Proficiency and Placement Testing Requirements 

Your academic career at Baruch College begins with demonstrating that you have met the City University of New York’s Proficiency/College Readiness Requirements for Senior College students and completing required Baruch College placement examinations. 

The Office of Testing and Evaluation oversees the Proficiency and Placement Testing activities for Baruch College and communicates with students their testing and placement requirements. 

 CUNY Proficiency /College Readiness Requirements 

The City University of New York (CUNY) requires all students to demonstrate proficiency in English (reading and writing) and mathematics prior to being able to enroll in credit-bearing courses in the associated subject. Students may establish proficiency in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, meeting CUNY’s Benchmark Scores on the SAT®, ACT® or New York State Regents Examinations.  

 Applicants who do not meet the SAT®, ACT® or New York State Regents Examinations benchmark scores will be assessed using the CUNY Proficiency Index to determine readiness for college-level English and mathematics courses.  

CUNY Proficiency Index 

The CUNY Proficiency Index is a formula that combines overall high school grade point average with SAT® and New York State Regents scores to determine whether the student has a good chance of succeeding in a credit-bearing mathematics or English course without any additional support. The Proficiency Index scores will be used to determine whether the student is eligible to begin in college level English and mathematics courses or if remedial intervention is necessary. 

 There are separate proficiency formulas for English and mathematics. Both use information that is already part of the application for first-year admissions: student’s overall high school GPA at the time of application, SAT® scores, and New York State Regents scores. If an applicant has both SAT® scores and New York State Regents scores, the formula will use both scores, but if they have only New York State Regents or only SAT®, it will use whichever is available. If an applicant does not have any relevant New York State Regents Exam or SAT® scores, proficiency in English and mathematics will be assessed based on High School GPA or High School Equivalency exam scores. The formula places more weight on high school grades than test scores, but higher test scores can help offset lower grades and vice versa. 

English as a Second Language (ESL) Students 

The CUNY Admissions Process will identify applicants who have spent at least six months or more in an institution where English is not the primary language of instruction as potential ESL.  

 ESL applicants who meet the CUNY Proficiency Benchmark Scores based on SAT®, ACT® or New York State Regents examinations will be deemed proficient in English and/or mathematics, regardless of where they attended high school.  

 For ESL applicants who do not meet the CUNY Proficiency Benchmark Scores in mathematics, the CUNY Proficiency Index in Mathematics will be used to assess mathematics proficiency. 

 For English Proficiency, potential ESL applicants are evaluated in the following manner based on if they have a New York State Regents Exam: 

•  ESL applicants with New York State English Regents score are assessed by the CUNY’s Proficiency Index in English for reading and writing proficiency. Applicants who do not meet the CUNY Proficiency Index in English benchmark score will be required to take the Accuplacer ESL to determine proficiency in English and appropriate ESL or English course placement. 

• ESL applicants without New York State English Regents score are not assessed by the CUNY’s Proficiency Index in English for reading and writing proficiency. Applicants will be required to take the Accuplacer ESL to determine proficiency in English and appropriate ESL or English course placement. 

Baruch College Placement Testing 

English Course Placement 

 Baruch College Department of English requires all incoming (First Year and Transfer students) to take the Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment prior to attending Orientation and Registration, so faculty can assign placement into either ENG 2100 Writing I or ENG 2100T Writing I for English Language Learners. 

 Exceptions to the Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment Requirement:   

A.      Students who have been awarded credit for ENG 2100, ENG 2100H or ENG 2100T will not be required to take the Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment, placement is based on their transferred credits. For this exception to apply, the student’s official Baruch College record (CUNYfirst) must show the awarded course credits. Please ensure that all official college transcripts and external standardized test results (i.e., Advanced Placement, IB, etc.) are submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for review and processing. 
 
Note: Students who are awarded transfer credit for either ENG 2150, ENG 2150H or ENG 2150T without also receiving credit for either ENG 2100, ENG 2100H or ENG 2100T, must take the Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment as they will need to complete either ENG 2100 or ENG 2100T.  

 B.      ESL students who have completed the CUNY ACCUPLACER® ESL within the previous twenty-four (24) months will have their placement determined by their test results.

Format of the Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment 

The Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment requires students to compose a short essay in response to a prompt as a sample of their writing skills. Additionally, students will be given detailed information about two English courses, and asked to provide a short answer on which one you feel would be better for you. Based on these responses, faculty who teach First-Year Writing will assign you to the course that will best support you as a writer and a student. Please keep in mind that the two courses require the same amount of work, have the same course goals, and count for your required English composition requirement as a Baruch College student. 

 Students will have one hour (60 minutes) to complete their assessment. Students will take the Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment online via the City University of New York’s Learning Management System. The Office of Testing and Evaluation will send students instructions on how to access their Baruch College Writing Placement Assessment.

 Mathematics Course Placement 

 The Baruch College Department of Mathematics requires most incoming students (first year and transfer) to complete the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination prior to attending Orientation and Registration. This is an in-person, proctored examination, which will assist in determining student readiness for various mathematics and mathematics related courses at Baruch College. Baruch College will use the examination results as part of a multiple measures index-based criteria to determine placement into Mathematics and Mathematics related courses. 

 Subjects covered on the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination include: 

·         Arithmetic 

·         Simplifying algebraic expressions 

·         Equations and inequalities 

·         Properties and graphs of functions 

·         Exponents and polynomials 

·         Factoring 

·         Rational expressions 

·         Rational exponents and radicals 

·         Quadratic equations and functions 

·         Exponential and logarithmic functions, and 

·         Trigonometry 

Format of the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination: 

The examination will consist of two parts and include both multiple-choice and free-response questions. The time allowed for part one is 60 minutes, and part two is 30 minutes. Total time is 90 minutes. 

 The Department of Mathematics does not permit the use of a calculator or extra time to complete the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination unless approved in advance by Student Disability Services. 

 The Office of Testing and Evaluation will administer the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination on campus in the Office of Testing and Evaluation’s Testing Labs. We will provide students with writing implements and scrap paper. 

 Exceptions to the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination Requirement:   

A.      Students who have been awarded credits for certain college level mathematics courses (as determined by the Department of Mathematics) will not be required to take the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination and will have their mathematics placement determined based on their transferred credits. For this exception to apply, the awarded credits must be posted to the student’s official Baruch College record (CUNYfirst); please ensure that all official college transcripts are submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for review and processing.
(Note: Statistics courses do not qualify for this exemption) 

 B.      Students who have completed certain external standardized tests (i.e., Advanced Placement, CLEP, IB, etc.) with the requisite scores will not be required to take the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination and will have their mathematics course placements determined based on their test-based credits. For this exception to apply, the awarded test-based credits must be posted to the student’s official Baruch College record (CUNYfirst); please ensure that all official college transcripts are submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for review and processing.
 C.      First-year students who have high school mathematics records which suggest placement into either Intermediate Algebra or College Algebra will receive a default placement into the mathematics course indicated by their high school records. These students may still elect to take the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination if they wish to start with a course higher than their default automatic placement. Students who qualify for this exemption will receive communications from the Office of Testing and Evaluation on how they can request an appointment to take the examination.

PLEASE NOTE: Once a student takes the Baruch College Mathematics Placement Examination, their placement will be determined based on the multiple measures index-based placement rubric and may result in a mathematics course placement that is higher than, lower than or equal to the student’s default automatic placement. 

Reference Materials/Study Guides 

Sample questions and study guides for the Accuplacer and Baruch College Math Placement are available via the Office of Testing and Evaluation website. 

 Viewing Course Placements 

Students can view their course placements by following the instructions listed on the Office of Testing and Evaluation’s website or by going to https://baruch.cuny.edu/viewyourplacement. 

Ability-To-Benefit Testing Requirements 

 Who needs to take the Ability-To-Benefit Test? 

All New York State residents who have a foreign high school diploma are required to meet the New York State ATB standards to be eligible for New York State Financial Aid awards, including those under the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).
 
Students are required to meet Ability-To-Benefit (ATB) test required scores in all three modules. 

 Additional Information and sample questions are available at https://baruch.cuny.edu/atb. 

Ability-To-Benefit Format 

The ATB examination is computer adaptive where each question presented to the student is based on the response to the prior item, making the testing process efficient, fast, and secure. 

 Ability-To-Benefit Modules 

The use of a dictionary or thesaurus is not permitted during the Ability-To-Benefit Reading and Writing Modules. The use of a physical calculator is not permitted during the Ability-To-Benefit Arithmetic module. For questions where a calculator is permitted, the testing system will provide a calculator on screen. 

 Ability-To-Benefit Reading (Next Generation) 

The Ability-To-Benefit Reading (Next Generation) module consists of twenty questions that are based on reading passages of various lengths that measure the following broad knowledge and skill categories: 

•  information and ideas (reading closely, determining central ideas and themes,  summarizing, understanding relationships) 

• Rhetoric (analyzing word choice rhetorically, analyzing text structure, analyzing point of view, analyzing purpose, analyzing arguments) 

• Synthesis (analyzing multiple texts) 

• Vocabulary 

 Ability-To-Benefit Writing 

The Ability-To-Benefit Writing module consists of twenty-five questions that require students to identify and correct errors in a passage; or improve the passage’s readability. 

 Ability-To-Benefit Arithmetic 

The Ability-To-Benefit Arithmetic module consists of twenty questions covering the following topic areas:  

• Whole number operations 

• Fraction operations 

• Decimal operations 

• Percent 

• Number comparison and equivalents. 

Required Scores 

Scheduling An Ability-To-Benefit Appointment 

The Office of Testing and Evaluation will send information via email to students who are required to take the Ability-To-Benefit on how to register for the examination session. 

Accommodations 

Accommodations based on disabilities will be provided in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students who wish to request such accommodation should consult with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities in advance of their testing appointment for accommodation. 

 Students with an approved accommodations request that are unable to take the Ability-To-Benefit examination using the Computer Adaptive Testing version, may be eligible to take the examination using the Accuplacer COMPANION paper-based examination.

PLEASE NOTE: The Accuplacer COMPANION versions are not adaptive and may contain more questions than the computer adaptive version.