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College Placement Test (CPT)

At Mt. Hood Community College, we are committed to your success. The College Placement Test (CPT) is an important part of that commitment. The following information answers many common questions about the CPT. If you need information about the test, please visit MHCC’s Testing Center, or call (503) 491-7678.

Who should take the CPT?

The CPT is required if you have never attended college (or your college coursework did not include reading, writing and/or math), and you wish to take 6 or more credits at MHCC. It is also required if you wish to take a reading, writing, chemistry or math class. If you have already attended college, at MHCC or elsewhere, take your transcript to the Academic Advising & Transfer Center. An adviser will determine if you must take the CPT.

In order to apply to some of our Restricted and Limited Entry programs, you must take the CPT regardless of previous college coursework. Contact the office of Admissions for more information. Be sure to take the CPT well in advance of any application deadlines.

Mt. Hood Community College uses Accuplacer as our placement test. If you took this test at another school within the last two years, simply take a copy of your score report to the Academic Advising and Transfer Center. If you took either the Asset or COMPASS test within the last two years, you may take a copy of your score report to the Testing Center. We will be able to convert the reading and writing placements, but you will still be required to take MHCC’s math placement exam.

How long are my scores valid?

Your CPT results will remain valid for two years.

The CPT measures READING COMPREHENSION, your knowledge of ENGLISH GRAMMAR and your skills in MATHEMATICS. All of the questions are multiple choice. We have provided sample questions for you to review. Answers to the sample questions are also included.

The CPT is administered throughout the year. Specific times may change each term. Please call (503) 491-7678, visit the Testing Center, room 2335, or visit our website for a current schedule.

The CPT is not timed. You may take as much time as you need. It usually takes about 90 minutes to complete the CPT. You may complete the test over multiple days within a 2-week period, if you wish.

You do not need experience with a computer to take the test. Testing staff will explain how to enter your answers, and the test provides clear instructions. Testing staff will be available to answer questions throughout your test.

If English is not your first language, the computer will administer the Levels Of English Proficiency tests (LOEP). If your test results indicate that you have strong reading and writing skills, the computer will then “branch” you into the College Placement Test for possible placement into college courses.

You will receive a copy of your CPT scores immediately following your test. If you have any questions, you may visit the Academic Advising & Transfer Center on a walk in basis. Because of the confidential nature of your scores, CPT results will not be mailed or given to you by phone.

Sometimes circumstances prevent students from doing their best on a test. If you believe that your CPT results do not accurately reflect your skills, you will be allowed to take one retest per subject per year. MHCC charges $10 for each subject that you retest in. You will be provided with retest guidelines upon completion of the CPT. We strongly encourage you to speak with an academic advisor before you retest.

If you live more than two hours from Gresham, you may make alternate test arrangements by following the procedure below:

1. Go to the nearest community college or high school and ask a staff member (preferably from the testing center or counseling office) if they will agree to proctor MHCC’s placement test over the internet. This will require that the school have access to Netscape 4.0 or Explorer 5.0 at a minimum.

2. Once a proctor has been located, have him/her email confirmation to testing@mhcc.edu. The email must come from an education institution. We will not accept email requests from email addresses.

3. Make an appointment to take the CPT with your exam proctor. He/she will be provided with instructions and a password that will grant you access to the CPT.

4. Your exam proctor will be instructed to notify MHCC’s testing center when you have completed the CPT. Your scores will then be retrieved and recorded into your MHCC student record.

Note: The following limitations exist when completing the CPT from a distance:

• You will be unable to place directly into Math 65 (Beginning Algebra II).
• You will be unable to retest in mathematics.

What classes do my scores place me in to?

READING COMPREHENSION

*Writing placement must be above ABE

SENTENCE SKILLS (WRITING)

**Reading placement must be above ABE

COMPUTERIZED MATHEMATICS

How can I prepare myself for the CPT?

• Relax! The CPT is designed to help you to be successful in school. This is not a pass or fail test! Your scores help us to determine which courses are most appropriate for your current level of knowledge and skills.
• You will be better able to concentrate if you get plenty of rest and eat properly prior to the test.
• Be sure you understand the directions for each test before you begin each section. Ask questions if you need to.
• Pace yourself. Remember this test is not timed. Allow yourself plenty of time– do not put yourself in a situation where you must rush through the test.
• You are allowed to take breaks during the test. If you feel that you need to get up and stretch or take a walk to get some fresh air, you are more than welcome to do so. You may also complete the test on multiple days within a 2-week period.
• If you have access to the internet, you may want to take a look at the following websites and other methods of review. Most of these sites are not associated with Mt. Hood Community College, and are only provided for information purposes and are not intended to instruct in subject areas.

• www.nv3.commnet.edu/BCASERTA/MATHREVIEW/
• http://www.wsc.ma.edu/math/accuplacer/problems.asp
• http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/schewe/math/math_practice_tests.pdf
• http://www.huntington.edu/math/Accuplacer/index.htm
• Barron’s Math the Easy Way – available in the MHCC Bookstore
• Visit MHCC’s Learning Assistance Center, located on the 3rd floor of the Library & Learning Resource Center, for additional tools for math test review.

• http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
• www.mhcc.edu/pages/1849.asp

• Weaver software program – available for use in MHCC’s Learning Assistance Center lab.

• http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/
• http://www.testprepreview.com/accuplacer_practice.htm

Sample Questions

Reading Comprehension
1) Read the statement or passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the statement or passage.

Myths are stories, the products of fertile imagination, sometimes simple, often containing profound truths. They are not meant to be taken too literally. Details may sometimes appear childish, but most myths express a culture’s most serious beliefs about human beings, eternity, and God…
The main idea of the passage is that myths…
(A) are created primarily to entertain young children
(B) are purposely written for the reader who lacks imagination
(C) provide the reader with a means of escape from reality
(D) illustrate the values that are considered important to society.

2) Two underlined sentences are followed by a question or statement about them. Read each pair of sentences and then choose the best answer to the questions or the best completion of the statement.
The Midwest is experiencing its worst drought in fifteen years.
Corn and soybean prices are expected to be very high this year.
What does the second sentence do?
(A) it restates the idea found in the first
(B) it states an effect
(C) it gives an example
(D) it analyzes the statement made in the first

Sentence Skills
1) Select the best version of the underlined part of the sentence. The first choice is the same as the original sentence. If you think the original sentence is the best, choose the first answer.
Ms. Rose planning to teach a course in biology next summer.
(A) planning
(B) are planning
(C) with a plan
(D) plans

2) Rewrite the sentence in your head, following the directions given below. Keep in mind that your new sentence should be well written and should have essentially the same meaning as the sentence given you.
Being a female jockey, she was often interviewed.
Rewrite, beginning with She was often interviewed….
The next words will be
(A) on account of she was
(B) by her being
(C) because she was
(D) being as she was

Arithmetic Skills
1) All of the following are ways to write 20 percent of N except
(A) 0.20 N
(B) 20/100 N
(C) 1/5 N
(D) 20 N

2) Which of the following is closest to ?
(A) 3
(B) 4
(C) 5
(D) 6

3) Three people who work full time are to work together on a project, but their total time on the project is to be equivalent to that of only one person working full time. If one of the people is budgeted for 1/2 of his time to the project and a second person for 1/3 of her time, what part of the third worker’s time should be budgeted to this project?
(A) 1/3
(B) 1/4
(C) 1/6
(D) 1/8

Elementary Algebra Skills
1) If a number is divided by 4 and 3 is subtracted, the result is 0. What is the number?
(A) 12
(B) 4
(C) 3
(D) 2

2) 16x – 8 =
(A) 8x
(B) 8 (2x - x)
(C) 8 (2x - 1)
(D) 8 (2x - 8)

3) If x2 – x – 6 = 0, then x is
(A) –2 or 3
(B) –1 or 6
(C) 1 or –6
(D) 2 or –3

College-level Mathematics Skills
1) If f (x) = x4-x + 2, then f (-x) =
(A) x4 – x
(B) x4 + x
(C) x4 – x + 2
(D) x4 + x + 2
(E) x4 – x – 2

2) The equation x2 + 2ix – 4 = 0 has as its roots

3) In triangle ABC, a=12, b=16, and sin B=2/3. What is the measure of angle A in degrees?
(A) 25
(B) 18
(C) 30
(D) 72
(E) 45

Answers to the Sample Questions

Reading Comprehension
1. D
2. B

Sentence Skills
1. D
2. C

Arithmetic
1. D
2. A
3. C

Elementary Algebra
1. A
2. C
3. A

College-level Mathematics
1. D
2. E
3. C