Placement Testing

College of The Albemarle (COA) offers the North Carolina Diagnostic Assessment and Placement (NCDAP) assessment for placement testing, measuring your skills in reading, writing and math. All full- and part-time students entering COA will need to take a placement test or qualify to have it waived. Depending on your placement test scores, you may need to complete developmental classes in English and reading (DRE), and math (DMA).

Students who place out of all DMA courses can self-elect to take additional placement tests to place out of MAT 171 Pre-Calculus Algebra and/or MAT 172 Pre-Calculus Trigonometry.

We offer COA Connect sessions to help you schedule your placement test, answer your questions and guide you through each enrollment step.

COA Connect will help you:

• Confirm the information on your application.
• Verify your program of study.
• Create your COA login.
• Prepare and sign up for your placement test.
• Understand the enrollment steps.

High School Students

If you need to take the placement test, contact the campus nearest you:

• Elizabeth City Campus: 252-335-0821 ext. 2290.
• Edenton – Chowan Campus: 252-482-7900 ext. 6011.
• Dare County Campus: 252-473-2264 ext. 7010.

Proctoring

Do you need to take the placement test but plan to attend another college? You can request a proctor exam by emailing coa_proctors@albemarle.edu for instructions.

Special Arrangements for Students with Disabilities

If you have a learning or physical disability that would prevent you from taking the test under standard conditions, separate testing and other special accommodations are available at no additional fee. For details, please contact the director of Disabilities Services at 252-335-0821 ext. 2277.

Placement Test Waiver Policy

The placement test may be waived using test exemptions or the placement test waiver policy. Test results are used in conjunction with other information to place you in the appropriate classes for your program of study at COA.

Associate in Engineering and Associate in Science students place directly into MAT 271 Calculus I if you’ve met at least one of the following criteria within the past five years:

• A score of “2” or higher on the AP Calculus AB Exam.
• A grade of “C” or higher in an AP Calculus course and an unweighted high school grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
• A score of “90” or higher on the ACCUPLACER College-Level Math (CLM) test.
• A score of “46” or higher on the trigonometry section of the ACT Compass Math Placement Test.
• A score of “580” or higher on the old (prior to March 2016) SAT Math and a grade of “C” or higher in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Pre-Calculus course or an equivalent course from another state.
• A score of “600” or higher on the new (March 2016 and beyond) SAT Math and a grade of “C” or higher in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Pre-Calculus course or an equivalent course from another state.
• A score of “27” or higher on the ACT Math and a grade of “C” or higher in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Pre-Calculus course or an equivalent course from another state.
• A score of “560” or higher on the SAT Subject Test in Mathematics Level 2.

Retest Policy and Fee

You may take one retest per subject area for a $10 fee. You may not retest once enrolled in that subject’s developmental class. However, you may retest after a class to test out of subsequent developmental classes in that subject.

For exceptions to this policy and for more information, see our placement retest policy.

Placement Testing Help