I spent some time last weekend trying to prepare myself for the COMPASS test I planned on taking on Monday the 29th. I took a few practice tests I found online, but I really wasn’t sure what to study, so I just went over some math, algebra, and such. I wasn’t too concerned with the reading and writing portions, so I didn’t bother studying for them. Before I knew it, it was Monday and I must admit, I started getting nervous. I haven’t taken a test like this for ages.
The testing center opened up at noon on Monday, so I headed out shortly before then to get a spot for the test. I was certainly surprised when I got there and there were no seats left. I mean, it was just a couple minutes past noon. I guess you have to get there early to get your spot. I told them I’d be back in an hour or so to see if anyone was done yet, so I headed back home and got some lunch. I was back at the testing center by about 1:15 and I got a seat right away.
The first part of the test was a timed typing test. There was a 3 minute warm up, then a 5 minute test. I wound up coming out of that with a 65 word per minute score. Not bad, I thought. After that, the real tests began. It started off with the writing and reading sections. As I expected, it wasn’t very difficult. I felt pretty confident about my answers to those sections. I moved on to the math, and I wasn’t feeling so sure about myself. There was some stuff I had never seen before, but a bunch of it was pretty straight forward. A bunch of questions, I just had to guess, because I had no idea how to solve the problems. The math portion of the test seemed to last forever and I used up all my scratch paper!
The test was scored right away after I was finished. I got 94 in writing and 94 in reading. Not too shabby. I scored a 90 in pre-algebra, 85 in algebra, and just 46 in college algebra. Not bad, considering I’ve never taken college algebra. I still wasn’t sure what the scores meant as far as placement, so I went to see the advisor in the Student Success Center. The woman there quickly put my mind at ease. I had scored well enough in all areas to qualify for college level courses. Hooray! I could go ahead and meet with my advisor on Tuesday as scheduled and start picking my classes.
