Admissions

Academic Placement

Do I Need to Take a Placement Test?

To support your success, we want to make sure you start college in classes that are right for you. Generally, placement is required for Reading/English and Math, but you don’t necessarily have to take a test. For example, we can use your high school GPA to determine your starting point for most courses.  Check out the details below and contact your student success advisor if you have questions.

Science, Engineering, and Math Majors

If you are majoring in science, engineering, or math, you will need to take a specific track of math and science classes that includes calculus.  Many science courses require specific math placement and/or successful completion of certain math courses. Pay attention to notes for science, engineering, and math majors in each section below and contact your student success advisor to discuss your placement options.

High School GPA

The simplest way to determine your placement at ICC is to use your high school grade point average. With a GPA of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, you will place into most college-level courses including English 110 and Math 110 or 111.

A few things you should know about submitting your high school GPA to ICC:

• Science, Engineering, and Math Majors: Your GPA alone will not qualify you for some required courses. Submit your transcript to ICC but also make an appointment with your student success advisor to discuss whether you’ll need to take a placement test.
• Some courses-- Agricultural Business 118, Business 120 and 203—may require additional placement measures.  
• There is no expiration date on your GPA, but you must submit an official transcript.
• Contact your high school and ask them to send your transcript to ICC by mail or email:
  Attn: Enrollment Services
  Illinois Central College
  1 College Dr.
  East Peoria, IL 61635
  transfertranscripts@icc.edu

• If you have not yet graduated from high school, we will accept a transcript from your seventh semester (or halfway through your senior year).
• If your high school uses something other than a 4.0 scale, ICC can convert your GPA to a 4.0 equivalent.

If your high school GPA is below 2.7, your placement will be determined by one of the methods below. 

Early College, Transitional, & High School Courses

If you took early college, dual credit, or transitional courses while in high school, your grades in those classes may qualify you for college-level courses. Check with your student success advisor for more information.

If you earned an A, B, or C in high school Algebra I and II, you place directly into Math 110/111. If you also earned a C or better in high school Geometry, you also qualify for Math 130.

Note: Science, engineering, and math majors: You are required to place into Math 115/120 or take courses to prepare you for Math 115/120. Math 110/111 do not lead to Math 115/120.

ACT and SAT Scores

Check the table below to see if your ACT or SAT scores qualify you for college-level courses.

ACT Scores

SAT Scores

A few things you should know about your ACT or SAT scores: 

• Science, Engineering, and Math Majors: You will be required to place into Math 115/120 or take courses to prepare you for Math 115/120. Math 110/111/130 do not lead to Math 115/120.
• There is no expiration date on ACT and SAT scores, but minimum scores are different for SAT tests taken before March 1, 2016. Check with your student success advisor if you took the SAT before March 1, 2016.
• You must have official score reports sent to ICC directly from ACT or SAT. Check their websites for details.

GED^® Scores

If you have earned your high school equivalency through the GED^® test since 2015, check the table below to see if your scores qualify you for college-level courses.

A few things you should know about your GED scores:

• Science, Engineering, and Math Majors: You will be required to take the ACCUPLACER math test to determine if you’re ready for Math 115 and 120, which are required for your major. Math 110/111/130 do not lead to Math 115/120.
• There is no expiration date on GED scores earned in 2015 or later.
• Scores earned prior to 2015 are not accepted.
• You must submit a copy of the Illinois High School Equivalency Official Transcript, which you can obtain from the Regional Office of Education for the county where you took the GED test. Send your transcript by mail or email to:
  Attn: Enrollment Services
  Illinois Central College
  1 College Dr.
  East Peoria, IL 61635
  transfertranscripts@icc.edu

Courses From Other Colleges

You may be able to transfer credits taken at another college or university, and ICC may be able to determine your placement based on your grades. Contact the college(s) you attended and ask them to send your transcript(s) to ICC by mail or email:
Attn: Enrollment Services
Illinois Central College
1 College Dr.
East Peoria, IL 61635
transfertranscripts@icc.edu

College Proficiency Tests

You may be eligible to receive ICC credit for certain courses if you’ve completed AP, CLEP, or IB exams. Check the table below for details about English and Math credit you may be able to earn.

Advanced Placement (AP)

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

International Baccalaureate (IB)

A few things you should know about earning AP, CLEP, and IB credit:

• There are additional courses for which ICC will accept AP, CLEP, IB and other proficiency tests. For complete details, see Credit for Prior Knowledge.
• Before ICC awards these credits, you must complete at least one course at ICC.
• There is a maximum number of credits you can earn from AP, CLEP, and IB.
  • If you are pursuing a degree that requires 60 credit hours or more, you can apply for up to 30 credit hours earned through AP, CLEP, or IB to earn your degree.
  • If you are pursuing a credential requiring fewer than 60 hours, a maximum of 70% of your credits can be earned through AP, CLEP, or IB.
• To earn credits for AP, CLEP, or IB, you must have official score reports sent to ICC directly from AP, CLEP, or IB. Check their websites for details.
• These credits will be indicated on your ICC transcript as other credits applied, listing the equivalent course number, title and credit hours. Grades and honor points are not assigned to these credits.

ACCUPLACER (Next Generation) Scores

If you don’t qualify for college-level courses based on any of the options described above, you will need to take the ACCUPLACER test. The ACCUPLACER covers reading and math, and you may be asked to write an essay.

Make an appointment to take the ACCUPLACER:
After you’ve submitted an admissions application to ICC, visit the Testing Center Appointments page. Under Select a service, click on ICC Accuplacer Placement Test and select the test(s) you need to take. (You probably need to take Reading & Math, but contact the Testing Center at 309-694-5234 if you have questions.) Next, select where you want to test—either at the East Peoria or Peoria campus. Finally, select the date and time you want to test and enter the required information.

A few things you should know about the ACCUPLACER test:

• Science, Engineering, and Math Majors: You will be required to place into Math 115/120 or take courses to prepare you for Math 115/120. Math 110/111/130 do not lead to Math 115/120.
• There is no time limit, but if you take both the Reading and Math tests, you should allow about 2 hours to complete testing.
• You must show a physical, valid photo ID when you come to take your test.
• There is no charge to take the ACCUPLACER if you are an ICC student.
• You can prepare for the test by:
  • Accessing the free ACCUPLACER practice questions and test taking tips
  • Accessing the free ACCUPLACER web-based study app
  • Visiting Khan Academy for free online study courses
• In most cases you will get your results immediately after finishing your test.
• You can retake the test once per year (or twice with written permission from your student success advisor or high school counselor) if you are not satisfied with your scores.

ACCUPLACER (Next Generation) Score Chart

Check the tables below for Next Generation ACCUPLACER scores.

Reading Test

WritePlacer Test

If your ACCUPLACER Reading test score is close to College Ready, you will take the WritePlacer test to have an opportunity to reach College Ready.

Math Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics Test

Math Advanced Algebra and Functions Test

Courses that May Require Additional Testing
Some courses may require additional testing. Contact the Testing Center at (309) 694-5234 or testing@icc.edu for complete details about the following courses.

• Biology 205  (Principles of Human Anatomy and Physiology I) 
  • Biology 205 requires successful completion of specific science courses or a passing score on the Anatomy and Physiology placement test.
  • If you choose to take the placement test, we strongly encourage you to prepare for the test using the Get Ready for A&P resources from Pearson Education.
    • These books are on reserve in the ICC Library on both the East Peoria and Peoria campuses.
    • You can purchase or rent the book from the ICC bookstore or from another vendor.
    • If you’ve already purchased your Biology 205 textbook through the ICC bookstore, you have an access code that includes Get Ready for A&P online resources.
    • You can also request a list of study topics by contacting the Testing Center at (309) 694-5234 or testing@icc.edu.
• Music 170 (Theory I)
  • Music 170 requires successful completion of Music 136 or a passing score on the Music Theory placement test.
  • Contact the Arts and Behavioral Sciences department at (309) 694-5113 for more information.
• Spanish 111 (Elementary Spanish II) and Spanish 210 (Intermediate Spanish I)
  • These courses require successful completion of specific Spanish courses or a passing score on the Spanish placement test.
  • Contact the Testing Center at (309) 694-5234 or testing@icc.edu for more information.