Placement Exams

Math
All students need to satisfy a requirement in qualitative literacy for graduation. To assist you in selecting appropriate courses, the Department of Mathematics will make a mathematics placement recommendation based on your academic records and the results from an online placement exam. Instructions and access to this exam. Technical issues with this exam should be addressed to Andrew Leahy or Kevin Hastings.

Second Language
If you have studied French, German or Spanish in high school or earlier, or have had significant exposure to them (e.g., lived abroad or have parents who speak one of the languages), you need to take Knox College's Placement Exam for French, German, or Spanish. You should take the language placement in each language that you have taken in the past. If you have studied Japanese, Greek, Latin, or Chinese you do not need to take an online exam, but you should notify your advisor of this during orientation so that a good placement can be arranged.

The online placement exams for French, German, and Spanish consist of a series of multiple choice questions and will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete on the Internet. Based on your score, you will be given a placement in a language course at Knox. It is important that you take the exam, even if you do not plan to study a foreign language during your first year at Knox College.

Accurate course placement is vital to your success in studying foreign languages at Knox College. Research shows that students who begin their college study at the appropriate level enjoy greater success in acquiring the language. We suggest that you take the exam as soon as possible, but no later than Monday, August 17.

To take the Language Placement Exam, go to the exam. In the box that says Password, enter "fire1" (all lowercase) and click on Login.

On the next page, select "French," "German," or "Spanish" from the dropdown menu and click on Begin. You will be taken to another page asking for your first name, last name and ID#. For your ID#, enter "0000." Answer the questions about your previous language study and click on Continue to begin the exam.

You may not use dictionaries, notes, or reference works, and you may not consult with anyone else while taking the exam. Please remember the Knox College Honor Code. We trust you will comply with these restrictions.

If you have difficulties or questions, you may e-mail or call the Knox College Computer Center Help Desk at 309-341-7700, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. If you have studied more than one of these three languages, you should take the test for each. For any one language, you should only take the exam once, as only your first score will be counted. After completing an exam, you will see your score and what appears to be a placement (level 1, 2, 3, etc). You should ignore this information. It is not a placement. When you arrive on campus for New Student Orientation, you and your advisor will discuss your final placement.