Testing Center
06/01/2023: Virtual placement exams for College Success math and writing end July 1.
05/12/2023: The Testing Center will be closed for in-person exams on May 22 - 26 and June 13. Students may still register for and complete virtual placement exams.
05/08/2023: Summer break begins. The Testing Center will maintain its normal business hours of 9am - 5pm.
Students with testing accommodations or who need to make up missed exams are welcome to use our proctoring services. Faculty must submit the test requests at least 3 days in advance of the exam.
We are a certified HiSET® testing center and proctor the exam on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.
4-year degree seeking students who need to place into a math course will complete an unproctored attempt, then the learning modules, and end with a proctored second attempt for an official placement score. Each exam consists of 30 adaptive questions with a 2.5-hour time limit, and the required leaning modules are untimed. After completing the second round, students may retake ALEKS up to 3 more times if they are dissatisfied with their score, but must wait at least 48 hours in-between sessions. It is strongly recommended that students complete the ALEKS exam online.
2-year degree seeking students who need to place into a math course and all students who need to place into a writing course will take a College Success placement exam. Each exam may be taken twice with a 24-hour "cool off" period in between sessions if students are dissatisfied with their scores. Students can place into any math class from M065 (Pre-Algebra) to M121 (College Algebra), and WRIT 100 or WRIT 101/121 for writing. The math assessment consists of 30 questions with a 60-minute time limit, while the writing assessment is one essay question with a 90-minute time limit.
While Montana Tech no longer uses Accuplacer for placement exams, students with a voucher may contact Barb Collins at 406-496-3791.
There is a one-time flat proctor fee $25 that covers all placement exams. Fees can be paid in-person at our Business Office or over the phone at 406-496-4250. Fees for Distance Learning exams from other institutions will be negotiated by the proctor and the student.
ALEKS PPL charges an additional $5 fee if students take their exam virtually. Likewise, ProctorU also charges a fee if students sign up to take a virtual College Success exam within 72 hours of creating an account. It is recommended that students schedule College Success exam(s) on ProctorU for least 3 days after they make an account. These fees are not negotiated by us and are thus seperate from our Testing Center's proctor fee.
College Success offers practice tests for writing and math to help students prepare for their placement exam.
EdReady allows students to assess their readiness for college math and/or writing by providing students with a personalized study path.
Most students must take the College Success writing placement exam. Students enrolled in a 4 year degree program at Montana Tech will take the ALEKS PPL placement exam for math, while students in a 2 year degree program at Highlands College can take the College Success math placement exam.
Placement exams are required for course registration unless an exception was made during the admissions process. Your admissions representative or academic advisor can tell you which placement exams are required for you to take after you submit your test scores, grades, in-progress schedule, and/or Dual credit/AP courses.
The first unproctored attempt allows students to get a feel for the placement test and see where they are at with math. The exam tests students on a mix of mathematical knowledge from algebra to calculus.
The Prep and Learning modules are individualized and adaptive, formualted based on how students perform on the initial assessment. The modules allow students to review topics that may have been forgotten or need polished. They also include knowledge checks, which will provide students with feedback on what they may need more help with to address knowledge gaps.
The second proctored attempt will occur after students have refreshed their math skills and knowledge so that their score accurately reflects how prepared they are for college math courses as well as where they should be placed.
For ALEKS, make sure you've entered the right class code and password. If the password for your own account isn't taking, try resetting it. If the problem persists, contact their Customer and Technical Support directly.
For College Success, all required codes are on the confirmation email sent out upon proof of payment. If you want to re-take the writing assessment virtually, ask your virtual proctor to reach out to us to recieve the link for the writing retake. We are in the process of re-evaluating our third-party proctoring platform, so it is highly recommended that students take the College Success placement exam in-person at our campus.
On-campus placement exams are held in our Testing Center during normal business hours of 9 am - 5pm from Monday to Friday, excluding holidays. The Testing Center is located in the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) within the Student Success Center (SSC). Please check-in at the front desk.
Virtual placement exams are taken with third-party partners. ALEKS has their own online proctoring platform, while Tech contracts with ProctorU for College Success exams. These exams can be done in any location at any time, so long as the student has a computer with a working webcam for ProctorU exams, and/or can download Respondus LockDown Browser for ALEKS exams.
We are located in the Student Success Center (SSC), room 3.136.
HiSET® and Distance Learning Exams: +1 406-496-4477
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid: +1 800-445-8324