Each student receives 20 Sentence Skills questions of two types. The first type is sentence correction questions, which require an understanding of sentence structure. These questions ask students to choose the most appropriate word or phrase to substitute for the underlined portion of the sentence. The second type is construction shift questions. These ask that a sentence be rewritten according to the criteria shown while maintaining essentially the same meaning as the original sentence. Within these two primary categories, the questions are also classified according to the skills being tested. Some questions deal with the logic of the sentence, others with whether or not the answer is a complete sentence, and still others with the relationship between coordination and subordination. In a manner similar to Reading Comprehension questions, these questions are varied according to categories to prevent bias because of a student's particular knowledge. These categories include social sciences, natural and physical sciences, human relations and practical affairs, and the arts.

Arithmetic Test

The 17 arithmetic questions administered by the ACCUPLACER™ Tests are divided into three types.

• Operations with whole numbers and fractions: topics included in this category are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, recognizing equivalent fractions and mixed numbers, and estimating.

• Operations with decimals and percents: topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with decimals. Percent problems, recognition of decimals, fraction and percent equivalencies, and problems involving estimation are also given.

• Applications and problem solving: topics include rate, percent, and measurement problems, simple geometry problems, and distribution of a quantity into its fractional parts.

Questions from all three categories are always presented to the student although the number of questions from each category varies with the student’s skill level. For example, if the student's responses show minimal arithmetic skills, presenting too many applications problems is pointless. On the other hand, a student exhibiting good skills with whole numbers and fractions will be presented with more of these types of problems. Thus, the proportion of questions in the various categories will automatically vary according to the student's responses. In this sense, this test and the other ACCUPLACER™Tests are truly adaptive in nature.

A total of 12 questions, divided into three types, are administered in this test. The first type involves operations with integers and rational numbers, and includes computation with integers and negative rationals, the use of absolute values, and ordering. These questions test minimal skill levels of the student. A second type, which involves operations with algebraic expressions tests minimal skill levels using evaluation of simple formulas and expressions, and adding and subtracting monomials and polynomials. At all skill levels, questions are provided involving multiplying and dividing monomials and polynomials, the evaluation of positive rational roots and exponents, simplifying algebraic fractions, and factoring. The third type of question involves the solution of equations, inequalities, and word problems. As with the Arithmetic Test, few questions from this category are presented to the student unless he or she shows skill in this area. When a high degree of competence is indicated, questions from this category include solving linear equations and inequalities, the solution of quadratic equations by factoring, solving verbal problems presented in an algebraic context, including geometric reasoning and graphing, and the translation of written phrases into algebraic expressions.

College-Level Mathematics Test

• Algebraic Operations including simplifying rational algebraic expressions, factoring and expanding polynomials, and manipulating roots and exponents.

• Solutions of Equations and Inequalities category including the solution of linear and quadratic equations and inequalities, systems of equations, and other algebraic equations.

• Coordinate Geometry involving plane geometry, the coordinate plane, straight lines, conics, sets of points in the plane, and graphs of algebraic functions.

• Applications and other Algebra Topics category including complex numbers, series and sequences, determinants, permutations and combinations, factorials, and word problems.

• Functions including questions involving polynomial, algebraic, exponential, and logarithmic functions.

• Trigonometry category including trigonometric functions.