Tsi Test Content
Tsi Test Content
Plane geometry
Transformations and symmetry
Measurement (linear, area, three-dimensional)
Modeling and applications
The TSI Reading Test is a multiple choice assessment covering the key College and Career
Readiness Standards referenced below. There are approximately 24 items on the placement test.
There are 10-12 items per category on the diagnostic test.
Literary Analysis (4 items on placement test; 12 items on diagnostic test)
Main Idea and Supporting Details (5 items on placement test; 10 items on diagnostic test)
All items in this category will be discrete items with single informational/expository passages of
75-125 words.
Items will ask students to identify the main idea of a passage or comprehend explicit textual
information in the passage.
All items in this category will be discrete items with one or, in some cases, two
informational/expository passages of 100-150 words.
Most items will ask students to make an appropriate inference about a single passage.
Some items will require students to synthesize ideas by making a connection or comparison
between two passages.
All items in this category will be discrete items with single informational/expository passages of
75-125 words.
Some items will ask students to identify an authors purpose, tone, organization, or rhetorical
strategies and use of evidence;
Some items will ask students to determine the meaning of words in context.
The Texas College and Career Readiness Writing standards ask students to write essays that
demonstrate clear focus, the logical development of ideas in well-organized paragraphs, and the use
of appropriate language that advances the authors purpose.
WritePlacer automatically evaluates students essays written to one of several prompts. WritePlacer
essays are electronically scored by the Intelligent Essay Assessor (IEA) that is powered by the
Knowledge Technologies (KT) engine.
The Intelligent Essay Assessor is a unique automated assessment technology that evaluates the
meaning of text, not just grammatical correctness or spelling.
The Intelligent Essay Assessor is based on Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), a statistical language
learning theory and computer model that measures the semantic similarity of words and documents
with accuracy closely approximating that of human judges.
Feedback in provided on the following six dimensions
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.