Danville Area Community College is committed to placing students in appropriate courses to ensure that all students have the greatest chance of succeeding in their programs of study.  The purpose of assessment is to determine the academic skills that an entering student brings to Danville Area Community College and to match those skills with appropriate courses offered at the College.  Entering students may provide ACT or SAT scores to determine proper course placement, or they may take the College’s placement tests in Writing, Reading, and Math.

Writing Placement Scores
Writing placement scores are valid for two years. Placement into DEVE 098 is mandatory.  Students who believe the results of the placement test do not accurately reflect their skills will have an opportunity on the first day of class to provide a writing sample.  The instructor will determine, based upon the writing sample, if the student should be moved up to either ENGL 121 or ENGL 101.  No retesting will be permitted once the student has enrolled in the English course sequence.

Reading Placement Scores
Reading placement scores are valid for two years.  Placement into DEVR 098 is mandatory.  Students may not enroll in courses with a reading prerequisite unless they have attained the appropriate score on the placement test or have successfully completed DEVR 098.   Students who wish to enroll in a course that has a reading prerequisite after the two-year period has expired must retake the reading test and attain an appropriate score, unless the student enrolled in and successfully completed DEVR 098.

Math Placement Scores
Math placement scores are valid for one year.  Placement into DEVM 098 is mandatory.   Appeals to enroll in MATH 101, MATH 105, MATH 111, or MATH 115 should be directed to the Math/Sciences Division Chair for written permission to take the Intermediate Algebra assessment.  The result of this assessment will then determine the proper placement.  Students who do not enroll in a math course within the one-year period must retake the test if they want to enroll in a math class.

Retesting Guidelines
Danville Area Community College adheres to ACT’s retesting policy, which is that
“ retesting is appropriate when there is a substantial reason to believe the current scores are not indicative of an examinee’s current level of knowledge and skills.”  Retesting before the expiration of current test scores is allowed in two general situations: 1) there is reason to believe the examinee’s performance was influenced by factors other than ability; and 2) a significant change in the examinee’s ability has occurred.  College faculty and staff should complete an Assessment Center referral form for students they believe qualify for retesting based upon these two guidelines.  The Coordinator of the Student Support Services and Assessment Center will then determine if the student is eligible to retest.

Guidelines for Students With Disabilities   
Any student with a documented disability is eligible to receive the appropriate accommodations when taking the placement test.  The student must provide documentation of the disability to the Coordinator of the Student Support Services and Assessment Center. The Coordinator will then make arrangements with the student to complete the placement test.