The Texas Education Code, Section 51.403(e), authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish guidelines and reporting requirements. The purpose of Chapter 4, Subchapter C, is to implement the Texas Success Initiative for Texas public institutions of higher education. This includes assessing the academic skills of each entering undergraduate student prior to enrollment.
It is the intent of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that Texas public institutions of higher education use the flexibility and responsibility granted under these rules to improve individualized programs to ensure the success of students in higher education.
TSI (Texas Success Initiative) Minimum Passing Standards
The following standardized, passing guidelines will be used by NCTC to determine a student’s readiness to enroll in courses requiring these minimum scores on approved placement tests. Students must meet the following score requirements in order to enroll in specific courses, unless other exemptions are met.
TSI or TSIA2
The TSI Assessment or TSIA2 scores must be submitted on an official transcript or in a sealed envelope from the institution’s testing facility, or students can access the Accuplacer online portal, https://studentportal.accuplacer.org/?SFMC_cid=EM106580-&rid=71147714%23/studentisr&/home#/home, to retrieve their own TSI Assessment score report for submission.
TSI Assessment
- Mathematics - score of 350
- Reading - score of 351
- Writing-Multiple Choice score of 340 with an Essay of 4, OR Multiple Choice score of 339 or lower with an Essay of 5 (scores must be earned on same test date)
TSIA2 (TSI Assessment 2)
- English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) score of 945-990 with an Essay of 5-8, OR score of 910-944 with a diagnostic score of 5-6 and an Essay of 5-8 (scores must be earned on same test date)
- Math score of 950-990, OR a score of 910-949 with a diagnostic of 6
TSI Placement Test Standards
The following assessments previously utilized in the state of Texas may be used for TSI purposes when on an official college transcript from another Texas public institution showing complete coursework (including Withdrawals) prior to Fall 2013.
ASSET*
- Reading Skills - 41
- College Algebra - 46
- Writing Skills (objective) - 40
- Written Essay - 6
COMPASS*
- Reading Skills - 81
- Algebra - 60
- Writing Skills (objective) - 59 if Essay score of 5 or higher
- Written Essay - 6
ACCUPLACER*
- Reading Comprehension - 78
- Elementary Algebra - 64
- Sentence Skills- 80
- Written Essay - 6
THEA*
- Reading - 230
- Mathematics - 270
- Writing - 220
The minimum passing standard for the written essay portion of ASSET, COMPASS, ACCUPLACER, or THEA is a score of 6. However, an essay with a score of 5 will meet this standard if the student meets the objective writing test standard.
*It is important to note that alternative test scores (ASSET, COMPASS, THEA, and ACCUPLACER) will not be used by NCTC unless the scores are submitted on an official IN-STATE transcript.
Students who do not meet minimum passing standards for any section of the TSI Assessment, TSIA2, or other alternative tests will need to enroll in preparatory coursework for that area. Students need to enroll in at least one preparatory and/or integrated course each semester until all remediation has been completed or retesting on the TSIA2 has resulted in a new minimum passing score. If more than one subject area of remediation is required, students can be enrolled in more than one preparatory class in the same semester as well as any eligible college-level courses.
Regular and punctual attendance is expected of students enrolled in all classes, both preparatory and college-level, and instructors have the right to drop any student from a course in which the student has excessive absences. Students must complete all required preparatory courses with a “C” or better before proceeding to college-level course work in that subject area.
Students that have not passed a portion of the TSI Assessment or TSIA2 may be enrolled in an integrated course that includes a credit, college-level course paired with preparatory, developmental support (ex. INRW or NCBM courses). Students are expected to attend and participate in both parts of the integrated course and must successfully complete the credit, college-level portion of the course with a “D” or better in order to satisfy TSI requirements in that content area (regardless of passing the INRW or NCBM paired support class).
NOTE: It is strongly encouraged that students who do not pass the Reading or ELAR section of their placement test enroll in the preparatory Integrated Reading/ Writing class during their first semester.
If students so choose, they may retest on the TSIA2 at any point during the semester in order to potentially place out of their current level of remediation. The student will then be eligible to proceed to the next level of course work in the next available semester for the subject areas in which the student received a higher score. Students should contact the Testing Center at their preferred NCTC campus to schedule an appointment for retesting on the TSIA2.
TSI Exemptions
The following students are exempt from TSI testing, currently called the TSIA2*:
- Students who have graduated with an Associate’s degree or higher from an accredited institution within the U.S.
- Students who earned a degree outside the U.S. must submit transcripts accompanied by a general evaluation completed by an accredited service. The evaluation must verify their degree to be the equivalent of an associate degree or higher earned at an accredited institution within the U.S. A list of accredited evaluation services may be found at www.naces.org/members.
- Students who are enrolled in a certificate program of one year or less. Level I certificates are programs of one year or less that require at least 15 but no more than 42 semester credit hours. However, students are not exempt from TSI if they take courses that are not included in the Level I certificate.
- Students who are serving on active duty as a member of the U.S. armed forces, or serve as a member of a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces, or National Guard for at least three years preceding enrollment. All TSI rules apply when the student is discharged from the military.
- Students who were honorably discharged, released, or retired from active duty as a member of the U.S. armed forces, the Texas National Guard, on or after August 1, 1990.
- Students who transfer from private or out-of-state institutions may use transferred courses for which college credit is earned in the areas of Reading, Mathematics, and Writing. A list of equivalent NCTC courses is provided in the section below, Courses Requiring or Exempting TSI.
- Students who successfully complete a college preparatory course under Texas Education Code, Section 28.014, is exempt for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of high school graduation with respect to the content area of the course. The student must enroll in the student’s first college-level course in the exempted content area in the student’s first year of enrollment in an institution of higher education. This exemption applies only at the institution of higher education that partners with the school district in which the student is enrolled to provide the course. Additionally, an institution of higher education may enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with a partnering institution of higher education to accept the exemption for the college preparatory course.
- Students who have previously attended any Texas Public Institution and had been determined to have met readiness standards by that institution.
- Students with the following scores can be exempt from the TSI if scores were earned no more than 5 years prior to the date of enrollment. Partial exemptions are available on tests taken on or after April 2004. Students who complete Texas College Bridge and provide TSI exemption documentation for Reading/Writing and/or Math submitted by ISD/high school will be TSI exempt in the designated area.
- ACT administered prior to February 15, 2023: composite score of 23 AND a minimum of 19 on the English test will exempt a student for both Reading and Writing or ELAR sections; composite score of 23 AND a minimum of 19 on the Mathematics test will exempt a student for the Mathematics section. Note that all scores must have been earned on the same test date.
- ACT administered on or after February 15, 2023: a combined score of 40 on the English and Reading (E+R) tests will exempt a student for both Reading and Writing or ELAR sections; and/or a 22 on the Mathematics test will exempt a student from the Mathematics section. There is no composite score required for ACT tests administered after February 15, 2023.
- SAT administered prior to March 5, 2016: composite score of 1070 AND at least 500 on Critical Reading will exempt a student from the Reading and Writing or ELAR sections; composite score of 1070 AND a score of 500 on Mathematics will exempt a student from the Mathematics section. Note that all scores must have been earned on the same test date.
- SAT administered on or after March 5, 2016: score of 480 on EBRW (Evidence-Based Reading and Writing) will exempt a student from Reading and Writing or ELAR sections; and/or a 530 on Math will exempt a student from the Mathematics section. There is no composite score required for SAT tests administered after March 5, 2016.
- TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills): minimum scale score of 2200 on the English Language Arts section with a Writing subsection score of 3 (scores must be earned on the same test date) will exempt a student from Reading and Writing or ELAR sections; and/or minimum scale score of 2200 on the Mathematics section will exempt a student from the Mathematics section.
- STAAR End-Of-Course Exam (EOC): score of 2000 on Reading and 2000 on Writing (scores must be earned on the same test date) or 4000 if score is combined on the English III EOC taken during the 11th grade year will exempt a student from Reading and Writing or ELAR; and/or a 4000 on the Algebra II EOC taken during the 11th grade year will exempt a student from the Mathematics section.
- GED or HiSET: score of 165 on GED Reasoning through Language Arts or 15 on both HiSET Reading and Writing subtest with a 4 on the essay (scores must be earned on the same test date) will exempt a student for both Reading and Writing or ELAR sections; and/or a 165 on GED Mathematical Reasoning or score of 15 on HiSET Mathematics subtest will exempt a student from the Mathematics section. GED scores are valid for a period of five years, HiSET scores must have been earned before 9/1/2021 and are also valid for five years.
An accepted TSIA2 placement test is also required of all Dual Credit/Early Admission students from area high schools unless they meet other exemptions. See Dual Credit Admission requirements for more information.
Courses Requiring or Exempting TSI
Students who do not meet any of the TSI exemptions listed above and/or the minimum passing scores on any accepted form of TSI placement testing will not be able to enroll in the following courses until required preparatory or integrated coursework has been completed, or a passing score is earned on the TSIA2. Additionally, students who have completed coursework with a “D” or better in the following subject areas from an accredited institution meeting NCTC’s transfer work requirements will be partially or completely exempt from TSIA2 placement testing.
Writing*
ENGL 1301 Composition I
ENGL 1302 Composition II
ENGL 2311 Technical & Business Writing
Any sophomore-level Literature
*Must have approved transfer coursework in BOTH Writing AND Reading to be exempt from the new TSIA2 English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) section of the statewide placement test.
Reading*
ANTH 2346 General Anthropology
ANTH 2351 Cultural Anthropology
ENGL 1301 Composition I
ENGL 1302 Composition II
HIST 1301 United States History I
HIST 1302 United States History II
HIST 2301 Texas History
HIST 2321 World Civilizations I
HIST 2322 World Civilizations II
HUMA 1301 Introduction to the Humanities I
Any sophomore-level Literature
PSYC 2301 Introduction to General Psychology
PSYC 2314 Lifespan Growth & Development
PSYC 2319 Social Psychology
PSYC 2320 Abnormal Psychology
PSYC 2330 Biological Psychology
GOVT 2306 Texas Government - Texas Constitution Topics
GOVT 2305 Federal Government - Federal Constitution & Topics
PHIL 1301 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 2303 Introduction to Formal Logic
PHIL 2306 Introduction to Ethics
SOCI 1301 Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 1306 Social Problems
SOCI 2301 Marriage and the Family
SOCI 2319 Minority Studies
SOCI 2326 Social Psychology
*Must have approved transfer coursework in BOTH Reading AND Writing to be exempt from the new TSIA2 English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) section of the statewide placement test.
Math
MATH 1314 College Algebra
MATH 1316 Plane Trigonometry
MATH 1324 Mathematics for Business & Social Sciences
MATH 1325 Calculus for Business & Social Sciences
MATH 1332 Contemporary Mathematics
MATH 1342 Elementary Statistical Methods
MATH 2412 Pre-Calculus Math (or any sophomore-level Calculus course)
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