Success at Temple University does not follow one particular pathway, as our students are varied and diverse in their backgrounds. For incoming students, it is important that they start on the right track, beginning with determining the appropriate courses for their first semester. Placement Assessments are offered in English, math, and foreign languages and are taken after students have been admitted to the University and have paid the tuition deposit. Assessments may be taken up through the first week of the student's incoming term.

Some incoming students will be automatically placed into math and English courses using their student data, including but not limited to: high school grade point average, SAT/ACT scores, and/or AP scores (English only) while others will need to take placement assessments. Only scores from SAT/ACT tests taken up to two years prior to the start of the incoming student's first semester are considered for automatic course placement.

Students who applied test-optional but have submitted SAT or ACT scores are automatically placed with the option to take an assessment. Some students will be required to take an assessment. For example, if Temple does not have enough information to automatically place a student, the student will need to take an assessment. Students in some majors may also be required to take placement assessments.

For English, students with an autoplacement are eligible to take an assessment. Students who are required to take an assessment for English or choose to take an assessment for math or a foreign language may also take an assessment (one additional attempt for English and foreign language and two additional attempts for math). If a student has more than one course placement, the student may use the highest course into which they place.

Course placements into English 0701/0711, French 1001, German 1001, Italian 1001, Spanish 1001, Math 0701/0702, General Education Quantitative Literacy (GQ), Math 1015, and Statistics 1001 do not expire. Placement Assessment results into all other courses are valid for two years from the term for which they were taken. Current students who need to take or retake a placement assessment should contact their advisor.

Students who take a course in the math sequence (Math 0702, 1021, 1022, 1041/1941) are bound by their performance in the course for future course eligibility (rather than performance on previous or future placement assessments).

For more information about Placement Assessments, go to the Institutional Research and Assessment web site at https://ira.temple.edu/placement-assessments.