New ACCUPLACER Prize Patrol program in place

For PTC applicants, part of the application process is to take the ACCUPLACER assessment test. The ACCUPLACER test measures a student's level of ability in three areas: reading, writing/sentence skills, and math. Depending on the test results, applicants may be placed directly in college-level courses at the outset of their college career, or they may be required to take foundations courses to help prepare them for the required college courses they must take later.

Erin White, Director of the Academic Skills Center at PTC and a member of PTC's Retention Committee explains the ACCUPLACER Prize Patrol, a new program at PTC, is the product of an idea born from the Retention Committee to encourage applicants to study and prepare for the test; by taking the practice test and preparing for it, applicants will win PTC prizes, but what's more valuable is that they will earn higher ACCUPLACER scores and possibly bypass a few foundations courses.

"We see and understand that applicants who score lower on the test are more at risk of being discouraged from even beginning at PTC," White says. "Also, for those students who are not discouraged right away and begin coursework in the foundations classes, and depending upon how many foundations classes they have to take before they even get into their programs -- that can become discouraging as time goes on," White explains. "What it comes down to is that, what originally was a two-year plan for a student may become a three-year plan including the foundations courses, and unfortunately, that sometimes is enough to discourage a student from continuing and finishing," White adds.

The ACCUPLACER Prize Patrol program rewards applicants for preparing for the ACCUPLACER. "When applicants report for the ACCUPLACER, they just have to bring in a printout of their practice results, and we will give them a prize -- a PTC bumper sticker. Plus, if they specifically practice the math portion, they will be entered into a drawing for a second, more valuable bonus prize," White explains.

Applicants should visit these sites to practice the ACCUPLACER:
• http://demo-test.accuplacer-test.com
• www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/
• http://algebrahelp.com/