Compass Test

COMPASS Test - What Is It?

If you are an incoming college freshman, you may be required to take the COMPASS test before you actually start your classes. For many students, this is a shock, as it is likely to be the first time they have ever heard of this test. Most high school students are familiar with AP and CLEP tests, and of course the ACT and SAT, but COMPASS is not something you hear a lot about while in high school. In this article, we will explain what the COMPASS test is, why colleges give it to incoming freshmen, and what you can expect on the test.

The COMPASS test is an exam given to new students by many colleges and universities. It is an untimed test, which means there is no rush to beat an exam clock, and there is no passing or failing score. It is what is known as an assessment test, which means that the college or university is trying to find out how much you know about a particular subject, not grade you in that subject. When the school receives the results of the test, it has a better idea of which basic classes you need to take and which ones you can skip. This helps both you and the school because you are not wasting time or money on classes that are too easy or too hard for you, while the school is better able to make sure you take classes that you can do well in while still being challenged.

There are four basic sections of the COMPASS test, as well as a fifth one that some students will take. The basic sections are math, reading, writing skills, and essay writing. The fifth section covers English as a Second Language. The math portion of the test is comprised of basic math, algebra, college algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. During the math test you are allowed to use an online calculator. The reading section will test your reading comprehension in natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, prose fiction, and practical reading. The writing skills section covers the rules of English (grammar, spelling, punctuation) and how you use language to express yourself, including elements of style and organization. Finally, you will be asked to write a brief essay on a given topic. The better you do on the COMPASS test, the higher the level of classes you will take. A good score can provide great a head start in your academic career.

COMPASS Practice Tests - Use Them for a Head Start in College

If you are heading off for college or university this year, then you should use COMPASS practice tests in order to get a head start on your academic career. More and more colleges and universities are requiring incoming students to take the COMPASS test before registering for classes. COMPASS is not a test that you pass or fail; rather, it is a test designed to see how much you know in certain areas, such as math, reading, and writing. The college or university will use the results of your test to decide what basic classes you must take, as well as those you can skip. Doing well on these tests will prevent you from sitting through classes you do not really need. COMPASS practice tests can help you do well on the exam.

How? Well, for example, let's look at the math portion of COMPASS. The math portion of the COMPASS test covers basic math, algebra, college algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. If you are like many students, you probably did just fine in these classes in high school, but because you do not use the material every day, you may have forgotten much of the information. Still, all you need is a good refresher, not an entire semester of reviewing material you mostly know. That is where COMPASS practice tests come in handy. Take a few practice tests in these areas, which are specially created to match the COMPASS material, and you will see just what areas you are strong in and what areas you need to review more in depth. Plus, COMPASS practice tests will give you the right answer, as along with an explanation, to help you get up to speed.

By spending just a few hours with practice tests that are geared exactly for the COMPASS exam, you will get all the knowledge you need to do well on the COMPASS and skip boring classes you do not need. The same goes for the reading and writing portions of the exam. You probably have a great command of the English language and know how to use it properly, but terms like "gerund" and "dangling participle" make your eyes glaze over. Well, a good practice test will have you up to speed on this stuff in no time. Although there are some sample COMPASS practice tests on the official website, they are not as good as others that can be found. Take advantage of other available practice tests, and save yourself a lot of time, money and boredom in the long run.

COMPASS Study Guide - Why You Need One

You might ask yourself: Do I really need a COMPASS study guide? Well, consider this scenario. You head off for your first year of college or university, and you are very excited. You are finally done with all that high school kid stuff, and you are ready to start taking difficult, challenging courses for adults. Then you arrive at your school, and they make you take something called the COMPASS test, which covers math, reading and writing. You assume the test is no big deal, because the college tells you it is just an assessment test, and you will not receive an actual score.

With this in mind, you sit down to take the COMPASS, thinking it will be a breeze. After you have finished, however, you do not feel quite as confident as you did before the test. In fact, you are a little bit unsettled. You did fine on the essay writing, but some of those questions about grammar, trigonometry, and geometry really threw you for a loop. At one time you knew all this stuff, but many of the questions called for information you learned from classes from you took a few years back. Next, you find out that the college is requiring you to take several refresher courses, which means you will spend a semester or two studying material you basically know but just needed a little brushing up on.

That is quite a letdown, and it all could have been avoided if you had gotten a good COMPASS study guide and used it to prepare for the test. Do not think this cannot happen to you-it happens to tens of thousands of incoming college and university students every year across America, many of them very intelligent just like yourself. They were sure they would ace the COMPASS but were disappointed to find out otherwise, and they spend much of their first couple of semesters bored, sitting in classes going over material they learned a long time ago. This is a huge waste of time and money, and you want to make sure it does not happen to you. You can prevent it from happening by getting a good COMPASS study guide and, more importantly, using it.

Tips For Acing The COMPASS Exam

Are you ready for the COMPASS exam? Many young people heading off for college or university for the first time are shocked to discover that there is still one more requirement before they can sign up for classes. After filling out all those application forms, getting letters of recommendation, and completing the mind numbing FAF, students are suddenly confronted with something called the COMPASS exam when they arrive on campus. This test of math, reading, and writing skills will determine which classes the college or university lets them take. If students do well on the test, they can skip a lot of classes they really do not need. If they do not do well, the school will require them to sit through "remedial" or "refresher" courses that review the same material they studied in high school, all because of a low score on the COMPASS exam.

Do not think this cannot happen to you. It happens to tens of thousands of incoming college students every year in the United States. Many of these students are extremely bright and had good grades in high school, yet they are shocked to find themselves required to take remedial classes. If you do not prepare for the COMPASS exam, you might well happen find yourself in this situation. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make sure that you get a great score on the exam. There are excellent study guides, complete with practice tests, available to help you prepare for the exam. Get one of these COMPASS study guides well in advance of the start of the school year, and spend just an hour or two a day going over the material and taking the practice tests. Find a study buddy who is also heading off to college; you can quiz each other and help keep each other motivated. That is really all it takes. By using one of the excellent study guides available and putting in just a few hours of study a week, you can be assured of scoring well on the COMPASS exam, and you will not have to worry about sitting through unnecessary remedial classes.

Get the Most out of a COMPASS Sample Test

Did you know that a COMPASS sample test can give you a huge head start on college? You may not be aware of it, but if you are headed for college soon, you may well be required to take the COMPASS exam when you arrive on campus. This is an assessment test that measures how much knowledge you have retained from such courses as algebra, trigonometry, and geometry. It also measures your skills at writing and reading comprehension. While there are no passing or failing grades on the COMPASS, a low score can cause you to waste a great deal of time during your first year of college on remedial courses.

To many people, this seems very unfair, as students can be heavily penalized because they have forgotten a few concepts from a course they took a couple of years ago. Nevertheless, colleges and universities insist that it is a fair and accurate test, and they purport to use it for the student's best interests. Fair or unfair, the exam has to be dealt with, and the best way to do so is by being prepared. You can do that by using a good COMPASS sample test to help you determine your weak areas so that you can brush up on that material. It is far better to spend a few hours a week working on your weak areas than spending several hours a week for an entire semester in a boring class you do not really need.

Where do you find a COMPASS sample test? Well, the official COMPASS website has one, and while there is no harm in using it, it will not be sufficient. The sample tests on that website are designed more to be a vague guide as to what to expect on the test, not really as a prep tool to help you improve so that you can make a good score on the exam. The truth is, one COMPASS sample test will not be nearly enough. You will need to take several to cover all the bases of the different subject areas and to reveal all the topics you need help in. The best plan is to buy a good COMPASS study guide; the best ones will have several practice tests. By taking these practice tests and doing some refresher work on the weak areas they reveal, you can achieve a high score on COMPASS.