Exemption List

The following students are exempt from 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.

• Any student wishing to enroll in a certificate program. Level I certificates are programs of one year or less that require at least 15 but no more than 42 semester credit hours.

• 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 Transfer section.

• Students with the following scores (partial exemptions available on tests taken on or after April 2004):

ACT: Composite score of 23; at least 19 on both English and/or Math portions. Note that scores must have been earned in one sitting within the past five years.

SAT: New SAT: 530 on Math and 480 on EBRW (Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing), no composite score. Old SAT: composite score of 1070 and at least 500 on Critical Reading and/or 500 on Math for tests taken after April 1995. Note that all scores must have been earned in one sitting within the past five years. Other scores apply to SAT tests taken before April 1995.

TAKS: For a period of five years from the date of testing, a student who is tested and performs at or above the following standards of the Eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) may be exempted for the corresponding section: minimum scale score of 2200 on the mathematics section, minimum scale score of 2200 on the English Language Arts section with a writing subsection score of 3.

STAAR: End-Of-Course (EOC): (End of Course Exam) English III - taken during the 11th-grade year, a score of 2000 on Reading and 2000 on Writing, or 4000 if the score is combined; EOC Algebra II - taken during the 11th-grade year, a score of 4000.

GED or HiSET: Score of 165 on GED Mathematical Reasoning or score of 15 on HiSET Mathematics subtest=exempt from Math TSIA2 testing. Score of 165 on GED Reasoning Through Language Arts or 15 on BOTH HiSET Reading and Writing subtest with a 4 on the essay=exempt from Reading/Writing (ELAR) TSIA2 testing. 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.

* These rules are subject to change by the Texas Legislature.

An accepted TSIA2 placement test is also required of all dual credit/early admission students from area high schools unless they are exempt. See Dual Credit Admission requirements for more information. 

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 placement/TSIA2 testing.

Writing*

ENGL 1301 Composition I
ENGL 1302 Composition II
ENGL 2311 Technical 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 US History to 1865
HIST 1302 US History from 1865
HIST 2301 Texas History
HIST 2321 World Civilizations I
HIST 2322 World Civilizations II
HUMA 1301 Intro. to Humanities
Any sophomore-level Literature
PSYC 2301 General Psychology
PSYC 2314 Lifespan Growth & Development
PSYC 2319 Social Psychology
PSYC 2320 Abnormal Psychology
PSYC 2330 Biological Psychology
GOVT 2306 Texas Government
GOVT 2305 Federal Government
PHIL 1301 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 2303 Introduction to Logic
PHIL 2306 Introduction to Ethics
SOCI 1301 Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 1306 Contemporary Social Problems
SOCI 2301 Marriage & Family Relations
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 I
MATH 1342 Elementary Statistics
MATH 2412 Pre-Calculus (or any sophomore-level Calculus course)

The following minimum passing standards shall be used by NCTC to determine a student's readiness to enroll in freshman-level academic coursework. Official score reports or scores located on official transcripts are accepted for TSI or TSIA2 placement tests. ASSET, COMPASS, ACCUPLACER or THEA test scores may be used for TSI purposes when on an official in-state college transcript from a Texas public institution, along with coursework prior to Fall 2013.

TSIA2 (TSI Assessment 2)

• English Language Arts & Reading of 945-990 with an essay of 5-8 or 910-944 with a diagnostic score of 5-6 and an essay of 5-8

• Math score of 950-990 or a score of 910-949 with a diagnostic of 6

TSI Assessment

• Mathematics - 350

• Reading - 351

• Multiple Choice score of 340 with an essay of 4 or Multiple Choice of 339 or lower with an essay of 5

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 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.

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 to retrieve their own TSI Assessment score report for submission.

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 remediation for that area. Students need to enroll in at least one area of remediation each semester until all remediation has been completed or retesting on the TSIA2 has placed a student at college-level. 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. Students are expected to attend and participate in both parts of the integrated course, and must successfully complete the credit portion of the course in order to satisfy TSI requirements in that content area.

NOTE: It is strongly encouraged that students who do not pass the Reading 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 campus to schedule an appointment for testing or retesting on the TSIA2.

Students who do not pass/meet minimum standards/passing scores in one or more sections of the TSIA2 will be prohibited from enrolling in the following courses:

TSIA2-passing score on English Language Arts Reading, or passing score on READING from previously accepted placement tests are required to enroll in ANTH 2346 General Anthropology, ANTH 2351, ENGL 1301, ENGL 1302, HIST 1301, HIST 1302, HIST 2301, HIST 2321, HIST 2322, HUMA 1301, PSYC 2301, PSYC 2314, PSYC 2319, PSYC 2320, PSYC 2330, GOVT 2306, GOVT 2305, PHIL 1301, PHIL 2303, PHIL 2306, SOCI 1301, SOCI 1306, SOCI 2301, SOCI 2319, SOCI 2326 and any sophomore-level Literature course.

TSIA2-passing score on English Language Arts Reading, or passing score on WRITING from previously accepted placement tests are required to enroll in ENGL 1301, ENGL 1302, ENGL 2311, or any sophomore-level Literature course.

TSIA2 or previously accepted placement tests passing scores are required to enroll in ANY eligible college-level Math.

1. If a student passed the previous version of the TSI Math test then that score is valid for 5 years and retesting on the new TSIA2 is not required. If their previous TSI scores are not passing then they can be placed in the appropriate NCBM-paired course based on their intended major/pathway OR retest on the Math portion of the new TSIA2.

2. If a student passed the Reading portion of the previous TSI test but NOT the Writing, they ARE eligible to take any TSI Reading-only liable course (listed above). However they are NOT able to take ENGL 1301 until they test and pass the TSIA2 English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) section since ENGL requires TSI college readiness in both Reading and Writing which can now only be earned by passing the new TSIA2 ELAR section.

   A student cannot use their previous TSI multiple choice score in Writing and combine with the essay section of the new TSIA2 ELAR, or vice versa. The TSIA2 ELAR section must be taken in its entirety.

3. If a student passed the Writing portion of the previous TSI but NOT the Reading, they are NOT eligible to take any Reading or Writing TSI liable courses until they test and pass the TSIA2 English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) in its entirety.

Additionally, students with an approved ACT or SAT Math score can enroll directly into the following courses.

• CHEM 1411 General Chemistry I

• MATH 1316 Trigonometry

• MATH 1325 Business Calculus

• MATH 2412 Pre-Calculus

Students meeting one or more of the above-listed exemptions must meet with an advisor in order to enroll in any of these courses. ACT or SAT Math scores must be on file with the NCTC Admissions Office for advisors to verify eligibility and assist with enrollment. Students who have either of these approved test scores from a previous institution must submit their scores either on an official transcript or official score report.