The South Dakota Board of Regents established a standardized placement process to ensure that entering students are placed into the English course most appropriate for their ability and background. English placement is first determined using the ACT English or the 11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy Smarter Balanced scores that are no more than 5 years old. If you do not have current ACT or Smarter Balance scores, your placement is in pre-general education courses. The pre-general education English courses are at the self-support tuition rate and do not meet SGR Goal # 1 (Written Communication) requirements.
Furthermore, the Board of Regents requires that students who do not meet the college readiness benchmark score of 18 on the ACT English subtest or score 2583 or greater on the Smarter Balance exam to take pre-general education courses in English to be adequately prepared for English 101.
Placement in pre-general education courses may be challenged by taking the ACCUPLACER Next GEN examination. There is an $23.50 charge ($20.00 SDSU fee + $3.50 RegisterBlast fee) to register for the challenge exam. There are study resources (Writing Sample Questions) on the ACCUPLACER.
| Placement | ACT | Next GEN ACCUPLACER | Smarter Balanced | SAT ERW | Classic ACCUPLACER (Administered until 1/28/19) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL 033 | 1-15 | 200-262 | 0-2582 | 200-480 | Sentence Skills 53-85 |
| ENGL 032 concurrently with ENGL 101; or ENGL 033 | 16-17 | 200-262 | 0-2582 | 200-480 | Sentence Skills 53-85 |
| ENGL101 | 18-36 | 263 + | 2583 + | 490 + | Sentence Skills 86-120 |
Students interested in obtaining Prior Learning Credit for English 101 may consider the CLEP College Composition Modular Exam. For more information on CLEP.
Register for an ACCUPLACER or CLEP Exam
English Placement for International Students
All international students must have a TOEFL score for admission to SDSU. Beginning Fall 2014, all international non-native English speaking undergraduate students entering SDSU will have the opportunity to take the ACCUPLACER Exam for placement into the appropriate English writing courses designed for the non-native English speaker emphasizing skills needed for success in ENGL 101.
| Course Placement | ACT English Score | Next GEN ACCUPLACER Writing Score | Classic ACCUPLACER Scores (Administered until 1/28/19) | COMPASS Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English 013 | 1-13 | 200-236 | 0-52 | 1-39 |
| English 039 | 14-17 | 237-262 | 53-85 | 39-73 |
| English 101 | 18+ | 263+ | 86-120 | 74-100 |
ACT COMPASS was discontinued January 15, 2016. Students with a valid COMPASS may use the score to establish placement within the Regental for up to five years following the date of testing.