Assessment and Placement Benchmarks

West Liberty University is dedicated to providing optimal pathways to successfully completing general education coursework in English Composition and Mathematics. Based on recommendations of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and discipline-specific best practices, West Liberty University offers both standard and supplemental sections of several of these courses. Sections with supplemental instruction are designed to address deficiencies in a student’s readiness. Students who do not attain the benchmarks below are required to enroll in a section of the course that includes supplemental instruction.

English Composition Benchmarks

To enroll in the standard version of first-year writing (the first course in a two-course composition sequence), a student must score at or above the minimum score provided in the table below on at least one of the following benchmarks:

English section of the American College Testing Program’s Test (ACT)
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section of the University Board’s Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
Writing portion of the University Board’s ACCUPLACER testing system (ACCUPLACER)
Cumulative high school grade point average on a 4.0 scale (HS GPA)

	ACT	SAT EB Reading and Writing	ACCUPLACER	HS GPA
ENG 101	18	480	250	3.0

To enroll in an accelerated version of first-year writing that will complete their general studies composition requirement, a student must score at or above the minimum scores listed in the table below on at least one of the following benchmarks:

English section of the American College Testing Program’s Test (ACT)
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section of the University Board’s Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
The University Board’s Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Exam (AP)

	ACT	SAT EB Reading and Writing	AP English Literature and Composition
ENG 103	25	570	3

Mathematics Benchmarks

To enroll in the standard version of a general education mathematics course, a student must score at or above the minimum score given in the table below on at least one of the following benchmarks:

Mathematics section of the American College Testing Program’s ACT Test (Math ACT)
Quantitative section of the University Board’s Scholastic Aptitude Test (Math SAT)
Elementary algebra test of the American College Testing Program’s Assessment of Skills for Successful Entry and Transfer (ASSET)
Algebra portion of the American College Testing Program’s Computerized Adaptive Placement Assessment and Support System (COMPASS)
Elementary algebra test of the University Board’s ACCUPLACER testing system (ACCUPLACER)
Cumulative high school grade point average on a 4.0 scale (HS GPA)

	Math ACT	Math SAT	ASSET	COMPASS	ACCUPLACER	HS GPA
MATH 102	19	510	45	59	106	3.2
MATH 160	19	510	45	59	106	3.2
MATH 130	21	530	47	73	116	3.5

Reading Benchmarks

Students scoring 17 or above on the reading section of the ACT, 420 or above on the verbal section of the Recentered SAT, 36 or above on the reading skills test of the ASSET, or 30 percentile or above on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test will be considered to have met minimal reading skills requirements.
Students who do not meet the reading comprehension standard may petition the WLU Learning and Student Development Center for assistance in a reading comprehension program.