COMPASS Sample Test Items

(Computing an Arithmetic Average)

1. What is the average (arithmetic mean) of 8, 7, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 2 ?

1. 4/7
   
2. 4 5/6
   
3. 4 6/7
   
4. 5
   
5. 6 4/5

(Basic Operations with Decimals)

2. Ben is making wooden toys for the next arts and crafts sale. Each toy costs Ben $1.80 to make. If he sells the toys for $3.00 each, how many will he have to sell to make a profit of exactly $36.00 ?

1. 12
   
2. 20
   
3. 30
   
4. 60
   
5. 108

(Basic Operations with Fractions)

3. How many yards of material from a 24-yard length of cloth remain after 3 pieces, each 3 1/2 yards long, and 5 pieces, each 2 1 /4yards long, are removed?

1. 2 1/4
   
2. 4 1/4
   
3. 4 5/6
   
4. 10 1/4
   
5. 10 5/6

(Percentages)

4. Phillip charged $400 worth of goods on his credit card. On his first bill, he was not charged any interest, and he made a payment of $20. He then charged another $18 worth of goods. On his second bill a month later, he was charged 2% interest on his entire unpaid balance. How much interest was Phillip charged on his second bill?

1. $8.76
   
2. $7.96
   
3. $7.60
   
4. $7.24
   
5. $6.63

COMPASS Sample Items Algebra Placement Test

The Algebra Placement Test comprise topics from three major mathematics curricular areas, as follows:

Curricular Area	Content Areas	Percentage of Items in Pool
Elementary Algebra	Substituting values in algebraic equations	9
	Setting up equations for given situations	9
	Basic operations with polynomials	9
	Factoring polynomials	9
		3
	Solving polynomial equations by factoring	2
	Formula manipulation and field axioms	12
	Linear equations in one variable	5
	Exponents	2
	Linear inequalities in one variable
Intermediate Algebra	Rational expressions	9
	Exponents	5
	Systems of linear equations in 2 variablesv Quadratic formulasv Absolute	2
	value equations and inequalities	<1
		<1
Coordinate Geometry	Linear equations in 2 variables	13
	Distance formulas in the plane	4
	Graphing conics (circle, parabola, etc.)	3
	Graphing relations in the plane	<1
	Graphing systems of equations & functions	<1
	Midpoint formulas

COMPASS Sample Items Reading Placement Test

When I’m in New York but feeling lonely for Wyoming I look for the Western movie ads in the subway. But the men I see in those posters with their stem, humorless looks remind me of no one I know in the East. In our earnestness to romanticize the cowboy we’ve ironically disesteemed his true character. If he’s "strong and silent" it’s because there’s probably no one to talk to. If he ‘rides away into the sunset" it’s because he’s been on horseback since four in the morning moving cattle and he’s trying, fifteen hours later, to get home to his family. If he’s "a rugged individualist he’s also part of a team: ranch work is teamwork and even the glorified open-range cowboys of the 1880s rode up and down the Chisholm Trail in the company of twenty or thirty other riders. It’s not toughness but "toughing it out’ that counts. In other words, this macho, cultural artifact the cowboy has become is simply a man who possesses resilience, patience, and an instinct for survival. Cowboys are just like a pile of rocks--everything happens to them. They get climbed on, kicked, rained and snowed on, scuffed up by the wind. Their job is just to take it’," one old-timer told me.

Adapted from Gretel Ehrlich, The Solace of Open Spaces. © 1985 by Gretel Ehrlich.
Referring

According to the passage, cowboys are probably "strong and silent" because:

1. their work leaves them no time for conversation.
   
2. they have been cautioned not to complain.
   
3. they are stern and humorless.
   
4. there is no one nearby to listen to them.
   
5. their work makes them too tired to talk.

Reasoning

2. For which of the following statements does the passage give apparently contradictory evidence?

1. The cowboy’s work takes endurance.
   
2. Cowboys work alone.
   
3. Cowboys are adequately paid.
   
4. The cowboy’s image has become romanticized in American culture.
   
5. Cowboys think of themselves as humorless.

Prior-Knowledge

3. A subway can best be described as:

1. a bus route through town.
   
2. an underground train.
   
3. a pedestrian right-of-way.
   
4. an exit ramp.
   
5. a bicycle path.

COMPASS Sample Items Reading Placement Test

Regular tune-ups of your heating system will cut heating costs and will most likely increase the lifetime and safety of the system. When a service technician performs a tune-up, he or she should test the efficiency of your heating system.

The technician should measure the efficiency of your system both before and after servicing it and provide you with a copy of the results. Combustion efficiency is determined indirectly, based on some of the following tests: 1) temperature of the flue (or chimney); 2) percent carbon dioxide or percent oxygen in the atmosphere; 3) presence of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere; and 4) draft. Incomplete combustion of fuel is the main contributor to low efficiency. If the technician cannot raise the combustion efficiency up to at least 75% after tuning your heating system, you should consider installing a new system or at least modifying your present system to increase its efficiency.

Adapted from Alex Wilson and John Morrill, Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings. ©1993 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Reasoning

1. The passage suggests that, if carbon monoxide is present in the atmosphere, it is likely that the:

1. heating system is losing efficiency due to incomplete combustion.
   
2. heating system only needs minor repairs and will most likely function for a number of years.
   
3. temperature of the flue will be lower than expected.
   
4. heating system cannot be repaired and must be replaced.
   
5. costs for running the heating system will decrease.

Referring

2. According to the passage, when performing a tune-up of a heating system, the service technician should:

1. ensure that the combustion efficiency is at least 25%.
   
2. modify the heating system before initially measuring efficiency.
   
3. measure combustion efficiency both before and after servicing the system.
   
4. ignore the age of the heating system.
   
5. costs for running the heating system will decrease.

Prior-Knowledge

3. Combustion can best be described as a process of:

1. fueling.
   
2. charging.
   
3. spinning.
   
4. burning.
   
5. cooling.

COMPASS Sample Items The Reader Profile

1. Do you enjoy reading?

1. Always
   
2. Sometimes
   
3. Never

2. What is your most common purpose for reading?

1. Pleasure
   
2. Work
   
3. School

3. About how many hours per week do you spend reading for all purposes?

1. 0-2
   
2. 3-5
   
3. 6-10
   
4. 11 or more

4. Do you read newspapers?

1. Yes
   
2. No

4a. How many hours per week do you spend reading newspapers?

1. 0-2
   
2. 3-5
   
3. 6-10
   
4. 11 or more

5. If you had more free time, would you choose to spend more time reading?

1. Yes
   
2. No

6. How would you rate your ability as a reader?

1. Excellent
   
2. Good
   
3. Average
   
4. Poor

COMPASS Sample Items Writing Skills Placement Test

Sample Writing Skills Placement Test Essay

Examinees are presented with an essay similar to the one below and are asked to look for errors in grammar, punctuation, usage, and style. When examinees find what they believe to be errors, they move the cursor to the appropriate part of the text and hit the enter key. An item window appears offering five options for revising that area of text. Note that the first option is always identical to the original wording in the text, and thus represents a NO CHANGE option. Examinees can choose to revise any section of the essay. After revising the essay, examinees are routed to two items focusing on rhetorical strategies.

The essay below contains the same number and types of errors that an operational unit would contain; however, for demonstration purposes, only a handful of these segments have been selected for revision.

Start of Essay

An increasing number of lakes and rivers in the northern United States invaded are being by a mussel no larger than a fingernail.

The zebra mussel probably steamed aboard a transatlantic ship sometime in the mid1980s from the Caspian Sea into U.S. waters. Despite its growth was explosive, partly because the species was preyed upon by very few native predators in its new environment. As a consequence, the zebra mussels did find a plentiful food supply. They eat huge amounts of phytoplankton, which tiny free-floating sea organisms that dwell in water. Scientists are concerned when the mussels may compete aggressively with other species that depend on the same food supply.

Others concerned by the invading species are industry, public utilities, and boat owners. Zebra mussels cluster in huge colonies, being anchored themselves to any hard surface. These colonies can clog your water intake pipes of electric and water treatment plants. Fishery specialists are currently casting about and baiting their hooks to gun down control methods that will cause the lowest amount of damage to water supplies and other aquatic species. Two of the alternatives exploring are interrupting the species reproductive cycle and finding a bacterium harmful only to zebra mussels.

End of Essay

COMPASS Sample Items Writing Skills Placement Test

Basic Grammar and Usage: Ensuring Grammatical Agreement

Segment 1

1. An increasing number of lakes and rivers
   
2. An increasingly number of lakes and rivers
   
3. A number increasing of lakes and rivers
   
4. A number increasingly of lakes and rivers
   
5. An increasing of lakes and rivers

Style: Avoiding Redundancy

Segment 2

1. was preyed upon by very few native predators in its new environment.
   
2. found very few predators in its new environment.
   
3. found very few native predators and was seldom eaten in its new environment.
   
4. was preyed on by very few native predator species in its new environment.
   
5. was seldom eaten or preyed on by native predator species in its new environment.

Sentence Structure: Relating Clauses

Segment 3

1. Scientists are concerned when the mussels
   
2. Scientists are concerned that if the mussels
   
3. Scientists are concerned wherein the mussels
   
4. Scientists are concerned that the mussels
   
5. Scientists are concerned as if the mussels

Strategy: Making Decisions about Cohesive Devices

Item 4 (end-of-passage)

The writer wishes to add a sentence at the end of Paragraph 1 that will serve as a transition between Paragraphs 1 and 2 and will establish the main focus of the essay. Which of the following sentences most effectively fulfills that purpose?

1. The zebra mussel will provide a difficult challenge for public utility managers.
   
2. The zebra mussel is only the latest in a series of newly introduced species to thrive in the U.S.
   
3. No one knows how far south and west the zebra mussel is likely to spread, but scientists think they may be on the trail of important clues.
   
4. Although small in size, the zebra mussel may become a huge problem for pleasure boat owners in North American waterways.
   
5. Despite its size, however, the zebra mussel may have a dramatic effect on North American waterways.

COMPASS Sample Items Answers to Sample Items

Numerical Skills/Prealgebra Placement Test
l.C 2.C 3.A 4.B

Algebra Placement Test
1.D 2.D 3.B 4.A 5.E

Reading Placement Test: Sample Passage 1 - Humanities
1.D 2.B 3.B

Reading Placement Test: Sample Passage 2 - Practical Reading
l. A 2.C 3.D

Writing Skills Placement Test
l. A 2.B 3.D 4.E

Answers to Sample Item

Reading Skills Answer Key
1. C 2. D 3. C 4. C 5. A 6. B 7. B 8.A

Writing Skills Answer Key
1. B 2. C 3.B 4. D 5. B 6. C 7. A 8. A 9. D 10.A

Numerical Skills Answer Key
1.C 2.C 3. B 4. C 5. A 6. B

Elementary Algebra Answer Key
1. B 2. A. 3. D 4. D