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Questions to Consider

As policymakers and practitioners develop new or refine existing multiple measures reforms in their own states, systems and institutions, there are a number of central questions to consider. Here we provide a set of questions for policymakers and practitioners to explore.

Specific measures used for postsecondary course placement also have benefits and challenges to consider when determining which ones to include in a state, system, or institutional placement policy or process. Click here for a summary of the pros and cons.

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Practitioners Policymakers

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Placement Measures and Processes Policy Development Level of Policy Centralization State and System Support for Campus Implementation Communication and Advising with Students Placement Measures and Processes Institutional Capacity and Collaboration Academic Courses and Supports
For Policymakers
Placement Measures and Processes
  • Should placement measures, processes and cut scores vary by pathway of study for major?
  • What measures are supported by research as predictive of college readiness?
  • What measures are currently required or commonly administered in the state to determine college readiness? How might those assessments be used to determine course placement?
  • Should the measures used be objective (e.g., standardized test scores), allow for subjective judgements by institutional practitioners (e.g., essay prompts), or both??
  • How will the placement measure selected be used to determine course placement (e.g., combined using a placement formula, provided as exemptions to placement testing)?
  • Will traditional placement tests (e.g., Accuplacer) be used as a placement measure?
  • Will non-cognitive measures (e.g., interviews, surveys) be included in the measures institutions use to determine placement?
  • What measures can be used to determine the placement of non-traditional students (e.g., students who have not recently graduated high school, English Language Learners)?
  • Should the placement measures also provide diagnostic data to support instruction?
Policy Development
  • Will multiple measures placement policies be piloted with a subset of institutions to potentially be scaled later or required across institutions from the outset of the policy?
  • How will the state or system gather input from campuses in the development of the multiple measures policy?
  • Will multiple measures placement policies be determined through legislation, regulation, system policy or agreements across institutions?
Level of Policy Centralization
  • What level of flexibility, if any, will institutions be allowed in determining placement measures (e.g., allow institutions to select all measures, from a set of approved measures)?
  • What level of flexibility, if any, will institutions be allowed in determining or adjusting cut scores or ranges?
  • Will institutions be able to develop a secondary placement process for students determined to be ineligible for college-level courses based on an initial set of placement measures?
State and System Support for Campus Implementation
  • What capacity in the form of staff, technology and expertise can the state or system provide institutions to support implementation?
  • How can the state or system support postsecondary institutions in accessing the results of college readiness measures to facilitate the placement process once a student enrolls in a postsecondary institution?
For Practitioners
Communication and Advising with Students
  • How will placement results be clearly communicated with students so they understand why they were placed in their courses?
  • What opportunities will be provided to students to meet with an advisor as a part of the placement process? Will advising be mandatory or voluntary? When would advising take place in the placement process?
  • Will students be able to challenge their placement results? If so, what will the process include?
Placement Measures and Processes
  • What measures are currently required or commonly administered in the state to determine college readiness? How might those assessments be used to determine course placement?
  • Should the measures used be objective (e.g., standardized test scores) or allow for subjective judgements by faculty, administrators and/or advisors (e.g., essay prompts)?
  • How will the placement measure selected by used to determine course placement (e.g., combined using a placement formula, provided as exemptions to placement testing)?
  • Will traditional placement tests (e.g., Accuplacer) be used as a placement measure?
  • Will non-cognitive measures (e.g., interviews, surveys) be included to determine placement?
  • Should placement measures, processes and cut scores vary by pathway of study or major?
  • What measures can be used to determine the placement of non-traditional students (e.g., students who have not recently graduated high school, English Language Learners)?
  • Should the placement measures also provide diagnostic data to support instruction?
  • What measures are supported by research as predictive of college readiness?
Institutional Capacity and Collaboration
  • What human resource capacity does the institution currently have to implement multiple measures placement? What additional capacity might be needed?
  • What expertise in the areas of technology and data analysis does the institution have to support the additional data that will be generated to make placement decisions and evaluate the impact of the reform on student outcomes?
  • How will the institution provide opportunities for input, collaboration and professional development across departments and offices involved in placement (e.g., admissions, student services, testing office, academic departments)?
Academic Courses and Supports
  • How might the institutions adjust course offerings and faculty assignments to address changes in student placement trends as a result of multiple measures placement?
  • What supports could be provided address the academic needs of students who traditionally might have been placed in developmental education courses but might now be placed in college-level courses with multiple measures placement?
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