Virginia Placement Tests

VPT test is a placement testing required of most joining students at Virginia Western. All students seeking to enroll in a program or courses requiring mathematics or English as prerequisites must take Virginia Placement Test. By design, it assists Virginia Community Colleges in making decisions that are appropriate for the placement of all joining students. It is custom-designed to blend with the Virginia Community College System (VCC) developmental education curriculum thus help identify what is needed by joining students to successfully handle their college studies and improve their completion rates in developmental courses.

Students are required to submit their applications to Virginia Western before they take the test after which they are given a Student ID Number.

The test can be retaken one time within twelve months from the time of its initial attempt. The scores for the test are valid for two years.

Eligibility for VPT Exam

All new students seeking to enroll in any Virginia Western colleges are required to take the placement test. However, one might be exempted from taking the test on the following grounds:-

The SAT has taken with a score of 500 and above on critical reading and writing and or 520 and above scores on math.

The ACT has taken with a combined score of 21 or higher in English and writing and or a score of 22 and above in math.

These scores are valid for a period of two years and every student is required to present copies of these scores to their counseling appointment.

Syllabus for VPT Exam

VPT is administered on computers that cover two assessments, English and Mathematics.

Each test takes about 2 to 3 hours to complete.

VPT English

Has two parts; Multichoice section and Written essay section

A written essay comprises 60% of the total English score. Students are required to write a well-developed essay that meets the standard requirements of a good essay. Once started, students are required to complete it without leaving unless in otherwise extreme cases. It has 40 multi-choice questions about reading and writing. Once a student confirms an answer, they cannot go back to the question. Administered through LockDown Browser meaning if a student leaves the test site, they automatically get kicked out of the test.

VPT Math

Students are given scratch paper and pencils for use during the test. The math test is adaptive. Meaning the more the questions answered correctly by the student the longer the test lasts. Once answers are confirmed, the student cannot go back to the question. Personal calculators are not allowed as the system provides a calculator. Administered through LockDown Browser meaning if a student leaves the test site, they automatically get kicked out of the test. So the test takers should have LDB installed on their computer before they start the exam.