English Placement Exam: International Students

Degree-seeking students (F-1 Status)    

English proficiency requirements for F-1 students are available through International Admissions.

As per university regulations, the English proficiency test is a condition of each international student’s enrollment, unless a student submitted official documentation of one of the following demonstrating C1-C2 (CEFR) levels of English proficiency (effective Summer 2026):

1. TOEFL-ibt score of 5 (legacy TOEFL-ibt 100+).
2. TOEFL-ITP 600
3. IELTS 7.5
4. LangCERT 80-84
5. ACT Reading 21 or ACT English 18
6. SAT evidence-based reading and writing (ERW) subject area test score of 480
7. Michigan English Test (MET) 67-70
8. Successful completion of Level 4 in the Intensive English Center at St. Cloud State University for undergraduate students.
9. Successful completion of a freshman level writing course from an accredited US university or college. This course must meet the same learning objections as that of ENGL 191: College Composition and Rhetoric. Student must have earned a C or higher in the course.
10.  Earned Associates of Arts degree from an accredited US university or college.
11. Earned bachelor’s degree from an accredited US university or college.

If your answer was "Yes" to any of the above eleven statements, then you are not required to take the English proficiency test (and you are not required to take any of the EAP courses associated with the exam either). If your answer was "No" to all of the above eleven statements, then you are required to take the English proficiency test prior to your first semester at SCSU (during the week before classes begin).

Semester at SCSU students (no longer than two semesters)

English proficiency requirements for Semester at SCSU students are available through Language Requirements.

To be exempt from the English proficiency test, you will need

• A TOEFL-ibt 5 (legacy TOEFL-ibt 95+) with no subscores below 4.5 or 550 on TOEFL-ITP with no subscores below 55.
• An IELTS score of 6.5

Graduate Students, see Graduate Admissions for more information about EAP courses for graduate students.

English Proficiency Test: United States Residents and Citizens

If you are a US Resident or Citizen who is required to take the Accuplacer Exam, you will first be given the Accuplacer Next Generation Reading test for native speakers of English. If you score 235 or below on the Accuplacer Next Generation Reading test, and if demographic questions indicate that English is a second or non-native language for you, you will be required to take the Accuplacer ESL Reading test, Accuplacer ESL Listening Test, and EAP Essay Test. Based on those test scores, you may be required to enroll in and complete EAP courses. You will not be able to enroll in a Goal 1 writing course until you meet prerequisite scores or complete EAP courses.

The Exam

The exam consists of three parts: reading, listening, and writing.

The Accuplacer ESL Reading and Listening tests are both multiple choice, computer-adaptive tests of 20 questions each, which the student is able to complete at his/her own pace (there is no specific time limit for the reading and listening tests; most students complete both of the tests within 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours).

Here is a description of the Listening test from the company’s website. Implied Meaning may be the most difficult aspect.

The ESL Listening test consists of 20 questions and measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to listen to and understand one or more people speaking in English. There are two content areas assessed:

• Literal Comprehension
  • Identify the main idea or main subject of a passage
  • Identify factual details and information
  • Understand instructions
• Implied Meaning
  • Understand the relationship between ideas
    (e.g., sequence of events, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, problem and solution)
  • Make inferences
  • Make predictions
  • Identify the speaker’s purpose, tone or point of view

The writing exam is a fifty minute essay on a general topic that is graded for content, organization, grammar, vocabulary and mechanics. One way to review for the writing exam is using the Internet. Also Google “College Writing” or “Academic Writing” to see other school’s writing sites. Review the terms used in the grading criteria above and what they mean for college composition.