Placement Testing
The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and Framingham State University require ALL students to complete “common core courses” in writing and math. We review adjusted high school gpa, standardized test scores (if provided), and any college credits already earned (AP credit, dual enrollment, and college level courses taken prior to enrollment at FSU) to determine which course level a student is eligible to register for. Students are also required to take a language course or demonstrate proficiency in a language (other than English) to complete degree requirements
Not every student will need placement testing. We review each student and will contact students when placement testing is appropriate.
WRITING
All students must complete ENWR110 (Composition II) to fulfill the common core writing requirement. Students with an adjusted high school gpa of 3.0 or higher are eligible to enroll in this course without a writing placement test.
Students with a gpa that is less than 3.0 are asked to take a writing placement test. The test is used to determine which level of writing is most appropriate. The Director of the First Year Writing program will contact students with a GPA of less than a 3.0 by e-mail (student’s Framingham State e-mail account) with instructions on how to access the test online.
MATH
Students in the STEM majors will take several math courses based on their specific field of study. STEM students are asked to take a math assessment to determine the most appropriate math course to begin with. The University will contact STEM students regarding math assessment.
Students who are undeclared or have declared a major that is not a STEM major, are eligible to register for math courses based on adjusted high school gpa. If the gpa is less than 2.7, they are required to register for a math course which includes math lab emporium. "Math lab" is an additional 2 hours per week of instructional support designed to help a student master course material. Students have the opportunity to take a math placement test to determine if they can have the math lab requirement waived. The University will contact students who are eligible for a math placement test with additional information.
LANGUAGE
The World Language requirement can be fulfilled by taking one semester of a language or by demonstrating proficiency in a language other than English.
Language courses offered at FSU include American Sign Language (ASL), Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Students who plan to take a course in one of these languages will be asked to take a placement test if they have academic and/or heritage experience with that same language. It is important to assess fluency and comprehension to determine appropriate course level. Students who do not have any experience with the language course they plan to take do not need to take a placement test.
Students who speak a language other than English will have the opportunity to be assessed for a waiver through a standardized test or an assessment with a member of the World Language Department. The method of assessment depends on the language. A waiver does not give course credit, however, it allows the student to choose from a selection of other courses to fulfill the domain requirement. Please e-mail placement@framingham.edu if you have any questions to register for a language placement test.
