placement testing
Some new students need to take placement and/or diagnostic exams in a foreign language and/or writing to identify appropriate courses. While transfer students do not need to take placement exams, all freshmen should review the personalized Registration Confirmation to determine whether or not you need to take one or both of these exams. The Foreign Language Placement Exam should be taken online prior to attending your Orientation session. Students who need to take the Writing Placement Exam need to participate in Testing Day the day prior to your Orientation session. All student will be tested for math placement. Please choose a date to take this exam when you register online for Orientation.
Foreign Language Placement Exam
Students who did not successfully complete three years of the same language during high school with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher are required to take the Foreign Language Placement Exam. For Spanish, French and German languages, the placement exam should be taken online prior to attending Orientation. For other languages offered at SMC, including Italian, Japanese, Latin and Greek, an exam will be conducted with a professor during the first week of classes in order to determine the appropriate course in which to enroll. For any questions regarding language placement or proficiency, please contact Modern Languages Faculty member Lori Spicher (lspicher@stmarys-ca.edu).
Take the Foreign Language Placement Exam
Mathematics Diagnostic Exam
All students are required to take the Mathematics Diagnostic Exam. The exam is designed to assess your readiness for Calculus and will be helpful in accurately placing you in the appropriate math class.
Writing Placement Exam
All freshman take an English class during their first semester. Placement in English courses is determined by entrance exam scores. Completion of English 4 and 5 is required for graduation. An optional Writing Placement Exam for students wishing to challenge their automatic placement will be administered the day before each Orientation session. Contact Professor Rosemary Graham, Director of Composition (rgraham@stmarys-ca.edu) at least one week prior to the orientation session to register for this exam.
