ESL Placement Returning to ACCUPLACER

Starting Monday, April 8, NOVA will return to the ESL ACCUPLACER for its English as a Second Language (ESL) placement assessment. This process update replaces the current Multilingual Learners Placement Assessment, which was implemented during COVID emergency measures. The ACCUPLACER has been used successfully by NOVA and other VCCS colleges for many years.

The process update improves ESL students’ education. Placing ESL students accurately ensures they receive the appropriate linguistic, academic and cultural support to foster their second language acquisition and academic English proficiency, helping them do well in their programs of study at NOVA.

The update also enhances NOVA’s collaborations across the VCCS. The return to ACCUPLACER better aligns NOVA with other VCCS colleges, allowing us to better support one another and ESL students statewide.

Who takes it? The ACCUPLACER is for students who do not qualify for direct enrollment or multiple measures and who hold a foreign high school transcript and/or whose native language is not English. It measures students’ English proficiency level and places them into ENG-111, College ESL, or the American Culture & Language Institute’s Intensive English Program. For more information on ESL placement, please visit NOVA’s ESL webpage. Students with questions can email ESL@nvcc.edu.

How to take it? Students will take the ACCUPLACER in a campus testing center. Appointments are recommended but not required. Students receive results by email. For information on how to take the test, please visit NOVA’s testing webpage.

Submitted by:
Elisabeth Chan, ESL, EChan@nvcc.edu