Compass Placement Test
COMPASS Placement Test Policy
The COMPASS Placement Test assesses what level of college courses prospective students are academically ready to handle.
- The COMPASS Test is taken on a computer.
- The COMPASS Test is not timed. Most students finish in 2-3 hours.
- The COMPASS Test has three sections: Algebra (Math), English (Writing), and Reading.
The Assessment Center will administer the COMPASS Placement Test primarily to Georgia Highlands College applicants at all sites of the college. Students from other institutions may not take the Compass Placement Test at Georgia Highlands College at present.
Students sign up for the COMPASS Placement Test by using the Check Admissions Status link on the Admissions web page. After registering for a test session, a student can print out the confirmation as a reminder of the testing appointment.
A fee of $20 is required and may be paid at the Business Office of any Georgia Highlands site.
A valid photo ID card is required for admittance into COMPASS Placement Testing.
Applicants with high SAT or ACT scores may exempt COMPASS Placement testing if they do not have Required High School Curriculm (RHSC) deficiencies. See Exempting the COMPASS Placement Test for details or contact an Enrollment Management specialist.
Students may take the COMPASS Placement Test and one retest no more than once in a twelve-month period. Students who have taken the COMPASS Placement Test at another institution within the past year should have those scores sent to the GHC Admissions Office.
Students with COMPASS Placement Test scores below established passing scores as shown below are required to enroll in Learning Support classes for those subjects. However, see the next section to understand the role of COMPASS Placement testing in admission to the college.
Minimum COMPASS Placement Scores Required for Admission
Georgia Highlands College has minimum COMPASS Placement scores in each subject area that take effect in Fall 2012. Students taking the test for Fall 2012 admission or in any term after that who score below the minimum scores will not be allowed to enter the college.
| COMPASS Area | Minimum Score | Learning Support Placement | Passing Score |
| Algebra/Math | 20 | 20-31: MATH 0097, 32-39: MATH 0099 | 40 |
| English/Writing | 32 | 32-59: ENGL 0099 | 60 |
| Reading | 62 | 62-76: READ 0099 | 77 |
After taking the Compass Placement Exam, a student may only have two subject areas with scores above the minimum score and below the passing score (placement into two Learning Support areas). Students with three subject area scores above the minimum score but below the passing score (placement into three Learning Support areas) will not be eligible for entry into the college.
In addition, a student placing below the minimum score in any area will not be eligible for entry into the college.
All students are eligible for one retest in each area of the COMPASS Placement Test. The guidelines for retesting are provided in the next section. To prepare for the initial test or a retest, use the link below to access the Compass Test preparation web page.
Preparing for the COMPASS Test
For those testing in math, the COMPASS software has a calculator and loaner calculators are available at the testing site.
COMPASS Placement Retesting at Georgia Highlands College
COMPASS Placement Retesting at GHC is open to all students who take the placement test for admission to GHC, under the following rules. No fee is required for one retest per area.
- Registering for classes immediately terminates the retest option, with no exceptions.
- All re-tests must be taken before the Admission deadline date for a given term. For Fall 2012, that date is August 2, 2012.
- Only one retest is allowed per area (Math, English, Reading)
- Students register for a retest in the same way that they register for the initial test.