Measurement & Evaluation
Welcome to the Placement & Proficiency Page
Main Links
For more info

For questions or information, 
please contact:

Placement and Proficiency
Room 247 Armory
(217) 244-4437
Contact Us

Placement & Proficiency Testing

PLEASE NOTE: The information on this website about placement and proficiency ("PNP") testing pertains to degree-seeking undergraduate students. If you are a graduate student or a non-degree student who needs a course placement or who seeks course proficiency credit, please speak with your department.


Placement Testing

Placement exams determine what your knowledge and skills are in a subject so that we can then recommend an appropriate first course for you from the various options available at Illinois. Placement tests do not award academic credit (see "proficiency testing" below). All placement exams are made available to all incoming students. Take only the ones you need to take. If you never studied a particular subject, you don't need to take its placement test. To enroll in a subject that is completely new to you, you can simply register for its elementary-level course.

Learn more about placement testing.


Proficiency Testing

The purpose of any proficiency exam is to find out whether you have mastered the knowledge and the skills that are taught in a particular course well enough that you are prepared to succeed in the subject's subsequent courses. If so, you earn credit for the course that you tested in, and you may begin studying the higher-level course. If you pass the proficiency exam but choose NOT to continue studying the subject, you still get the course credit, which counts towards graduation.

Learn more about proficiency testing and how to earn course credit.


Resources