The Developmental Reading
& English Placement Test
Matt Bruining
NC DAP DRE History…
• NC DAP DRE – North Carolina Diagnostic and Placement Developmental Reading & English
• The NC DAP is a custom assessment that aligns directly to the state’s new developmental curricula.
• The Developmental Education Initiative’s State Policy Team recommended creation of the NC DAP in 2011
in order to create a more robust tool to accurately identify students’ developmental needs.
• State Board of Community Colleges approved a contract with College Board in 2012.
• The Reading & English assessment was made available to early adopter “pilot” colleges the first week of
April 2014.
• CPCC was one of the first to pilot the NC DAP.
• NC colleges were required to use it for placement in Spring 2015.
What is the DRE…
 The
DRE is made up of three sections

WritePlacer (essay)

Reading (multiple choice)

Revising & Editing (multiple choice)
• Computer based test
• Not a pass/fail test
• Scores help determine if a student is
ready for college-level courses
WritePlacer (Written Essay)
• The WritePlacer test measures your ability to write effectively,
which is critical to academic success. Your writing sample will be
scored on the basis of how effectively it communicates a whole
message to the readers for the stated purpose. Your score is based
on your ability to express, organize and support your opinions and
ideas, not the position you take on the essay topic.
• The essay is computer scored.
WritePlacer…
• The following five characteristics of writing will be considered:
 Purpose and Focus: The extent to which the writer presents information in a unified and
coherent manner, clearly addressing the issue.
 Organization and Structure: The extent to which the writer orders and connects ideas.
 Development and Support: The extent to which the writer develops and supports ideas.
 Sentence Variety and Style: The extent to which the writer crafts sentences and paragraphs
demonstrating control of vocabulary, voice, and structure.
 Mechanical Conventions: The extent to which the writer expresses ideas using standard English.
 Critical Thinking: The extent to which the writer communicates a point of view and
demonstrates reasoned relationships among ideas.
WritePlacer Instructions…
The essay gives you an opportunity to show how
effectively you can develop and express your ideas in
writing.
You will first read a short passage and an assignment
question that are focused on an important issue. You
will then plan and write a multi-paragraph essay (300600 words) in which you develop your own point of view
on the issue. You should support your position with
appropriate reasoning and examples. The position you
take will not influence your score.
Your essay will be given a holistic score that represents
how clearly and effectively you expressed your position.
Essay will be scored a zero if it’s too short or off topic.
Reading…
• The reading consists of 30 multiple choice questions.
• Measures your ability to understand what you read, to identify main ideas
and to make inferences. You need to distinguish between direct
statements and secondary or supporting ideas.
Topics include:

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

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Main Idea/Summary
Supporting Detail/Paraphrase
Vocabulary
Organization
Inference
Point of View, Fact-Opinion, and Bias (paired passages)
Purpose/Tone
Author’s Use of Language
Revising & Editing…
• The revising & editing consists of 20 multiple choice questions.
• Measures your understanding of sentence structure — what makes a
sentence complete and clear. Some questions deal with the logic of
the sentence, and others with the relationships between two
sentences
Topics include:

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Transitions
Sentence Combining
Revising Sentences, Inserting Sentences, and Deleting Sentences
Topic Sentences, Thesis Statements, and Concluding Sentences
Grammar, Mechanics, Sentence Structure, and Word Choice
Time…
The DRE is primarily an untimed placement test. The WritePlacer
essay is the only component that has a maximum time limit of 2
hours. Otherwise, students can take as much time as needed to
complete the test.
The Average Time Limit to complete the DRE
 WritePlacer essay = 30 min.
 Reading/Revising and Editing Writing = 1 hr.
Scoring…
• WritePlacer scored on 1-8 scale
• Reading and Revising & Editing score range:100-200
• Each component is assigned a “weight” that is factored into the final
score.
• All 3 scores are used to generate an overall composite score
• A composite score of 151 or higher indicates college-level readiness
• Scores are valid for 5 years
• Scores are transferable to other colleges
WritePlacer
30%
Reading
50%
Revising &
Editing
20%
Automated Essay Scoring…
• WritePlacer essays are electronically scored by the Intelligent Essay Assessor (IEA) that is
powered by the Knowledge Analysis Technologies (KAT) engine.
• IEA reads lots of text in order to learn what words mean and how they relate to each other
• IEA evaluates the meaning of text, not just grammatical correctness or spelling and evaluates
the content of what is written rather than just matching keywords.
• Essays are occasionally reported as “pending”
• Requires human reader to hand score
• Requires 24 hours to be entered into the system
Placement…
DRE Composite Score
Course Placement
151 or higher
ENG 111
136-150
DRE 098
117-135
DRE 097
104-116
DRE 096
103 or lower (and not college
level in any other measure of
reading or English – ie TABE)
Refer student to College &
Career Readiness for further
assessment
Practice! Practice! Practice…
• Students should provide themselves an appropriate
amount of time to study.
• Essential part of successful testing.
• Get an idea of what the actual test is like.
• Review & Practice Material: Found on Testing Center
website (www.cpcc.edu/testing_assessment).
Retest Policy…
Students have the option to retake the entire placement
test or retake the following separate sections:
 Reading/Revising and Editing
 WritePlacer essay
• Retest eligibility
• May retest once per year
• Must score 70% or higher on English or reading online practice test
• Must compose practice essay based on prompt
• Practice tests and essay prompt available from testing center website
• $10 fee
Sign up…
• Go to:
http://www.cpcc.edu/testing_assessment
Click “Schedule your Placement Test
Here”
Follow the steps provided
Questions?
Central Campus
CENTRAL HIGH - ROOM 248
P.O. BOX 35009
CHARLOTTE, NC 28235
Phone: (704) 330-6886
Fax (704) 330-6620
EMAIL: Testingcenter@cpcc.edu