Placement Guide for Adult Basic Education (ABE)
MDC administers TABE Forms 11 and 12 with locator. The TABE 11 & 12 locator has one locator test—divided into three sections—one each for reading, mathematics, and language. Each locator sub-test will determine the appropriate level of the TABE test that the student should take. As of March 6, 2023, students pre-testing for ABE only test for TABE Math and Reading. Post-testing in the two skill areas began Summer 2023. The TABE retesting guidelines below are followed for Adult Basic Education (ABE) program.
- Students post-testing in ABX 0140, and ABX0440 must take TABE levels “D” or “A”.
- Completion of a prescribed remediation program consisting of at least 50 hours of instruction for levels 1-4 and 30 hours for levels 5-6 is required prior to retesting with a minimum 30-day period between retests. Note: Most MDC adult education classes require at least 60 hours of instruction.
- Post-test ABE NRS levels 1-4 after 50 to 60 hours of instruction when testing with an alternate form. Post-testing allowed on the same level and same form after 60-80 hours of instruction. Post-testing at less than publisher-recommended hours of instruction must be approved by the college-wide Adult Education administrator or designee.
- Post-testing must only be used for a promotion to a new level or retention in the same level.
- Students who are required to retest must be referred to testing by an authorized employee in Adult Education.
When a test administration results in a score, including those that begin with a “+” or “-“, that is within the allowable range for the Test Level and Form, the score is reported with a “0” in the first field followed by the three digit score. Students with an in-range high score (+) may be retested one time with a higher TABE Level without being assessed a retesting fee or placed in the highest valid level for the TABE level test. The relationship between TABE scores and NRS levels can be found in Placement Criteria Appendix H.
TABE 11&12 Grade Range Scale Score Guidance and TABE 11 & 12 Scoring Levels: Best Practice Guidelines are available via the College’s TABE webpage.
The ABE Course Placement Guide is used for placement in the ABE program.
| Skill Area | TABE 11 & 12 Scale Scores | Literacy Completion Point | Course Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | 300-448 | 1 | ABX 0110 - Beginning ABE Literacy |
| 449-495 | 2 | ABX 0120 - Beginning Basic Education | |
| 496-536 | 3 | ABX 0130 - Low Intermediate Basic Education | |
| 537-595 | 4 | ABX 0140 - High Intermediate Basic Education | |
|
Reasoning Through Language Arts |
300-441 | 1 | ABX 0410 - Beginning ABE Literacy |
| 442-500 | 2 | ABX 0420 - Beginning Basic Education | |
| 501-535 | 3 | ABX 0430 - Low Intermediate Basic Education | |
| 536-575 | 4 | ABX 0440 - High Intermediate Basic Education |
Note: As of March 6, 2023, students pre-testing for ABE only test for TABE Math and Reading. Post-testing in the two skill areas began in Summer 2023.
When a test administration results in a score that is lower than the allowable range for the Test Level and Form, and no score is provided or the score indicates a score of N/A, the score is reported with a “1” followed by the lowest score value for the TABE Level and Form. OOR low scores cannot be used to establish a new student’s initial EFL. Post-test scores below the scale score range: If a student scores OOR and receives an N/A for scale score and O/R for their NRS level, the local program should re-test the student immediately by administering a lower-level test. If a student tests OOR low on two consecutive post-tests, the local program should report the lowest scale score number possible on the re-test with a leading ‘1’. Any additional attempts to post-test the student after one retest attempt must occur within the test publishers recommended hours of instruction between post-tests. There is no fee for retesting.
To assist with determining the correct out of range scores to report, refer to Placement Criteria Appendix H. TABE Levels Literacy (L) and Easy (E) do not have OOR Low scores. As of Summer 2023, there is no longer a difference between paper and online OOR scores. New and continuing students with an out-of-range low or no score must be retested one time with a lower TABE Level no sooner than the next day and prior to enrollment or by the 100% refund date for the adult education term without being assessed a retesting fee
When a test administration results in a score that is higher than the allowable range for the Test Level and Form, and no score is provided, the score is reported with a “9” followed by the highest score value for the TABE Level and Form. OOR high scores cannot be used to establish a new student’s initial EFL. Post-test scores above the scale score range: Per FDOE policy, post-tests scores that are OOR high are reportable as a post-test score. There is no fee for retesting. To assist with determining the correct out of range scores to report, refer to the TABE OOR table in Placement Criteria Appendix H. TABE Level Advanced (A) does not have OOR High scores. As of Summer 2023, there is no longer a difference between paper and online OOR scores. New students with an out-of-range high or no score must be retested one time with a higher TABE Level form no sooner than the next day and prior to enrollment or by the 100% refund date for the adult education term without being assessed a retesting fee. For example, if a student tests with form 11 medium level and gets an OOR High score, the student should retest at the difficult level form. To see the appropriate forms, OOR scores, and NRS level for OOR, please refer to the NRS links in Placement Criteria Appendix H.