Indiana University South Bend

Reading Placement Exam

Reading Exam Policy

Most students are required to take the reading placement exam. However, you are waived from taking this if:

• You took the SAT exam within the last three years and your score on the critical reading section is 480 or higher.
• You are a transfer student with 26 or more credit hours.

The reading exam is used to determine if a reading skills course is necessary during a student’s first semester at IU South Bend.

The results of your reading placement exam determine if you are required to enroll in a developmental reading course during your first semester at IU South Bend. The score breakdown and course requirements are as follows:

Score	Course Requirements
84+	Based on your assessment, you should be able to complete college-level course work.
0-83	You must successfully complete X101 Techniques in Textbook Reading during your first semester to strengthen your reading skills. It is also highly recommended that you do not enroll in college-level courses, except U100 Threshold Seminar, until you have successfully completed X101. You may, however, enroll in the appropriate writing and math courses based on your placement exam scores in those areas.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the format of the exam?
The reading exam is a timed test divided into two parts:

Part 1: Vocabulary (15 minutes, 80 items)
Part 2: Reading Comprehension (20 minutes, 7 reading passages, 38 questions)

How can I prepare for the reading placement exam?
The reading placement exam is designed to allow you to demonstrate skills you have already developed, so you do not need to study for it as you might for another type of exam. However, because you do want your effort to reflect your best abilities, we encourage you to review the practice exam questions below.

Reading Placement Exam Practice Questions

Part 1: Vocabulary

1. A carpenter uses:
   1. apples
   2. rocks
   3. carpets
   4. tools
   5. music
   
   
2. To encrypt means to:
   1. write
   2. encode
   3. sell
   4. bury
   5. raise
   
   
3. A renovation is a:
   1. reminder
   2. renewal
   3. return
   4. removal
   5. replay
   
   
4. A flawless performer is:
   1. fallacious
   2. flowery
   3. perfect
   4. predictable
   5. unanimous

Part 2: Comprehension
The basic morphology of plants reflects their evolutionary history as terrestrial organisms. The algal ancestors of plants were bathed in a solution of water and minerals, including bicarbonate, the source of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis in aquatic habitats. In contrast, the resources a terrestrial plant needs are divided between the soil and air, and the plant must inhabit these two very different environments at the same time. Soil provides water and minerals, but air is the main source of carbon dioxide, and light does not penetrate far into the soil. The evolutionary solution to this separation of resources was differentiation of the plant body into two main systems: a subterranean root system and an aerial shoot system consisting of stems, leaves, and flowers. Neither system can live without the other. Lacking chloroplasts and living in the dark, roots would starve without sugar and other organic nutrients imported from the photosynthetic tissues of the shoot system. Conversely, the shoot system depends on water and minerals absorbed from the soil by roots.

1. The ancestors of plants used nutrients from the:
   1. soil
   2. air
   3. water
   4. algae
   5. carbon dioxide
   
   
2. A terrestrial plant lives in the:
   1. soil
   2. air
   3. water
   4. soil and air
   5. organism
   
   
3. The plant's evolutionary solution was:
   1. assimilation
   2. photosynthesis
   3. organic
   4. differentiation
   5. converse
   
   
4. The two main plant systems are:
   1. stems and leaves
   2. roots and shoots
   3. chloroplasts and roots
   4. flowers and roots
   5. water and minerals
   
   
5. The two plant systems:
   1. require each other
   2. are independent
   3. lack chloroplasts
   4. are subterranean
   5. are imported

Answers

Part I – Vocabulary

1. D
2. B
3. B
4. C

Part 2 – Comprehension

1. C
2. D
3. D
4. B
5. A

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Questions
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