Assessment / CPE

Cerro Coso provides testing and assessment services to students for the purpose of evaluating academic potential, determining career/occupational interests, and measuring general or specific aptitudes. A College Placement Test battery is administered to incoming students and the scores are used to assist students in appropriate course selection and to determine if minimum proficiencies in writing, reading and mathematics have been met.

If you have taken English and math through an accredited institution, or have taken a placement test previously, you may have met the assessment requirement. To determine if you have completed assessment, please contact a Counselor, either by telephone (760 384-6219) or with our Online Contact Form.

ACCUPLACER

ACCUPLACER/CPE is a computerized assessment test that will provide information about your level of skill accomplishment in reading, writing and one of three levels of mathematics. Assessing your ability in these areas will assist in planning an appropriate schedule of coursework at Cerro Coso Community College.

After completing the ACCUPLACER test and receiving your scores, you will meet with an advisor to discuss your results and plan your next steps.

If you are located near the IWV campus in Ridgecrest, CA please click the following link for an assessment schedule. http://www.cerrocoso.edu/studentservices/counseling/cpe.htm. Appointment is required.

If you are located near any of our other sites (Edwards AFB, Kern River Valley, or Bishop/Mammoth), please contact the site office for an assessment schedule. The site telephone numbers are located at the bottom of this page.

If you are not located near any of the Cerro Coso campuses it is possible to take ACCUPLACER online with the use of a proctor. The proctor procedure is outlined below:

Proctored Examinations Procedures

A proctored assessment test is a supervised exam. Students are responsible for arranging for a proctor to supervise the assessment test. All proctors must be approved by the counseling department 2 weeks prior to taking the assessment test. The proctor may be a school principal or administrator, counselor, certified librarian, military educator, teacher, or test administrator at a testing office of a community college or university. Relatives, no matter what their position, may not serve as a proctor. Proctors usually will supervise exams without charge. However, any charge will be the responsibility of the student. The necessary steps for taking a proctored assessment test are outlined below:

1. Submit a Proctor Approval Form (You will be asked for the name, title, institution, phone number, email address, mailing address, and fax number of your proctor).
2. Once Proctor Approval Form has been received and approved, the proctor will then be sent a Proctor Security Agreement Form with instructions to complete and sign the form and fax or mail to Cerro Coso Community College.
3. After the Proctor Security Agreement Form has been received by Cerro Coso, the proctor will then be sent instructions for administering the ACCUPLACER Tests.
4. The approved proctor will administer the test in a secure, proctored environment, will be present throughout the testing session(s), and verify the identification of the student by the use of a picture ID issued by a state or federal agency. (Driver's License, Passport, Military ID)
5. Noncompliance will invalidate the assessment test.

Proctor Qualifications

• Familiar with accepted practices for administering standardized tests
• Has no vested interest in the student's scores
• Is not related to the student
• Is employed by an educational institution

To request to take ACCUPLACER online as a proctored assessment test, please submit a request and proctor approval form through the ACCUPLACER request form.

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