This policy defines standards for placement tests at UW-Madison.
Academic units and undergraduate students.
Overview and Context
Each student enrolled at UW-Madison arrives with a unique set of skills and academic preparation. Placement tests, whether required by the UW System or offered by academic departments, assist advisors in assessing a student’s academic preparation and selecting appropriate courses.
The placement test is a systematic, documented way for a student to demonstrate the academic knowledge, skills or experience required at a level that replaces enrollment in a requisite for-credit course. Placement test scores are recorded in the Student Information System (SIS) and can be used to meet course requisites.
Consistent with UW policy and federal and state law, students with disabilities who are eligible for test accommodations on standard class exams are also eligible for accommodations on UW System and departmental placement tests unless doing so fundamentally alters the nature of the test or lowers a program standard.
UW System Placement Tests
The Office of Admissions and Recruitment is responsible for notifying new first-year students of requirements for placement tests while the Office of the Registrar is responsible for notifying new transfer students of requirements for placement tests.
Math Placement Test (Math B)
This test is required for an undergraduate student who is:
It is assumed that a transfer student with one of the direct equivalent MATH courses in progress at the time of admission will successfully complete the course and will not be required to take the placement test. If the student does not complete or pass the course, the student may be required to take the placement test to demonstrate minimum math proficiency.
A student who wishes to retake the Math Placement Test must submit a request through the current established process. If granted, one retest will be allowed. The best placement, based on the scores from a single administration of the test, will be used.
English Placement Test
There are two tests used to determine the placement of a student into courses focused on the development of skills needed for success in college-level communications:
UW English Placement Test (UWEPT)
This test is required for students admitted to undergraduate degree-granting programs who are (one of the following):
A student who wishes to retake the UW English Placement Test must submit a request to the UW-Madison English Department Director of ENGL 100. The director will evaluate the request and grant one retest if circumstances give reason to question the original score.
UW English Placement Test Score Matrix
UW-Madison English as a Second Language Assessment Test (MSNESLAT)
This test is required for an undergraduate student who must submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Duolingo English Test (DET) score for admission to UW-Madison.
First-year applicants educated in non-English speaking countries must submit an official TOEFL, IELTS, or DET score, unless English was the primary language of instruction in all four years of secondary school. Transfer applicants may have the test waived if English was the primary language of instruction in all four years of secondary school or a college-level English composition course was successfully completed at an accredited US institution. This requirement will not be waived for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or A-level scores.
The MSNESLAT is designed to evaluate English language proficiency, and to place a student into English as a Second Language courses that focus on written and spoken English used in academic contexts. A student who takes the MSNESLAT and obtains a score of less than 99 (Exempt) must satisfy the university’s expectation of college-level English language proficiency by completing ESL 118, Academic Writing II.
A student enrolled in an English as a Second Language course will be retested on the first day of class and at the end of each semester, and in rare cases receive a revised placement.
Language (French, German, and Spanish) Placement Tests
A first-year student with previous experience in French, German, or Spanish or a transfer student without transfer credit in the language who plans to enroll in one or more of these languages must take a placement test to qualify for enrollment in courses beyond the entry level language course.
A student who wishes to retake a UW Language Placement Test must submit a request to the Spanish, French, or German departmental advisor. The advisor will evaluate the request and grant one retest if it is determined unexpected circumstances yielded poor results. The most recent results will be used for placement.
Changes to Placement Tests
The Guide is the official source for who must take a specific placement test and how placement test scores equate to course placement. Changes that impact who takes placement tests or how placement test scores equate to course placements must be proposed and approved through governance. Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research will coordinate the proposal and approval process.
UW-Madison Department Placement Tests
Academic units that offer a sequence of courses may choose to propose and offer a placement test to determine which course in the sequence is an appropriate starting point for an individual student.
Approved placement tests appear in Guide.
Eligibility and Limitations
A student must be classified as a degree-seeking undergraduate student to take a placement test.
Credits are not awarded for departmental placement tests.
Departmental placement test results may not be used to fulfill any degree requirements.
Departments may place limitations on the number of times a student may attempt a departmental placement test.
Fees cannot be assessed for departmental placement tests.
Department Requirements
It is the responsibility of each department to determine whether placement tests are to be offered to students. There is no requirement or expectation for a department to offer placement tests. If a test is offered, the department must follow these requirements.
A departmental placement test must cover material in lower-level courses up to the entry point for the course in sequence.
Department faculty will determine the standards, methods, and procedures for evaluation.
Departments may use any evaluation method or combination of methods including:
The content, quality and quantity of material covered in the departmental placement test must be determined by the department offering the placement test.
If the department also offers credit by departmental exam, the department must clearly state whether each assessment is a departmental placement test (no credit awarded) or a departmental credit by exam (credit awarded).
Once a departmental placement test is approved, the department must determine which course requisites are to be updated and request updates via the course proposal process. All course requisites utilizing the course(s) a student can "place out of" will be coded to include the placement score to meet the requisite.
The department is responsible for assessing the performance of students who gain entry to a course based on the placement test to ensure they are as successful in the course as students who were eligible for the course based on enrollment in previous course work or other requirements.
Approval to Offer a Placement Test
A department must submit a proposal which addresses the Department Requirements in Section III via the Lumen Exam Proposal System. The department must have the approval of the school or college and the University Curriculum Committee prior to offering any departmental placement tests.
As part of the proposal process, the department will determine for creation of the appropriate test information in the Student Information System (SIS):
The department must determine how the departmental placement test scores will correspond to course placement (e.g., if the score range is between 1-5, the department must indicate which score must be obtained for placement into a specific course).
Once a departmental placement test is approved it will be listed on a master list of all available placement exams in Guide.
The department is expected to regularly review and assess each placement test to ensure the test continues to match the content of the course. If the equivalent requisite course is changed through the course change proposal process, the placement test must be reviewed to ensure it remains aligned with the learning outcomes of the course. If a placement test is not used for three years, it will be removed from the list of approved tests.
Administration of Test
A departmental placement test must be administered and/or supervised by a member of the faculty or academic staff.
The department is responsible for validating the identity of each student prior to administering the exam, by verifying the student’s identity (e.g., authenticating the student via log in with UW NetID, or via review of the student’s Wiscard).
The department is responsible for determining whether the student is eligible to take the test before administering it. If the department administers a test to a student, it is assumed that they have verified both the student’s eligibility and identity. Once approval has been granted to administer a departmental placement test and the set-up in the SIS is complete, the department will submit scores via the Departmental Placement Exam Form. The Office of the Registrar must receive the test results within 7 business days of scoring for all students who attempted the placement test, even for attempts that are not successful.
Any course requisites built to use the departmental placement test score for course enrollment eligibility must specify the score required.
Approved Departmental Placement Exams
Departmental Placement Exam Proposal Form
Departmental Placement Test Score Submission Form
McBurney Disability Resource Center
UW-Madison Department of Mathematics Placement Test
UW-Madison English 100 Program
UW-Madison English as a Second Language Placement Test
UW-Madison Testing and Evaluation Services
12-10-2021, 05-14-2024
