Spring Placement Exams
All Online Placement Exams should be completed by January 11.
Why take a placement exam?
Placement exams help identify the courses appropriate for your experience level. We recommend that you take a placement exam for every subject about which you think you have sufficient mastery.
Completion of a placement exam at a certain level enables you to skip the introductory (or even second-year) course in some departments. Exams that identify placement at second- or third-year language levels can also be important in satisfying a language requirement.
It is helpful to take your placement exams as soon as they are offered for the following reasons:
- You will want to make sure your scores are available for your first advising appointment and before registration.
- Placement exam results last for your entire Reed career, so you are encouraged to take relevant placement exam(s) as soon as possible (while your memory of the material is fresh), even if you don't expect to take the course until later.
Credit is not granted for placement exams or for the course you do not have to take.
If you don’t take a placement exam, you can still take introductory-level courses in that subject. You can discuss this with your adviser during your first advising session.
Placement Exam Subjects
Placement exams are offered in the following subjects:
- Ancient Greek
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Computer Science
- Economics
- French
- German
- Latin
- Music Theory
- Russian
- Spanish
How to take a placement exam
If you are interested in taking a placement exam, please contact the respective department chair.
Several of the placement exams are administered on Moodle, which is Reed's learning management system. You will use Moodle for your courses at Reed and can access the system using your Reed username and password.
If you have questions about using Moodle or accessing the exams directed by the department chair, contact Instructional Technology Services at its@reed.edu.
Regardless of whether you are taking a placement exam, we encourage you to read more about how to use this important tool prior to classes. An introduction to Moodle is available from Reed’s Instructional Technology Services.
Exam results
Your exam results will be posted on your IRIS account. Check under “Student Information” and then the “Exams/Placement” tab.
If you are taking one of the placement exams administered online, please complete them prior to Orientation so that your results can be available for your advising appointment. If you would like to take a lower or higher-level course than indicated by the results, you are welcome to discuss this with the department chair for that subject.
The language tests focus on reading comprehension and grammar. For modern languages, if you have doubts about your speaking ability, contact the department chair.
Accommodation information
Reed College is committed to creating a learning environment that meets the needs of its diverse student body. If you anticipate or experience any barriers to completing the placement exams, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Testing accommodations for placements (such as extended time or a reduced distraction testing space) can be requested by filling out the placement exam accommodation request form. Please fill out the form before January 6, to allow time to get your accommodations in place. Once you have completed the form, staff from Disability & Accessibility Resources will review your request and may reach out to you if they need more information regarding your needs.
For more questions reach out to dar@reed.edu.
Questions
If you have additional questions, please contact reedorientation@reed.edu.