TSI Content Overview
What is the TSI Assessment?
According to College Board, the TSI Assessment is a program designed to help your institution determine if you are ready for college-level course work in the general areas of reading, writing and mathematics. If you are an incoming college student in Texas, you are required to take the TSI Assessment — unless you are already exempt — to determine your readiness for college-level work. Based on how you perform, you may either be enrolled in a college-level course that matches your skill level or be placed in the appropriate remedial course or intervention to improve your skills and prepare you for success in college-level courses.
The TSI assessment is a computer-based exam.
The TSI Reading Comprehension Test
Reading Cut Scores: students must score between a 351 to 390 in the multiple-choice section.
There are approximately 24 questions on the placement test. There are 10-12 questions per category on the diagnostic test.
Content areas:
§ Literary Analysis
§ Main Idea and Supporting Details
§ Inferences in Text or Texts
§ Author’s Use of Language
Literary Analysis (4 questions on placement test)
All questions in this category will be passage-based questions. Passages are fiction or literary nonfiction and will be approximately 400 words in length.
Literary Analysis Content: Analyze literary texts by applying knowledge of universal themes and the way in which literary devices contribute to the development of the plots and characters; analyze consistently how the author’s use of diction and figurative language supports meaning in fiction or literary nonfiction
§ Identify and analyze ideas in and elements of literary texts.
§ Fiction versus non-fiction (setting, plot, theme, narrative structure, characters, mood, moral)
§ Evaluate vocabulary to determine word meaning
Main Idea and Supporting Details (5 questions on placement test)
All questions in this category will be discrete questions with single informational/expository passages will be 75-125 words.
Main Idea and Supporting Details Content: Demonstrate an understanding of informational texts by identifying the stated or implied main idea of a passage and comprehending supporting details, as well as understanding the relationship between them.
§ Identify stated and implied main idea of a passage
§ Understand explicit (clear and fully expressed) textual information
§ Understand implicit (not expressly stated) textual information
Inferences in a Text or Texts (8 questions on placement test)
All questions in this category will be distinct questions with one or, in some cases, two informational/expository passages of 100-150 words.
Inferences in Text or Texts Content: Make discerning inferences about informational text, supporting the inferences with specific and well-chosen evidence; demonstrate a developed understanding by drawing conclusions and making generalizations about paired texts consistently.
§ Make an appropriate inference (not expressly stated) about a single passage.
§ Synthesize ideas by making a connection or comparison between two passages (Dual Passages)
Author’s Use of Language (7 questions on placement test)
All questions in this category will be discrete questions with single informational/expository passages of 75-125 words.
Author’s Use of Language Content: Analyze the author’s purpose, tone, organization, rhetorical strategies; determine the meaning of words using context; and analyze the use of evidence in the passage when the information is implied in the passage or the answer choices require simple synthesis.
§ Identify an author’s purpose
§ Tone
§ Organization
§ Rhetorical strategies
Writing cut score: students must score a 5 in the essay section, or students can also score a 4 in the essay with a multiple choice score of a 363.
There are approximately 20 questions on the placement test.
Content areas:
§ Essay Revision
§ Agreement
§ Sentence Structure
§ Sentence Logic
Essay Revision (8 questions on placement test)
• All questions in this category will be passage-based questions.
• Passages are drafts of short essays in need of revision.
• Revise parts of the essay to improve coherence, organization, word choice, rhetorical effectiveness, and use of evidence.
Agreement (3 questions on placement test)
• Questions will cover topics such as subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, and verb tense.
Sentence Structure (5 questions on placement test)
• Topics such as fragments, subordination and coordination, and parallelism.
• Grammar such as comma splices and run-on sentences, as well as improper punctuation.
Sentence Logic (4 questions on placement test)
• Questions will test the student’s ability to arrange the parts of sentences in the most logical way, including the use of logical transitions and the correct placement of modifying phrases
The TSI Essay
Writing Cut Score: students must score a 5 in the essay section. Students can also score a 4 in the essay with a multiple choice score of a 363.
The TSI persuasive essay is called the WritePlacer and is graded by an assessment of the following:
• Purpose and Focus: The extent to which the writer presents information in a unified and coherent manner, clearly addressing the issue.
• Organization and Structure: The extent to which the writer orders and connects ideas.
• Development and Support: The extent to which the writer develops and supports ideas.
• Sentence Variety and Style: The extent to which the writer crafts sentences and paragraphs demonstrating control of vocabulary, voice, and structure.
• Mechanical Conventions: The extent to which the writer expresses ideas using standard English.
• Critical Thinking: The extent to which the writer communicates a point of view and demonstrates reasoned relationships among ideas.
Sample Prompt:
An actor, when his cue came, was unable to move onto the stage. He said, “I can’t get in, the chair is in the way.” And the producer said, “Use the difficulty. If it’s a drama, pick the chair up and smash it. If it’s comedy, fall over it.” From this experience the actor concluded that in any situation in life that is negative, there is something positive you can do with it.
Adapted from Lawrence Eisenberg, “Caine Scrutiny.”
Assignment: Can any obstacle or disadvantage be turned into something good?
The Math portion of the TSI covers the four areas in the chart below. APIE’s math curriculum was created around these four topics in order to prepare students for the TSI test.
Elementary Algebra (6 questions on placement test)
The Elementary Algebra portion is content from Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1. It measures your knowledge of linear equations inequalities and systems; algebraic expressions and equations; and word problems and applications.
Advanced Algebra (9 questions on placement test)
The Advanced Algebra portion is content from Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. It measures your knowledge of quadratic and other polynomial expressions; equations and functions involving powers, roots, and radicals; and rational and exponential equations, expressions, and functions.
Geometry and Measurement (2 questions on placement test)
This section measures your knowledge of plane geometry; transformations and symmetry; and linear, area, and three dimensional measurements.
Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (3 questions on placement test)
This section measures your knowledge of interpreting categorical and quantitative data, statistical measures, and probabilistic reasoning.
Scoring
The TSI is separated into two testing components: a placement test and a diagnostic test. The placement test consists of 20 questions. If a satisfactory score of 350 is not met, then the student will continue on to the diagnostic test. The diagnostic test is 40 questions, consisting of ten questions from each content area.
Score / Course310-335 / ABE 1-6 / MATD 0330 or 0332
336-339 / 1-15 / MATD 0370 or 0455
340-346 / 1-9 in all four strands / MATD 0370 or MATD 0385
347-349 / 10-15 in Elementary Algebra and Intermediate Algebra strands / MATD 0390
350+ / TSI Complete: Any college-level course with a math skills prerequisite
MATD 0330 – Basic Math Skills
MATD 0332 – Basic Math Skills with Collaborative Learning
MATD 0455 – Foundations of Mathematical Reasoning
MATD 0370 – Elementary Algebra
MATD 0385 – Developing Mathematical Thinking
MATD 0390 – Intermediate Algebra
A student scoring below a 335 will need to complete four math classes to enroll in a college-level math course.
A student scoring between 336 and 339 will need to complete three courses.
A student scoring between 340 and 346 will need to complete two courses.
A student scoring between a 347 and 349 will need to take one course.
TSI FAQs
Why do I need to take the TSI?
The TSI Assessment is a standardized assessment used to determine whether a student is “ready” for college-level coursework. Although you don’t have to be “college ready” to be accepted into a public university or college in Texas, you do need to be TSI Complete in order to enroll in college-level coursework. If you are not “college ready,” you will need to take certain developmental or adult basic education courses before you can enroll in credit bearing courses.
How long is the TSI Assessment?
The TSI Assessment is an untimed exam, but you should expect to spend between 2-5 hours taking it. All three of the multiple choice sections can be taken in intervals, meaning you can exit the exam and return at a later date to finish it (as long as you return within a two week time-frame). However, the Essay portion of the exam must be completed in ONE sitting.
Is it possible to become college ready without taking the TSI?
Yes, you can exempt out of the TSI through SAT/ACT scores.
SAT / 500+ in Verbal AND combined score of 1070 (math & critical reading only) / 500+ in Math AND combined score of 1070 (math & critical reading only)
ACT / 19 on English AND average score of 23 / 19 in Math AND average score of 23
How is the TSI scored?
Scores for the multiple choice sections range from 310 to 390. Essay scores range from 1-8. In order to become TSI Complete, you need to meet the following scores:
Math / 350
Reading / 351
Writing / 363 AND a 4 or higher on the Essay / No minimum on multiple choice if Essay score is 5 or higher
How many times can I take the TSI?
There is no limit as to how many times you can take the TSI.
How much does the TSI Assessment cost?
Your school will provide waivers for you to take the TSI Assessment. However, if you take the TSI at an outside institution, such as ACC, each individual test section costs $10, and the exam costs $29 if you purchase all three sections at once.
What if I don’t meet the minimum scores on all three sections of the TSI?
You can become “partially ready” if you meet the minimum scores in certain areas but not others. If you don’t become TSI Complete, you can still attend college, but you will have to take certain developmental courses before you can enroll in college-level English/Math courses.
What if I don’t plan on going to a public college or university?
If your post-high school plan is to attend a trade/technical school, join the army, or enroll in a private university (such as St. Edwards), the TSI will still be great back up in case your plans change. If you decide to take courses at ACC during the summer or want to return to school after working as a car mechanic for several years, it will be convenient to have that option.
How long will my TSI scores be valid?
TSI scores are valid for 5 years.
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