Assessment tests not mandatory

Entrance examination optional

Kaili Zhuang, Times Staff
September 3, 2019

San Jose City College cancelled the English and math assessment tests in January 2018.

SJCC previously required new students to take math and English assessment tests after enrollment to determine their current level of learning.

“The school uses transcripts from high schools to decide which courses are needed to take in place of the entrance exam. If a student is dissatisfied with his or her high school grades and is not sure of his or her academic level, then students can take the ESL orientation test,” Tcah Maria, International Student Program specialist said.

Test standards range from entry level to advanced level. Those who do not meet the standard must attend the required courses and pass with a minimum C grade to register for the next level classes.

“If your first exam is not ideal, you can choose to participate again.”

Tcah Maria, International Student Program specialist

“I didn’t get a good entrance exam,” Hao Lan,
20, Computer science major said, “I only got an intermediate level in English, so I need to take an intermediate course. After I pass the intermediate and high intermediate courses, I will take English 92 and finally I can take the English 1A course for the transfer requirements. It took me three or four semesters to complete this period and I wasted a lot of money,” Lan said.

If the entrance examinee does not achieve the desired grade then a preparatory course is needed.

Students like Lan often pay a lot of money because they did not receive a good grade on the entrance exam and have to pay extra course fees to register for classes that are below the college level.

This is what many students are experiencing.

Many students do not know that the entrance exam can be repeated.

“If students do not want to take the ESL test, students can also communicate with the counselor to let the counselor know about their learning situation and let the counselor help choose the right course,” Maria said.

If you want to save your money and time but didn’t get a satisfactory assessment exam, go retake the exam.

If you feel you have enough ability to take a college level course, bring your transcript from your high school to communicate with your counselor. If English is not your first language and you want to master it, ESL classes will be more suitable for you.