Placement Testing


Course Placement:

East Central College (ECC) uses multiple measures to advise and enroll students into the reading, writing, and math classes, according to the Placement Test guide below.

When can I test?

The test will not be offered on days that the college is closed (including national holidays and closure due to inclement weather).  Please visit the ECC website for information on campus closures.

Where can I test?

The test is offered in Union and Rolla. Process and availability for walk-ins and appointments vary by location. For more information, call the sites directly.

  • Union Student Services: 636-584-6588
  • Rolla Student Services: 573-466-4100

How much does the test cost?

  • The Initial test is free to all incoming ECC students
  • To re-take the test, the fees are $10.00 per section, and you must wait 24 hours after the initial test.
  • Students attending another institution
    • Students seeking to take the Accuplacer Test for another institution should contact the ECC Testing Center (Union, MO) at 636-584-6550 for further instructions. There is also a $20.00 proctoring fee required.

What do I need to bring to the test?

Please arrive early and bring a current, government-issued, photo ID.

Prep Help

The Learning Center offers Test Prep sessions that utilize sample test questions from Accuplacer and provide helpful tips to help you better prepare. Students are encouraged to attend a test preparation session offered in the Learning Center to help maximize their scores. As an extra incentive, students who attend a review session will have their $10.00 re-take fee waived. These sessions are offered as a group or as individual sessions. Please call 636-584-6688 for more information. Additional study courses and materials are available online through the Learning Center site.  Once a course sequence has begun, students are no longer eligible to re-test using Accuplacer. Please see Test-Out Policy below for further options.

Summer Bridge courses are free, non-credit, week-long courses offered to students whose placement test scores indicate they need additional preparation before taking college-level classes. The Summer Bridge courses combine diagnostic assessment, directed curriculum and retesting, in hopes to improve placement. Ideally, students who complete these courses will move more quickly into college-level classes and use less financial aid and/or out-of-pocket money in the process.

Test-Out Policy

Departmental Examination: Students who demonstrate a high level of proficiency within a subject area may petition the academic discipline or program faculty for credit by examination or review. If this petition is approved, discipline or program faculty would prepare an appropriate measure (test or other instruments) of proficiency to qualify the student. Upon completion of the examination, the student and faculty member will complete and sign a Recommendation for Credit by Departmental Examination and forward it to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for approval.

Posting Fee: Students will be assessed a fee to post Departmental Examinations. The fee is equivalent to one credit hour of in-district tuition at ECC. The student will receive correspondence from the Registrar’s office once appropriate documentation (official transcript, score report, faculty recommendation) has been reviewed. Credits will be posted to the transcript upon notification of payment from Financial Services.

*Students only have ONE attempt to test out of a course using a departmental exam for credit by examination. For additional attempts, please see other credit by examination options that can be found on the Registration page.