College readiness Test - the test format

Early Assessment Program at a Glance


The Early Assessment Program consists of several parts designed to work together to measure and enhance California students’ college readiness. Students who score high enough are considered “college ready” at the state’s 23 California State University campuses and 48 of the state’s community colleges. They can skip remedial classes and enroll in credit-bearing coursework.


The Test:

• 15 questions each in mathematics and English, and a 45-minute English essay, devised jointly by California State University and K-12 faculty members, are added to the 11th grade California Standards Test, or CST. The college-ready determination is based on a combination of those and 45 questions from the CST.
• The augmented version of the test is optional; students may choose to take only the CST.
• There are two math EAPs: one for students who have completed Algebra 2, and another for those who have completed more advanced math courses.
• In English, there are two EAP results: ready for college, or not ready.
• In math, there are three EAP results: ready for college, conditionally ready, or not ready.

The Early Warning:

• Rising high school seniors receive a letter in August informing them of their EAP results.

Student Supports:

• Students not yet college-ready in math can use a suite of online-learning tools or take courses at their schools. Use of the online modules does not offer an exemption; the tutorials are designed to boost students’ skills so they can pass CSU’s own placement tests. Conditionally ready students retain their EAP exemptions as long as they earn at least a C in a math course with a prerequisite of Algebra 2 or higher during the senior year.
• Students not yet college-ready in English can use a suite of online-learning tools or take the Expository Reading and Writing Course, designed by precollegiate and CSU faculty members to reflect the skills needed in college-level English. Neither option leads to an exemption; both are aimed at increasing students’ chances of passing CSU placement tests.

Professional Development:

• Two courses were created to strengthen high school English teachers’ literacy instruction: a 20-hour series designed to support the teaching of the Expository Reading and Writing Course and a broader 80-hour series; a Web-based tool helps teachers improve students’ essay-writing skills.
• A redesigned course in math instruction is geared toward strategies that teach students how to solve complex problems.
• The California State University system embeds the EAP’s expectations into preservice teacher training.
• EAP coordinators at each CSU campus work with districts to help them understand their results, advise students, and strengthen teaching geared to the EAP.

SOURCE: Education Week