Compass Placement
Toledo Campus Assessment
What is COMPASS?
COMPASS is a computerized assessment that provides information about a student’s reading, writing and math skills and preparation for college-level course work. The assessment is an un-timed, placement test. The scores will help place students in courses that develop the necessary skills for success in future classes.
This assessment measures knowledge in three skill areas:
Reading Skills: Finding the Main Idea, Locating Explicit Information, Making Inferences.
Writing Skills: Punctuation, Spelling, Capitalization, Usage, Verb Formation/ Agreement, Relationships of Clauses, Shifts in Construction, Organization.
Math Skills: Algebra Problems, Numerical Skills, Trigonometry, Geometry, Integers, Fractions, Decimals, Exponents, Rations and Proportions, Percentages, Averages, Substitution, Setting-up Equations, Basic Operations/ Polynomials, Linear Equations, Exponents, Rational Numbers
Who is required to take the COMPASS assessment?
If a student does not successfully meet required reading and writing minimum scores after two attempts, the student will not be allowed to enroll at Mercy College.
A student who has never attended an institution of higher education or has been admitted provisionally is required to successfully complete GEN 101: Student Success Strategies, a two credit hour course, within his/her first two semesters of enrollment at Mercy College.
When is COMPASS administered?
This assessment is administered to students before Mercy College orientation and will take approximately two hours to complete. To schedule the assessment, after you receive your acceptance letter, simply call the Mercy College library at 419-251-1700. If you have not completed COMPASS, academic advisors are unable to register you for classes. All assessment arrangements must be made at least 48 hours before your orientation session.
Can COMPASS delay my enrollment?
Students should be aware that if scores indicate a need for remedial course work, they will not be able to enroll at Mercy College. Students will be notified after their assessment is evaluated if they do not meet Mercy College’s COMPASS cut off scores.
If a student has been admitted to either the Nursing or Radiologic Technology program and shows a need for additional coursework in reading, writing and/or mathematics as identified by COMPASS placement testing, the student will not be able to start the clinical portion of the program until the courses are successfully completed. All other students must complete additional coursework within the first two semesters at Mercy College or risk dismissal.
Students have two attempts to take the COMPASS assessment. If a student does not successfully meet COMPASS cut-off scores after two attempts, he/she will not be allowed to enroll as a student at Mercy College. If a student has been admitted to either the Nursing or Radiologic Technology program and shows a need for additional coursework in reading, writing and/or mathematics as identified by COMPASS placement testing, the student will not be able to start the clinical portion of the program until the courses are successfully completed. All other students must complete additional coursework within the first two semesters at Mercy College or risk dismissal.
Do Post Secondary Options (PSO) students have to take COMPASS ?
Admission into the Mercy PSO program is contingent upon successful completion of all sections of the COMPASS placement test. PSO students will not be allowed to enroll in the College if his/her COMPASS scores show placement into developmental coursework. Students will be given the option to reapply for admission and retest the following academic year.
Can students practice for the COMPASS assessment?
Click on the following link to obtain practice questions from the COMPASS assessment: http://www.act.org/compass/sample/index.html.
What do the scores mean?
Please click on the PDF document below to review the scores for the COMPASS assessment. Mercy College has determined cut-off scores for enrolling and for placement in certain coursework.
Where do I go to take the COMPASS assessment?
You will take the Compass assessment test in the Mercy College Library. Enter the College at the 2221 Madison Avenue address. You can park in the black-topped, fenced-in parking lot, directly across from the main entrance. Please use the spaces designated for visitor parking. Go straight down the hall from the front entrance to the Library. The person at the desk will help you get started on the test.
