Ability to Benefit (ATB)

The Ability to Benefit (ATB) testing requirement is for students who are seeking financial aid awards under the state's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent (GED) from a United States high school. The Office of Admissions will notify students who are required to take the examination, and the Testing Center will provide information regarding the testing appointment.

How to fulfill the ATB Requirement:

If required, you must take and achieve the minimum cut scores established in Reading Comprehension, Sentence Skills and Arithmetic by the first day of classes for a particular term to be certified for an award for that term.

Students who do not achieve the minimum cut scores on any part of the test upon initial testing are eligible to be retested after receiving an intervention. However, retesting must be completed within the same time period before the first day of classes. Students who test and meet the cut scores after the deadline will receive their TAP award for the following semester.

Cut scores on the Accuplacer (ATB) tests:

The Accuplacer platform has changed the way grades are calculated for the ATB exam. Classic Accuplacer has been retired, which consisted of the following passing scores:
 
Arithmetic: 34
Reading:  55
Sentence Skills:  60

 
The Accuplacer platform will now use the Next Generation components for the ATB exam.  The passing scores are as follows:
 
Reading: 233
Arithmetic:    230
Writing: 235

 
If you have taken Classic Accuplacer exams and passed one or more parts, they will still be counted towards your ATB eligibility.  You will still need to take the Next Generation component to complete the three parts of the ATB exam in order to be certified for TAP.
 
For example, if you have taken and passed Classic Accuplacer Arithmetic and Reading, but failed Sentence Skills; you will now take the Next Generation Sentence Skills exam to complete the three components for your ATB eligibility. 

RETESTING POLICY AS OF 09/06/2022:  STUDENTS WHO DID NOT PASS ANY COMPONENT OF THE ATB EXAM IS ELIGIBLE TO RETEST 14 CALENDAR DAYS AFTER THE PREVIOUS FAILED ATTEMPT.