Do you have to take a placement test at the beginning of college?

Is it possible if i take the placement test for college to fail?

• I am currently trying to earn my GED. I recently took a practice test and i passed all subjects except math. I thought since I don't need anymore practice on them i should get them out of the way while working on the math part of the test. I talked to the education planner, and she said i have to take the compass test (the compass test is the same as the placement test) My question is, Is it possible to fail the compass test when getting high scores?

• Answer:

  You don't fail placement tests, you take the tests so the schools can determine where to place you in their curriculum. Often schools use these tests to determine where students with non traditional education fit in the curriculum. Some schools do you use them to determine admissions acceptance. if the school is doing that then they have a current standard or model of score and regardless of how poorly you did or how well you did, only where you fit in their scores matters. The compass tests though are more often used to determine the quality of education and to figure out exact placement for students. In that way, it's not a matter of pass fail. Many schools use the compass to more precisely pass students who failed placement tests if all their other scores were good. Generally my experience is that if you are a GED and required the compass after failing a placement you will spend the first year in remedial non credit math courses to bring you up to speed in mathematics.