Read the passage: Marisol had rehearsed the speech in the shower, in the car and twice in front of the bathroom mirror. Now, standing behind the podium, she looked at the sheet of paper in her hands and then set it down, face down, without reading a word. "I'll just tell you what happened," she said. Which inference is best supported by the passage?
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About this test
This free ACCUPLACER practice test has 15 questions written by the StudyPDF team to the content areas College Board publishes for the Next-Generation tests. Four cover reading, four cover writing and seven cover math, from arithmetic to quadratics. Answer all 15, then check your score and read the explanation for every question.
All 15 questions at a glance
Prefer to read before you play? Every question in the sampler is listed below. Answers and explanations stay collapsed until you open them.
1.Read the passage: Marisol had rehearsed the speech in the shower, in the car and twice in front of the bathroom mirror. Now, standing behind the podium, she looked at the sheet of paper in her hands and then set it down, face down, without reading a word. "I'll just tell you what happened," she said. Which inference is best supported by the passage?
- A. She forgot to bring her notes to the podium.
- B. She decided that speaking plainly would work better than reading her prepared text.
- C. She is embarrassed that she practiced so much.
- D. She is unprepared and plans to leave the stage.
Answer: B. She decided that speaking plainly would work better than reading her prepared text.
She practiced a lot, she has the paper in her hand and she chooses to put it down and speak directly, so the change of plan is deliberate. The paper is in her hands, so she did not forget it, and nothing in the passage shows embarrassment or an exit.
2.Read the sentence: The committee's decision to postpone the vote was pragmatic: with two members absent, any result could have been challenged later. As used in the sentence, pragmatic most nearly means
- A. idealistic and hopeful
- B. careless and rushed
- C. practical and based on real conditions
- D. secretive and unfair
Answer: C. practical and based on real conditions
The words after the colon give the reason: with members absent, a vote could be challenged, so waiting was the sensible, realistic move. Put each choice back into the sentence. Careless, rushed and secretive do not fit a decision that was explained and cautious.
3.Passage A: Supporters of a four-day school week say it saves districts a great deal of money on transportation and utilities. Passage B: One review of districts that switched found that transportation and utility costs fell by only about 2 percent of their budgets, although several districts said the schedule helped them hire teachers. Which statement best describes how Passage B relates to Passage A?
- A. It supports Passage A by naming a district that saved a large amount.
- B. It contradicts Passage A by showing that the schedule raises costs.
- C. It changes the subject from savings to the way teachers are paid.
- D. It qualifies Passage A by giving a much smaller figure and naming a different benefit.
Answer: D. It qualifies Passage A by giving a much smaller figure and naming a different benefit.
Passage B does not say costs went up, so it does not contradict A. It says the savings were small, only about 2 percent, and adds a different benefit, hiring. That narrows or qualifies the claim in A. It also never talks about pay, and it names no district that saved a lot.
4.Read the passage: The town council calls the new parking rule a modest adjustment. Residents who now pay $40 a month to park outside their own homes might use a different word. Which choices describe how the author shapes the tone of the passage? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
- A. The contrast between the council's word and the word residents might choose
- B. The mildly ironic phrase "might use a different word"
- C. A neutral list of statistics about parking
- D. A direct quotation from an angry resident
- E. The detail that residents pay to park outside their own homes
Answer: A. The contrast between the council's word and the word residents might choose, B. The mildly ironic phrase "might use a different word", E. The detail that residents pay to park outside their own homes
The author sets the council's cheerful word against what residents would likely say, hints at the disagreement with a dry phrase and picks a detail that makes the fee sound unfair. The passage has no list of statistics and no quotation, so those two choices describe things that are not there.
5.Choose the transition that best completes the draft: The garden club expected the first season to go well. ____ only the radishes survived the dry summer.
- A. However,
- B. Therefore,
- C. For example,
- D. Similarly,
Answer: A. However,
The second sentence goes against the expectation in the first, so the transition has to signal a contrast, and however does. Therefore would mean the radishes were a result of the club's hope, for example would introduce a case of something already said, and similarly would signal a likeness.
6.Which revision of the sentence is the most concise while keeping the meaning? The reason the library closed early was because of the fact that the power went out.
- A. The library closed early, the reason being that the power went out.
- B. The library closed early for the reason of the power having gone out.
- C. The reason for the library closing early was due to the power going out.
- D. The library closed early because the power went out.
Answer: D. The library closed early because the power went out.
The original says the same thing three times: the reason, because and the fact that. The shortest version keeps the one idea that matters, the library closed because the power went out. The other choices keep the extra words or add new ones.
7.Choose the verbs that agree with their subjects.
The team of volunteers _____ meeting on Saturday, and the two leaders _____ the schedule for the park cleanup.
Options for blank 1: are, is, were, be
Options for blank 2: has revised, have revised, is revising, revises
Answer: is, have revised
The subject of the first verb is team, a single group, so it takes is. The phrase of volunteers is a distraction. The second subject is the two leaders, which is plural, so it takes have revised. Cross out the phrase between the subject and the verb to see which word the verb has to match.
8.Which sentences are punctuated correctly? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
- A. Because the road was icy, the bus ran late.
- B. The bus ran late, the road was icy.
- C. We packed sandwiches, fruit, and water for the hike.
- D. The coach who won the award, thanked her team.
- E. The concert starts at 7:00; doors open at 6:00.
Answer: A. Because the road was icy, the bus ran late., C. We packed sandwiches, fruit, and water for the hike., E. The concert starts at 7:00; doors open at 6:00.
An opening clause is followed by a comma, a list takes commas between its items and a semicolon can join two related complete sentences. The second choice joins two complete sentences with only a comma, a comma splice. In the fourth, the comma wrongly separates the subject from its verb.
9.What is the value of 2 3/4 + 1 5/6?
- A. 4 7/12
- B. 3 8/10
- C. 4 1/6
- D. 3 7/12
Answer: A. 4 7/12
Use a common denominator of 12: 2 3/4 is 2 9/12 and 1 5/6 is 1 10/12. The whole numbers add to 3 and the fractions add to 19/12, which is 1 7/12, so the total is 4 7/12. Adding the tops and the bottoms separately, as in 8/10, is the usual slip.
10.Find the sale price and the tax.
A jacket costs $64. With a 25% discount, the sale price is _____. A 6% sales tax on that sale price adds _____.
Options for blank 1: $39, $48, $16, $54
Options for blank 2: $2.88, $3.84, $0.29, $28.80
Answer: $48, $2.88
25% of $64 is $16, and $64 - $16 = $48. The tax is 6% of the sale price: 0.06 x 48 = 2.88. Choosing $16 gives the discount, not the price, and figuring the tax on $64 instead of $48 gives $3.84.
11.Which list is in order from least to greatest?
- A. 0.4, 3/8, 41%, 1/2
- B. 41%, 0.4, 3/8, 0.5
- C. 3/8, 0.4, 41%, 0.5
- D. 1/2, 41%, 0.4, 3/8
Answer: C. 3/8, 0.4, 41%, 0.5
Write every value as a decimal: 3/8 is 0.375, 41% is 0.41 and 1/2 is 0.5. In order the list is 0.375, 0.4, 0.41, 0.5, which is 3/8, 0.4, 41%, 0.5. The last choice runs from greatest to least.
12.A paint mix uses 5 parts blue to 3 parts white. How many liters of blue paint are in 24 liters of the finished mix?
- A. 9
- B. 15
- C. 12
- D. 18
Answer: B. 15
The mix has 5 + 3 = 8 parts in all, so each part is 24 divided by 8, which is 3 liters. Blue is 5 parts: 5 x 3 = 15 liters. Choosing 9 gives the white paint, and 12 is just half of the whole mix.
13.A data set is 4, 7, 7, 9, 13. Which statements are true? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
- A. The mean is 8.
- B. The median is 7.
- C. The mode is 9.
- D. The range is 9.
- E. The median is greater than the mean.
Answer: A. The mean is 8., B. The median is 7., D. The range is 9.
The sum is 40, and 40 divided by 5 values is 8, so the mean is 8. The middle value is 7, the value that appears most often is 7 and the range is 13 - 4 = 9. The mode is 7, not 9, and the median of 7 is less than the mean of 8, not greater.
14.Which expression is equivalent to x^2 - 5x - 14?
- A. (x + 7)(x - 2)
- B. (x - 14)(x + 1)
- C. (x - 5)(x - 14)
- D. (x - 7)(x + 2)
Answer: D. (x - 7)(x + 2)
Look for two numbers that multiply to -14 and add to -5: -7 and 2. That gives (x - 7)(x + 2). Multiply it back out to check: x^2 + 2x - 7x - 14 is x^2 - 5x - 14. Swapping the signs, as in (x + 7)(x - 2), gives +5x instead.
15.Evaluate the functions.
If f(x) = 2x^2 - 3x + 1, then f(3) = _____. If g(x) = 2^x, then g(5) divided by g(3) equals _____.
Options for blank 1: 10, 16, 22, 7
Options for blank 2: 2, 4, 16, 8
Answer: 10, 4
For f(3), square the 3 first: 2(9) - 3(3) + 1 = 18 - 9 + 1 = 10. For the second, g(5) is 32 and g(3) is 8, and 32 divided by 8 is 4. You can also subtract the exponents: 2^(5-3) = 2^2 = 4.
What the ACCUPLACER is and which tests you may take
ACCUPLACER is a set of placement tests from College Board. Colleges use it to decide which courses a new student starts in, for example a first-year English course, a developmental math course or college algebra. College Board says plainly that no one passes or fails an ACCUPLACER test. The score places you, and a low score can mean a preparation course first, not that you are turned away.
There is no single ACCUPLACER test. The Next-Generation set has five multiple-choice tests: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS), and Advanced Algebra and Functions (AAF). Some colleges add the WritePlacer essay, and students who are still learning English may be sent to separate ESL tests. Your college decides which tests you take, in what order, and what score places you where. Ask your adviser or testing center before you start studying, so you do not spend a week on trigonometry when you only need arithmetic.
All the multiple-choice tests are computer adaptive. Each answer decides how hard the next question is, so a run of correct answers brings harder questions. They have no time limit. College Board's overview of the Next-Generation tests describes 20 questions each in Reading, Arithmetic, QAS and AAF, and 25 in Writing, with some math questions offering an on-screen calculator. That overview is several years old, so confirm the current format with your testing site.
How to use this sampler
The 15 questions follow the published content areas in miniature. Questions 1 to 4 are reading: an inference, a word in context, a pair of short passages and the way an author shapes tone. Questions 5 to 8 are writing: a transition, a wordy sentence, subject and verb agreement and punctuation. Questions 9 to 11 are arithmetic: fractions, percents and comparing numbers in different forms. Questions 12 and 13 sample QAS with a ratio and descriptive statistics, and questions 14 and 15 sample AAF with factoring and functions.
On the real test every question is multiple choice with one answer. The select all that apply and fill in the blank questions here are practice formats that make you check every option instead of stopping at the first one that looks right. Work the math on paper first, then look at the choices. Because the real test is untimed, practice working carefully, not fast, and read each passage before you read the question.
Then read every explanation, including for the questions you got right. If both comma and agreement questions went wrong, that is one habit to fix before the writing test. If the percent question was slow, redo a few by hand until the steps feel automatic. The tests you actually take may include only some of these areas, so use the misses to decide where to spend time.
An honest note: the StudyPDF team wrote every question here to College Board's published content areas. None of them are real ACCUPLACER items, none come from College Board's sample questions or a prep company's bank, and StudyPDF is not affiliated with College Board or any college. College Board offers its own free practice tests, which need an account, and free downloadable sample questions with answer explanations.
How to build more practice tests from your own materials
Fifteen questions can show you whether reading, writing or math needs the most work. They cannot get you ready on their own, especially when your college only uses two of the five tests.
StudyPDF works from your material instead. Upload your prep book, your class notes or the worksheets from your adviser or a bridge program. Then press New material, pick a practice test, choose those files as the sources and set how long it should be. You get a test written from those exact pages, and every explanation cites where the answer comes from.
Bo is the tutor for the rest. Ask him why an answer is right and he explains it from your own pages, with a hint first if you want one.
You do not have to upload anything to start. Name a topic instead, for example fraction operations or revising wordy sentences, and you get practice questions on it. Starting is free.
Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated August 19, 2026.
Good to know
Do you pass or fail the ACCUPLACER?
No. College Board states that no one passes or fails an ACCUPLACER test. Your score is used to place you in a course, and each college sets its own placement scores, so the same score can place you differently at two schools. Ask your testing center how your college uses the results, and do not rely on a score you read online.
How many questions are on the ACCUPLACER, and is it timed?
The tests have no time limit. College Board's overview of the Next-Generation tests describes 20 multiple-choice questions each in Reading, Arithmetic, Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics, and Advanced Algebra and Functions, and 25 in Writing. That overview is several years old and your college chooses which tests you take, so check the current format with your testing site.
Which ACCUPLACER math test will I take?
It depends on your college and your program. The Next-Generation math tests are Arithmetic, Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS) and Advanced Algebra and Functions (AAF), and a college may use one, two or all three. Ask your adviser which ones apply before you spend time on topics you may never see.
Are these real ACCUPLACER questions, and is this test free?
They are not real ACCUPLACER questions. The StudyPDF team wrote all 15 to the content areas College Board publishes, and StudyPDF is not affiliated with College Board or any college. The test is free. College Board also offers its own practice tests, which need an account, and free downloadable sample questions with answer explanations.
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