We are motivated to draft this position paper by the disconnect that exist between tests at the high school level (SAT and HSPA) and the 2-year and 4-year college placement exams. This debate has been present for many years. With the recent revisions of the NJ K-12 mathematics standards, we felt that the time was right to bring a committee together to engage and examine this discontinuity. After gathering the data from the colleges and reflecting on this data, we have drafted the following positions with respect to college entrance examinations.

We believe that:

(1) All colleges should use a common examination for placement.

(2) All colleges should have students begin with an algebra test, taking a computational test only if they fail the algebra test.

(3) All colleges should set an SAT cutoff score above which students areexempt from placement testing.

(4) All colleges should allow students to use a calculator consistent with the SAT requirements.

(5) All colleges should allow students to have at least one opportunity to challenge or verify their placement.

(6) All colleges should require students who have passed the algebra portion of the placement examination to take the college level component for placement in advanced courses.