INSTRUCTION
TESTING

Procedure

TEXAS SUCCESS INITIATIVE (TSI)

Navarro College shall assess the academic skills of each entering undergraduate student to determine the student’s readiness to enroll in freshman-level academic coursework prior to enrollment of the student. Navarro College may not use the assessment or the results of the assessment as a condition of admission to the institution.

 

PRE-ASSESSMENT

Prior to the administration of an approved instrument, Navarro College shall provide to the student a pre-assessment activity that addresses at a minimum the following components in an effective and efficient manner, such as through workshops, orientations, and/or online modules:

A. Importance of assessment in students’ academic career.

B. Assessment process and components, including practice with feedback of sample test questions in all disciplinary areas.

C. Developmental education options including course-pairing, non-course-based, modular, and other non-conventional interventions.

D. Institutional and/or community student resources (e.g., tutoring, transportation, childcare, and financial aid).

ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS

Beginning Fall 2013, Navarro College required the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment offered by the College Board as the only Coordinating Board-approved assessment instrument under this title. Any previously employed assessments (ACCUPLACER, Compass, THEA, Asset, Compass ESL, or ACCUPLACER ESL) can no longer be used for entering students who initially enroll in any course on or after that date.

MINIMUM STANDARDS

Navarro College shall use the following minimum passing standards (also known as “cut scores”) for reading, mathematics, and writing on the TSI Assessment to determine a student’s readiness to enroll in freshman-level academic coursework:

A. Reading 351;

B. Mathematics 350;

C. Writing:

(1) A placement score of at least 340, and an essay score of at least 4; or

(2) A placement score of less than 340 and an ABE Diagnostic level of at least 4 and an essay score of at least 5.

 

Effective January 11, 2021, the following minimum college readiness standards (also known as "cut scores") for English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) and mathematics on the TSI Assessment, Version 2.0 (TSIA2) shall be used by an institution to determine a student's readiness to enroll in entry-level freshman coursework:

A. Mathematics (for college-level coursework with mathematics-intensive designation by the offering institution):

(1)  a College Readiness Classification (CRC) score of at least 950; or

(2) a CRC score below 950 and a Diagnostic level of 6.

B. ELAR (for college-level coursework with reading, writing, or reading and writing-intensive designation by the offering institution):   

(1)    (A) a College Readiness Classification (CRC) score of at least 945 and an essay score of at least 5; or

(2)    (B) a CRC score below 945 and a Diagnostic level of 5 or 6 and an essay score of at least 5.

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ADVISING PROGRAM

Navarro College has established a program to advise students regarding coursework and other means by which students can develop the academic skills required to successfully complete college-level work. All students who require remediation based upon test scores are required to meet with an academic advisor each semester prior to registration so long as the remediation requirement remains.

DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES (PASS PROGRAM)

If a student fails to meet the assessment standards, Navarro College will work with the student to develop a plan to assist the student in becoming ready to perform freshman-level academic coursework. The plan will include enrolling a student in developmental coursework as considered necessary to address a student’s deficiencies in the student’s readiness to perform freshman-level academic coursework.

DETERMINATION OF READINESS FOR TRANSFER COURSES

Navarro College shall determine when a student is ready to perform entry-level freshman coursework using:0)

A. Developmental education coursework and/or intervention learning outcomes developed by the Coordinating Board based on the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards; and

B. Student performance on one or more appropriate assessments, including scores resulting from a student’s retaking of the TSI Assessment.

 

As indicators of readiness, the college shall consider, as appropriate: 

A. Performance in developmental education.

B. Performance in appropriate non-developmental coursework.

 

A student may retake an assessment instrument, subject to availability of the testing center, at any time to determine readiness to perform entry-level freshman coursework.

 

Navarro College shall, as soon as practicable and feasible, indicate a student’s readiness in reading, mathematics, and writing on the transcript of each student.

REPORTING

At the end of each semester, Navarro College shall report on the Developmental Education Program Survey (DEPS) to the Coordinating Board the following information for undergraduate students: social security number, semester credit hours, grade points earned, ethnicity, gender, date of birth, TSI status, initial assessment instrument, score on initial assessment, type of developmental education received for each area (reading, mathematics, writing), grade in first related non-developmental course, and the results of any subsequent assessment.

Navarro College shall analyze and report to the Coordinating Board, on a schedule to be determined by the commissioner, the fiscal and/or instructional impacts of the following on student outcomes:

A. Technological delivery of developmental education courses that allows students to complete coursework;

B. Diagnostic assessments to determine a student’s specific educational needs to allow for appropriate developmental instruction;

C. Modular developmental education course materials;

D. Use of tutors and instructional aides to supplement developmental education course instruction as needed for particular students;

E. Internal monitoring mechanisms used to identify a student’s area(s) of academic difficulty;

F. Periodic updates of developmental education course materials; and

G. Assessments after completion of a developmental education intervention to determine a student’s readiness for entry-level academic coursework.

EXEMPTIONS

As part of the admission process at Navarro College, all degree-seeking students will be administered a state-approved placement instrument unless he/she is exempt. Students are exempt who demonstrate:

 

SAT or ACT SCORES

For a period of five years from the date of testing, a student who is tested and performs at or above the following standards that cannot be raised by institutions:

A. ACT

 (1) ACT administered prior to February 15, 2023: composite score of 23 with a minimum of 19 on the English test shall be exempt for both the reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment, and/or 19 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment.

 (2) ACT administered on or after February 15, 2023: a combined score of 40 on the English and Reading (E+R) tests shall be exempt for both reading and writing or ELAR sections of the TSI Assessment. A score of 22 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. There is no composite score.

 (3) The use of scores from both the ACT administered prior to February 15, 2023, and the ACT administered after February 15, 2023, is allowable, as long as the benchmarks set forth in cluse (ii) of this subparagraph are met.

 

B. SAT:

(1) SAT administered prior to March 5, 2016: a combined critical reading (formerly “verbal”) and mathematics score of 1070 with a minimum of 500 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for both reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment; a combined critical reading (formerly “verbal”) and mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment.

(2) SAT administered on or after March 5, 2016: a minimum score of 480 on the Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) test shall be exempt for both reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment; a minimum score of 530 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. There is no combined score.

(3) Mixing or combining scores from the SAT administered prior to March 5, 2016 and the SAT administered on or after March 5, 2016 is not allowable.

 

State assessments

For a period of five years from the date of testing, a student who is tested and performs at or above the following standards that cannot be raised by institutions:

A. TAKS
On the eleventh grade exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) with a minimum scale score of 2200 on the mathematics section and/or a minimum scale score of 2200 on the English language arts section with a writing subsection score of at least 3, shall be exempt from the TSI Assessment required under Title 19 for those corresponding sections; or

B. STAAR End-of-course assessments (EOC)
STAAR end-of-course (EOC) with a minimum Level 2 score of 4000 on the English III shall be exempt from the TSI Assessment required under Title 19 for both reading and writing, and a minimum Level 2 score 4000 on the Algebra II EOC shall be exempt from the TSI Assessment required under Title 19 for the mathematics section.

 

High School Equivalency

Effective May 12, 2021, students who meet the college readiness benchmarks on the state’s approved high school equivalency (HSE) test will qualify for a TSI exemptions.  The approved tests and relevant benchmarks are as follows:

GED:
A minimum score of 165 on the Mathematics Reasoning subject test shall be exempt for mathematics.  A minimum score of 165 on the Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA) subject test shall be exempt for English Language Arts Reading (ELAR)

HiSET: 
A minimum score of 15 on the Mathematics subtest shall be exempt for Mathematics.  A minimum score of 15 on the Reading subtest and a minimum score of 15 on the Writing subtest, including a minimum score of 4 on the essay, shall be exempt for English Language Arts Reading (ELAR)

 

These HSE exemptions are valid for up to five (5) years from the date of testing.  While the date of testing can be anytime within the five (5) year time frame, applicability for TSI purposes and placements starts 5/12/2021.

Due to HiSET discontinuing the administration of their test effective 8/31/2021, HiSET test scores administered after 8/31/2021 will no longer be useable for the TSI exemption.  However, HiSET college readiness scores with test dates prior to 8/31/2021 will still be useable up to five (5) years from date of testing.

 

College-level experience

A.  A student who has graduated with an associate or baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education.

B. A student who transfers to Navarro College from a private or independent institution of higher education or an accredited out-of-state institution of higher education and who has satisfactorily completed college-level coursework as determined by the receiving institution.

C. A student who has previously attended any institution and has been determined to have met readiness standards by that institution.

 

Military Experience

A. A student who is serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States, the Texas National Guard, or for at least the three-year period preceding enrollment, as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States; or

B. A student who on or after August 1, 1990, was honorably discharged, retired, or released from active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard or service as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States.

CASUAL STUDENT

Persons enrolled as part-time, non-degree seeking students shall be defined as a “casual student”. Such students will be allowed to enroll in non-stratified courses without being required to enroll in developmental classes.

ESOL WAIVER

Navarro College may grant a temporary waiver from the assessment required under this title for students with demonstrated limited English proficiency in order to provide appropriate English Speakers of Other Languages/English as a Second Language (ESOL/ESL) coursework and interventions. The waiver must be removed prior to the student attempting 15 credit hours of developmental ESOL coursework or attempting entry-level freshman coursework, whichever comes first, at which time the student would be administered the TSI Assessment.

CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

Students enrolling in a Level I certificate program that includes less than 9 credit hours of general education courses are waived from placement testing. A student may not enroll in any courses outside the certificate curriculum without completing the placement test. If a stratified course is required in the degree plan for the certificate (i.e., English 1301), the student must successfully complete the associated component of a placement test before enrolling in the credit course. If the student fails the associated component, he/she must be remediated according to the Navarro College Developmental Education Plan.

STRATIFIED COURSES

Stratified courses are those that require a passing score on the related section of the placement test as a prerequisite to enroll. Stratified courses include:

A. History 1301; History 1302; Government 2305; Government 2306; Psychology 2301; any 2000-level literature course. A student must have passed the reading component of the placement test or successfully completed the remediation sequence for developmental reading before enrolling in any of these courses.

B. English 1301. A student must have passed the reading and writing component of the placement test or successfully completed the remediation sequence for developmental reading and writing before enrolling in this course.

C. All college-level mathematics courses. A student must have passed the mathematics component of the placement test or successfully completed the remediation sequence for developmental math before enrolling in any college-level mathematics course.

 

Students who have failed only the math section of the placement test may enroll in a minimester course that is not math related or in a developmental math course.

 

Updated: March 1, 2023