Testing Services

Contact Us

Rooms: C-Building, C-460 & C-428
Phone: (718) 482-5146
testing@lagcc.cuny.edu

Monday and Thursday  9 a.m.- 7 p.m. 
Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. 

Testing Lab
Room: C-Building, C-445

Get directions to campus.

The Office of Testing Services provides a secure, professional testing environment that promotes honesty and integrity and enables your success. We are committed to maintaining compliance with the nationally recognized, professional testing standards and
practices, safeguarding confidentiality of student records and creating an optimal testing experience.

After you receive your letter of admission and accept your admission to the College, the Office of Testing Services will contact you directly if you are required to take an Accuplacer ESL to determine your writing placement level at LaGuardia.

Students are considered proficient in writing if they can document any one of the following:

  • SAT I verbal score of 480 or higher or Critical Reading score of 480 or higher
  • ACT English score of 20 or higher
  • N.Y. State English Regents score of 75 or higher


Note: To be eligible to register for the first college-level composition course (ENG 101), students must be proficient in writing.

As of the Spring 2023 semester, all new students who have been identified as potential ESL will be required to take the Accuplacer ESL test and will be notified by the college. The Accuplacer ESL test will determine a student’s writing level at the college.

The overall test is untimed and has five components:

  • Writeplacer (60 minutes)
  • Reading
  • Language use
  • Listening
  • Sentence meaning

The first three components are used to determine a student’s placement into the appropriate English or ESL level course. Students will receive a composite score that will determine their course placement.

For more information about the Accuplacer ESL test please review CUNY’s Testing FAQ section

The ATB (Ability to Benefit) test may be require by TAP if you did not graduate in the United States. You should speak with a financial aid specialist to determine whether you need to take this exam and when you can take the test.

The ATB demonstrates that you have been tested to meet New York State eligibility for TAP state aid and tests you in reading, writing, and math. It does not affect your CUNY entrance grades or placement.

Students must achieve or exceed the following scores on the listed Ability to Benefit (ATB) test:

Passing ATB scores prior to September 28, 2020:

  • Sentence skills – 60
  • Reading – 55
  • Math – 34

Passing ATB scores as of September 28, 2020:

  • Writing – 235
  • Reading – 233
  • Math – 230

Students that pass the test should check with the Financial Aid Office to confirm award disbursement.

Students who do not achieve the minimum required scores on the tests are permitted to retest as soon as 14 days from the date of the previous test.

Students who tested in writing placement (CATW) at another CUNY school and scored below a 56 but plan on attending LaGuardia are required to take local writing exam to determine their English placement at LaGuardia.

  • Timed 100-minute exam.
  • One topic to prepare a brief writing sample to be evaluated by English faculty

Students math proficiency will be evaluated by the Admissions Office during the admittance process. Students’ Regents, SAT, and ACT scores will determine proficiency. If students don’t meet minimum proficiency scores based on their Regents, SAT, and ACT scores, their high school GPA and grades in Math courses will determine their placement.

  • SAT Math score of 500 or higher
  • SAT Math Section (exam date March 2016 and thereafter), score of 530 or higher
  • ACT Math score of 21 or higher
  • NY State Regents:
    • Common Core Regents: Score of 70 or higher in Algebra I or a score of 70 or higher in Geometry or a score of 65 or higher in Algebra 2.
    • Score of 80 or higher in Integrated Algebra or Geometry or Algebra 2/Trigonometry AND successful completion of the Algebra 2/Trigonometry or higher-level course.
    • Score of 75 or higher in one of the following:
      • Math A or Math B
      • Sequential II or Sequential III

If math proficiency cannot be determined based on the above, students will be eligible to take a self-reporting math placement survey. Contact the Testing Office to schedule an appointment to take the placement survey.


You may bring a non-electronic dictionary to the test (paperback is recommended), bilingual if preferred.

Students who do not achieve the required scores on SAT, ACT, or New York State Regents Exams can satisfy the proficiency requirements with:

  • an English proficiency index score of 65 or higher
  • a Math proficiency index score of 60 or higher
  • Students with a 3-credit college-level English course with a grade of “C” or better from an accredited college or university are considered proficient in writing.
  • Students with a 3-credit college-level math course with a grade of “C” or better from an accredited college or university are considered proficient in math at all colleges.

All students who wish to transfer from a CUNY associate program to a CUNY bachelor’s program must meet the college’s proficiency requirement in reading, writing and mathematics to be admitted:

  • Students with a 3-credit college-level English course with a grade of “C” or better from a CUNY college are considered proficient in reading and writing.
  • Students who have successfully completed Elementary Algebra or a 3 credit college-level math course at a CUNY college are considered proficient in math.

For more information on testing placement and how to prepare for a test please visit CUNY Testing.


FAQ’s

New Students

You can request an evaluation online or in person at the Transfer Credit Evaluation Office in Room C-102.

Placement test results will be posted in your LaGuardia VIP. The Testing Office does not give out scores. Your advisor can explain how placement scores will determine the courses you need to take during your first semester at LaGuardia.

Your personalized LaGuardia VIP page provides you with all the information you need to get started at LaGuardia.

Scores will be available one week after your test date. The Testing Office does not give out scores. Placement test results will be posted on your LaGuardia VIP page.

• Contact the Student Information Center at (718) 482-5000 or 
• Email testing@lagcc.cuny.edu or 
• Reschedule through your LaGuardia VIP page

No, at this time we are not offering proctoring services.

Local Writing Tests: Students who do not have a Proficiency Index (PI) score or a PI score that has not been generated or no exemptions information based on Regents, SAT, are required to take a local writing exam to determine their English placement at LaGuardia.

  • Timed 100-minute exam.
  • One topic to prepare a brief writing sample to be evaluated by English faculty.

New students are eligible to retake the Accuplacer ESL exams if they meet ALL of the following requirements:

  • Two years or more since their initial or last placement exam.
  • Haven’t attended any CUNY college in the past two years.

Note: If you previously tested and passed one or more parts of the placement exam you will not need to retest in that area.

Department Contacts

NamePhone
Alex Abramov, Director of Testing(718) 482-6014
Joelle Bonny, Associate Director of Testing(718) 482-5218
Jessica Korenstein, Testing Coordinator(718) 482-5164
Elsy Lopez, IT Support Assistant(718) 482-5109
Adrell McDonald, IT Support Assistant(718) 482-5175
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