places,

contact your high school guidance office, college

admis-sions office, or one of the following:

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

www.thecb.state.tx.us

Division of Educational Partnerships

The Center for College Readiness

P.O Box 12788

Austin, TX 78711-2788

512-427-6330

THEA Test

National Evaluation Systems, Inc.

www.thea.nesinc.com

P.O Box 140347

Austin, TX 78714-0347

512-927-5397

 W h e n a n d W h e r e

The THEA is administered six times throughout the

year Typically, there is one test date in each of the

fol-lowing months: September, November, March, April,

June, and July To find the test center closest to you,

check the THEA Test Registration Bulletin

 W h a t I s t h e T H E A L i k e ?

You will have five hours to complete all three sections

on the THEA test; the three sections are not timed

sep-arately, which means you can take as much time as

you need for each section, but your total testing time

will not exceed five hours Each section has from 40 to

50 multiple-choice questions; the Writing section also has an essay You do not have to complete every section

in one sitting You may concentrate on one or two sec-tions the first time you take the test, re-register, and work solely on the third section at a later date (How-ever, keep in mind that you will have to pay the regis-tration fee each time you take the test.)

 W h a t I s Te s t e d

Three subjects—reading, math, and writing—will be tested All of the questions on the THEA will be in multiple-choice format, with the exception of the essay-writing portion Each of the three sections of the test is designed to test specific skills, which are listed below

Reading

The first section of the THEA is the Reading section It

is made up of 40 to 50 multiple-choice questions based

on approximately seven reading selections (300–700 words each) The questions on the Reading section of the test are designed to test your ability to:

■ determine the meaning of words and phrases

■ understand the main idea and supporting details

in written material

■ identify an author’s purpose, point of view, and intended meaning

■ analyze the relationship among ideas in written material

■ use critical reasoning skills to evaluate written material

■ apply the following study skills to reading assign-ments: organizing and summarizing information; understanding and following directions; and interpreting graphs, tables, and charts

– W H AT I S T H E T H E A ? –

The Math section of the THEA is also composed of

between 40 and 50 multiple-choice questions The

types of math covered include fundamental

mathe-matics, algebra, geometry, and problem solving

Fol-lowing are skills that are covered in each mathematical

discipline on the Math section of the THEA:

■ Fundamental Mathematics: Solving word

prob-lems with integers, fractions, decimals, and units

of measurement; solving problems involving

vari-ous types of graphs, tables, and charts; solving

problems involving mean, median, and mode;

and variability

■ Algebra: Graphing numbers and the relationship

between numbers; solving equations and word

problems with one or two variables;

understand-ing operations involvunderstand-ing algebraic expressions;

and solving problems involving quadratic

equa-tions

■ Geometry: Solving problems involving geometric

figures; and solving problems involving geometric

concepts such as similarity, congruence,

paral-lelism, and perpendicularity

■ Problem Solving: Using a combination of

mathe-matical and reasoning skills, including deductive

and inductive reasoning

You will not need to memorize any complicated

formulas for the Math section; all appropriate

formu-las will be provided Certain types of calculators are

permitted for the THEA

Writing

The Writing section is made up of two subsections:

a multiple-choice subsection of between 40 and 50 questions, and a writing sample subsection where you will demonstrate your ability to communicate your thoughts in writing The multiple-choice subsection will test the following skills:

■ Elements of composition: Recognizing purpose and audience; recognizing unity, focus, and devel-opment in an essay; and recognizing effective organization

■ Sentence structure, usage, and mechanics: Recog-nizing effective sentences; and recogRecog-nizing edited standard English

The following qualities will be taken into consid-eration when your essay is scored:

■ appropriateness

■ unity and focus

■ development

■ organization

■ sentence structure

■ usage

■ mechanical conventions

 Te s t D a y

On test day, you should plan to arrive around 30 min-utes before the start of your test You must bring your admission ticket with you If you are taking a paper-based test, you should have several #2 pencils with you,

as well as an eraser You are allowed to use a basic (non-programmable) calculator on the THEA Calculators will not be provided to you, and you should check with your testing center to be certain you have the correct type of calculator

– W H AT I S T H E T H E A ? –

You will also need to have two forms of

identifi-cation At least one form of identification must have a

recent photograph of you Some approved forms of

identification include:

■ driver’s license

■ passport

■ military identification card

■ student identification card

 W h a t N o t t o B r i n g

Here are some items that will not be allowed in the test

room:

■ cell phones

■ pagers

■ unapproved calculators

■ watches with alarms

■ paper

■ study aids (dictionaries, books)

■ food or drink

■ backpacks or large bags

 W h a t a b o u t S c o r e s ?

After about two weeks from the day you take the THEA,

you should receive your scores (If you take the THEA

CAT, you will receive unofficial scores immediately

Later, you will receive official scores.) At the time you

register for the THEA test, you can request that your

scores be sent to one or more colleges or universities If

you fail any portion of the THEA, the university or

col-lege you attend will require you to take remedial courses

in that subject until you are able to pass that section of

the THEA

 H o w t h e Te s t I s S c o r e d

The multiple-choice sections of the exam will be scored electronically There is no penalty for guessing, so it is

in your best interest to fill in an answer, rather than leaving a blank, even when you are unsure

The writing sample is actually scored by human beings, rather than by a computer The scaled score for the essay is from 1 to 4 points—4 being the highest Your essay will be read by two different people, so your essay will receive a final score between 2 and 8 If you score 6 or above, you automatically pass the entire Writing section; your multiple-choice writing subsec-tion is not even considered in the overall score If you score a 4 or below, you fail the entire Writing section, regardless of your score on the multiple-choice sub-section If you score a 5 on the essay, then you must answer 70% of the writing multiple-choice questions correctly in order to pass the Writing section In other words, whether or not you pass the Writing section depends most heavily on the quality of your essay, so you should concentrate most of your study time on learning to write a good essay

 W h e r e D o I B e g i n ?

You should begin your study program with Chapter 2,

“The LearningExpress Test Preparation System.” This chapter will help you devise a study schedule for your-self If you stick to it, and devote yourself to improving those areas in which you need help, you will be on your way to passing the THEA

– W H AT I S T H E T H E A ? –