ACCUPLACER®

Getting to Know

This Quick Start Guide is designed to help you become familiar with ACCUPLACER by demonstrating how to:

We recommend that you follow the steps listed in chronological order to get the most comprehensive look at ACCUPLACER. However, you will notice that various documents are often referred to in the directions. These documents can be found when you log in to the ACCUPLACER system under the Resources section.

Log in to ACCUPLACER Create Branching Profile and Placement Rules

Create Test Sites Administer tests

Transfer Test Units Run reports

Create Users

STEP 1: LOGGING IN TO ACCUPLACER

1. Go to www.accuplacer.org, enter your Institution Administrator Username and password, and click on the Login button.

2. Review the Permissions Level guide in the Resources menu under Getting Started with ACCUPLACER.

Note: Institution Administrators cannot administer ACCUPLACER tests.

As an approved ACCUPLACER user, you will receive a registration confirmation email that includes your username and an account authentication link. Once selected, the link will direct you to a series of screens that will validate your login credentials.

Once complete, follow the steps below to access your account:

®Getting to Know

STEP 2: CREATING TEST SITES

A TEST SITE is online location that must be created in your ACCUPLACER account to test students. Test Sites protect student privacy by allowing authorized users to access data in a particular test site. Test Sites can be created based on physical location such as the North campus and East campus, or can be based on a specific program such as testing for placement, testing during a summer boot camp, or testing in high schools.

Follow the steps below to create your test site(s):

1. Select the Users menu option.

2. After the Users menu expands, click Site Profile.

3. Click Add to create a Test Site.

4. Enter the name of your new Test Site and complete all fields marked with and asterisk.

5. Press Save.

STEP 3: TRANSFERRING TEST UNITS

ACCUPLACER tests are administered using TEST UNITS. Test Units are a priced product that unlock all ACCUPLACER tests. Most tests have a value of one test unit per test. Refer to the ACCUPLACER Order Form to confirm pricing and unit requirements before test day.

Follow the steps below to transfer test units:

1. Select the Users menu option.

2. After the Users menu expands, click Testing Units.

3. Select your ‘transfer from’ and ‘transfer to’ test sites from the pull down menus.

4. Enter the number of units to transfer.

5. Click Transfer to complete your transfer.

STEP 4: CREATING USERS (SITE MANGERS, PROCTORS AND REPORTERS)

Once you have created all of your test sites, you will need to add USERS to each of your sites. The ACCUPLACER system is comprised of various useful features. Access to these features is role-based. User roles, which are determined by the Institution Administrator, include Site Manager, Proctor, Proctor Reporter, and Reporters.

Follow the steps below to create your users:

1. Select the Users menu option.

2. After the Users menu expands, click Manage Profiles.

3. Once this menu expands, select Users Profiles.

4. Click on Add.

5. Provide the requested information and click Save.

6. Repeat these steps to create additional users as needed.

BRANCHING PROFILES are created by the Institution Administrator and/or Site Manager. Branching Profiles determine which tests will be administered, which background questions will be presented, what tools will be available for a student to use during testing, and the format of the score report. There are three parts to a Branching Profile: Test Settings, Background Question Groups, and tests including WritePlacer® Settings. Each of these should be configured before creating a Branching Profile.

On the next page, follow the steps to create Branching Profiles:

STEP 5: CREATING BRANCHING PROFILES

Note: For more information about User Roles and User Permission Levels, review the ACCUPLACER Permission Levels guide located under the Getting Started with ACCUPLACER section of the Resourcesmenu.

STEP 5: CREATING BRANCHING PROFILES (CONT’D)

WritePlacer Settings determine which WritePlacer prompt is administered.

Test Settings determine the format for Student Score Reports and which tools will be available for students during testing.

Background Questions are questions used to collect student information.

Note: For more information about creating branching profiles, background questions, and WritePlacer settings, review the ACCUPLACER User’s Guide found in the Resources section.

Background Questions

Created by the Institution Administrator or the Site Manager, Placement Rules report student’s course placement the Individual Score Report (ISR). Placement Rules are based on placement scores that have been established by your institution.

Follow the steps below to input your Placement Rules:

STEP 6: CREATING PLACEMENT RULES

1. Log in as a Institution Administrator or Site Manager.

2. Select the Test Setup menu option.

1. Log in as a Institution Administrator or Site Manager.

2. Select Placement Setup.

Note: Placement rules created using Site Manager login credentials are only visible in that particular site. For more information about creating Placement Rules and Permission Levels, review the ACCUPLACER User’s Guide found in the Resources section.

Placement Rules can be created after you create your course group(s), course(s), and majors to generate course placements a student ISRs.

Courses are an inventory of all courses you plan to use in your placement rules. Course names appear on the ISR.

Majors are an inventory of all of your programs and/or majors.

Course Groups allow you to categorize courses into like disciplines for reporting.

STEP 7: ADMINISTERING TEST

After you complete steps 1 through 6, the ACCUPLACER system is ready to Administer Test.

Follow the steps below to administer a test:

1. Log in as a Proctor and select the Administer Test menu option.

2. After the Administer Test menu expands, click Administer New Test Session.

3. Note the number of test units remaining in your site.

4. From the Select Branching Profile drop-down menu, select the Branching Profile you want to use.

5. Click Administer Test and seat the student when the ACCUPLACER Student Privacy Policyscreen appears.

Note: Tests being administered to students should always be done in a proctored environment. Review the ACCUPLACER User’s Guide found in the Resources section to lean more about proctor requirements and test administration..

There are a variety of Reports available within the ACCUPLACER system. These reporting tools include a comprehensive unit history and test administration report and robust data configurations for downloading data into student information systems.

Follow the steps below to create reports:

STEP 8: CREATING REPORTS

1. Log as a Institution Administrator, Site Manager, or Reporter.

2. Select Reports.

Individual Score Reports provide a copy of the score report generated at the end of a student’s test session.

Roster Reports includes Placement Roster Reports, Course Roster Reports, and Score Roster Reports.

Demographic Reports provide a summary of answers to demographic questions.

STEP 8: CREATING REPORTS (CONT’D)

The WritePlacer Response Report generates a copy of a scored essay.

Diagnostic Test Reports provides test score roster reports and summary reports for diagnostic tests.

Test Unit Reports provides a history of when units were purchased, used, or transferred from site-to-site.

Custom Reports gives you the opportunity to generate reports that combine different parameters to create unique data sets.

STEP 9: FACULTY REVIEW OF ACCUPLACER USING THE DEMO SITE

The establishment of ACCUPLACER as an assessment program at your institution may require that faculty and staff review each ACCUPLACER test.

To facilitate faculty review, a Demo Site that contains 25 complimentary test units has been set up in your account. Within this site are Branching Profiles that will administer each of the ACCUPLACER tests.

Use the steps below to access the demo site:

1. Log in as a Institution Administrator.

2. Create a Site Manager or Proctor for the demo site.

3. Log off of your Institution Administrator account.

4. Log back in using the newly created demo site login credential..

5. Follow the Administering Testinstructing found in Step 7.

Note: The Demo Site should be used for faculty and staff review only and should not be used for testing students. Testing data created in the demo site is kept separate from your actual student data.

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Note: For more information about creating Reports, review the ACCUPLACER User’s Guide found in the Resources section

STEP 10: JOIN THE ACCUPLACER ELECTRONIC DISCUSSION GROUP

© 2015 The College Board. College Board, ACCUPLACER, WritePlacer, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.com.

The EDG is an email forum in which ACCUPLACER users can share experiences, questions and expertise with the ACCUPLACER system. Issues that could take weeks of investigation can be resolved in a fraction of the time by posing a question that will, in all likelihood, receive a relevant response from an ACCUPLACER user who has had a similar issue and has already worked it through. These issues can vary from how to set cut scores to more simple day-to-day issues.

Who should join the EDG?The strength of an EDG is in the depth of its members and their willingness to share information -which is why all ACCUPLACER users are encourage to join. The service is open to all ACCUPLACER users and anyone thinking about using ACCUPLACER.

How do you join the EDG?To join the ACCUPLACER go to http://www.cblist.org/read/all_forums/ and follow these steps:

• Click on "Subscribe" (which is on the far right side of the screen) - for ACCUPLACER • Type in your email address and password to subscribe as prompted• Click "Subscribe" (The approval will take up to 48 hours)

Once you have successfully completed the information you will receive electronic mail confirming your membership.

To login to the ACCUPLACER Discussion Group if you already have joined:

• Click on Electronic Discussion Groups• Click on "accuplacer" on the left column.• Type in your email address and click "OK"