The South Dakota Board of Regents has developed a placement process to ensure entering students are placed into the math and English courses most appropriate to their ability and educational background. Entering students who have scores older than five years or who have not taken the ACT, SAT or Smarter Balanced tests are placed in courses by use of the College Board ACCUPLACER exam. In addition, for math placement, students who do not have a current high school GPA, (this includes home schooled students and individuals whose high school GPA is over 5 years old) are also placed by their ACCUPLACER score.
Math Placement Guidelines: South Dakota Board of Regents Academic Affairs Guidelines 7.6.A
English Placement Guidelines: South Dakota Board of Regents Academic Affairs Guidelines 7.6.B
Currently, the ACCUPLACER is administered in the Testing Center on the SDSU campus, in certified testing centers off campus and remotely using Examity. A computer with a webcam and stable internet service is required to take this exam remotely.
For information on math placement visit the SDSU Math Department.
Challenging Placement
As an entering or transfer student, if you don't like your placement you are allowed to take the ACCUPLACER twice to challenge it. There is a $20 challenge charge plus $3.50 RegisterBlast fee that must be paid prior to testing.
Students who are not enrolled in the appropriate courses based on ACT, SAT, Smarter Balanced, Math Index, Challenge Index or ACCUPLACER scores will be notified by e-mail through the Math Department and the School of English and Interdisciplinary Studies. Failure to adjust courses or take a placement test prior to the add/drop date for the semester will result in the student being administratively dropped from math and/or English courses.
About Placement Tests
Placement tests are computer-based adaptive assessment programs using modules that allow students to work at their own speed and comfort level. A tutorial program acquaints students with navigation and response patterns. The placement test does not have a time limit, the scores do not affect admission to SDSU and there is no pass or fail score.
Accessing My ACCUPLACER Score Report
Most of the time there will be an option to print your Individual Score Report at the end of your testing session; however, if you don't get a copy or you have misplaced your copy you can print out a copy from ACCUPLACER.
Go to Your ACCUPLACER Score Report and enter in the required personal data to retrieve a copy of your report.