A Student-Centered Solution to the 2020s’ College Course Placement Dilemma

The pandemic upended institutions’ ability to rely on standardized test scores and high school GPAs to determine readiness for first-year English and math courses. Amid 2020’s shift to test-optional admissions and remote learning’s acceleration of high school grade inflation, leaders are also increasingly skeptical that a single, high-stakes placement exam can really measure students’ learning.

At EAB, we spoke about placement challenges with 30+ academic leaders. At regional private institutions, public flagships, and community colleges alike, they’re struggling with transcripts where (as one provost said) “an A at one school isn’t the same as an A at another” and students who don’t submit SAT/ACT scores at the same rate as pre-pandemic. Those who offer developmental education admitted these models are still the “bridge to nowhere” Complete College America lamented over a decade ago.

The new multiple-measures assessment: UCNJ’s step-by-step approach to directed self-placement

UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ, a public comprehensive community college in New Jersey, revamped first-year math and English placement before the pandemic arrived. Many of their students did not meet the admissions test score cutoffs to be placed directly into higher-level courses. UCNJ found tremendous success in allowing these students to place themselves—with a little guidance and reflection.

UCNJ’s multi-step directed self-placement (DSP) process gives students multiple information sources to help them choose the right courses, all in a jargon-free, conversational tone. The DSP process includes:

1. Examples of the background knowledge and experience students should have for each course: “You are familiar with standard deviation, mean, median, and mode”
2. Detailed course descriptions that clearly state what students can expect from assignments, like how many pages they’ll need to read and write each week in each level of English
3. A self-reflection checklist where students can add other relevant information about themselves, like “I often read novels in my spare time” or “When I am shopping, I can easily figure out a 10% or 20% discount on items that are on sale”

Students respond to these prompts in an online survey that recommends math and English courses based on their responses. They’re then free to choose their own courses, with the option to switch to a developmental course during the semester if they realize they aren’t ready for college-level instruction. Nonetheless, DSP has helped take UCNJ from 12% of students starting in college-level math and English in 2012 to 82% in 2022.

Self-placed students are also required to attend at least five tutoring sessions, and UCNJ invested resources to ensure they had enough tutors available to do so. Between DSP and required tutoring, UCNJ’s efforts were a success: DSP students are just as likely to pass entry-level math and English as their peers.