[Federal Register: October 25, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 208)]
[Notices]
[Page 55541-55543]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[[Page 55541]]
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Part V
Department of Education
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List of Approved ``Ability-to-Benefit'' Tests and Passing Scores;
Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
List of Approved ``Ability-to-Benefit'' Tests and Passing Scores
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary provides the first list of ``ability-to-
benefit'' tests and passing scores that the Secretary has approved
under section 484(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA), and the regulations that the Secretary promulgated to implement
that section in 34 CFR Part 668, Subpart J. Except as provided herein
and beginning with the 61st day after the publication of this notice in
the Federal Register, an institution shall use one of the approved
tests included in this notice to determine if a student who does not
have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent is eligible to
receive funds under any title IV, HEA program. The title IV, HEA
programs include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Family Education Loan,
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal
Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and
State Student Incentive Grant Programs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lorraine Kennedy, U.S. Department of
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Regional Office Building 3,
Room 3045, Washington, D.C. 20202-5451. Telephone: (202) 708-7888.
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 484(d) of the HEA, a student
who does not have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent is
eligible to receive funds under the title IV, HEA programs only if that
student takes an independently administered examination and achieves a
score on that test specified by the Secretary demonstrating that the
student has the ability to benefit from the education or training being
offered. Those students are colloquially referred to as ``ability-to-
benefit'' or ``ATB'' students, and the tests are colloquially referred
to as ``ability-to-benefit'' or ``ATB'' tests.
The Secretary published final regulations in the Federal Register
on December 1, 1995, implementing section 484(d) (60 FR 61830-61844).
These regulations in 34 CFR Part 668, Subpart J, Secs. 668.151 to
668.156, became effective on July 1, 1996, and govern the approval of
ATB tests, the passing scores for each approved test, and the
administration of approved ATB tests.
Under 34 CFR 668.145(c)(1), if the Secretary approves an ATB test
and the passing score on the test, the Secretary publishes the name of
the test and the passing score in the Federal Register. The Secretary
established the passing score on each approved test as the score that
represents one standard deviation below the mean for students with high
school diplomas who took the test. Establishing the passing score in
this way means theoretically that 84 percent of the high school
graduates who took the test passed the test. The Secretary established
this score based upon a recognition that the secondary school level
basic skills and general learned abilities of high school graduates in
the United States vary widely.
The Secretary is publishing this notice to indicate that the
Secretary has approved the following eight ATB tests and the following
passing scores on those tests.
1. ASSET Program: Basic Skills Tests (Reading, Writing, and
Numerical)--Forms B2 and C2
Passing Scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Reading (34), Writing (34), and Numerical (33).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: American College
Testing (ACT), Placement Assessment Programs, 2201 North Dodge Street,
P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, Iowa 52243, Contact: John D. Roth, Telephone:
(319) 337-1030, Fax: (319) 337-1790.
2. Career Programs Assessment (CPAT) Basic Skills Subtests
(Language Usage, Reading and Numerical)--Forms A, B, and C
Passing Scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Language Usage (43), Reading (44), and Numerical (42).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: American College
Testing (ACT), Placement Assessment Programs, 2201 North Dodge Street,
P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, Iowa 52243, Contact: John D. Roth, Telephone:
(319) 337-1030, Fax: (319) 337-1790.
3. COMPASS Subtests: Prealgebra/Numerical Skills Placement, Reading
Placement, and Writing Placement
Passing Scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Prealgebra/Numerical (21), Reading (60), and Writing (31).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: American College
Testing (ACT), Placement Assessment Programs, 2201 North Dodge Street,
P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, Iowa 52243, Contact: John D. Roth, Telephone:
(319) 337-1030, Fax: (319) 337-1790.
4. Computerized Placement Tests (CPTs)/Accuplacer (Reading
Comprehension, Sentence Skills, and Arithmetic)
Passing Scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Reading Comprehension (52), Sentence Skills (60), and
Arithmetic (36).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: The College Board,
45 Columbus Avenue, New York, New York 10023-6992, Contact: Ms. Loretta
M. Church, Telephone: (212) 713-8000, Fax: (212) 713-8063.
5. Descriptive Tests: Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (DTLS)
(Reading Comprehension, Sentence Structure and Conventions of
Written English)--Forms M-K-3KDT and M-K-3LDT; and Descriptive
Tests of Mathematical Skills (DTMS) (Arithmetic)--Forms M-K-3KDT
and M-K-3LDT
Passing Scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Reading Comprehension (108), Sentence Structure (9),
Conventions of Written English (309), and Arithmetic (506).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: The College Board,
45 Columbus Avenue, New York, New York 10023-6992, Contact: Ms. Loretta
M. Church, Telephone: (212) 713-8000, Fax: (212) 713-8063.
6. Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE): (Reading, Mathematics
Computation, Applied Mathematics Language, and Spelling)--Forms 5
and 6, Level A
Passing Scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Reading (768), Mathematics Computation (804), Mathematics
Concepts and Applications (759), Language (714), and Spelling (749).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: CTB/McGraw-Hill,
11301 Jollyville Road, Townhouse I-4, Austin, TX 78759, Contact: Ms.
Lorna Harrison,
[[Page 55543]]
Telephone: (512) 349-7578, Fax: (512) 349-7580.
7. Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE): (Reading, Mathematics
Computation, Applied Mathematics Language, and Spelling)--Forms 7
and 8, Level A
Passing Scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Reading (559), Mathematics Computation (558), Applied
Mathematics (559), Language (545), and Spelling (540).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: CTB/McGraw-Hill,
11301 Jollyville Road, Townhouse I-4, Austin, TX 78759, Contact: Ms.
Lorna Harrison, Telephone: (512) 349-7578, Fax: (512) 349-7580.
8. Wonderlic Basic Skills Test (WBST)--Verbal Forms VS-1 & VS-2,
Quantitative Forms QS-1 & QS-2
Passing scores: The approved passing scores on this test are as
follows: Verbal (200) and Quantitative (210).
Publisher: The test publisher and the address, contact person,
telephone, and fax number of the test publisher are: Wonderlic
Personnel Test, Inc., 1509 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, IL 60048-
1380, Contact: Mr. Victor S. Artese, Telephone: (800) 323-3742, Fax:
(847) 680-9492.
Duration of Approval
The Secretary approves each of these tests for five years, unless
the Secretary withdraws this approval or the publisher requests that
approval of a test be withdrawn. In either case, the Secretary will
publish a notice in the Federal Register indicating this change.
Use of approved tests
Until 60 days after the Secretary approves ATB tests and passing
scores under the new regulations and publishes the names of those tests
and passing scores in the Federal Register, institutions are allowed to
continue to make ATB eligibility determinations in accordance with 34
CFR 668.155(a) under the tests and passing scores that were approved as
of June 30, 1996. Those tests are listed in the 1996-97 Federal Student
Financial Aid Handbook published by the Department.
Once the Secretary approves tests and passing scores under the new
regulations and publishes the names of those tests and passing scores
in the Federal Register, an institution may use one of those approved
tests to make ATB eligibility determinations for the title IV, HEA
programs. As already noted, the institution may also continue, for an
additional 60 days, to use those tests approved as of June 30, 1996,
for those determinations.
Except as provided under Exception, on the 61st day after
publication in the Federal Register of the names of the tests and
passing scores that are approved under the new regulations, all
institutions shall use such an approved test and passing score to make
ATB eligibility determinations for title IV, HEA program purposes. This
means, except as provided under Exception, that as of December 26,
1996, an institution may only use one of the eight tests approved under
the new regulations to determine whether an ATB student is eligible to
receive title IV, HEA program funds. However, as indicated in
Sec. 668.155(b), if an institution properly determined that a student
had the ability to benefit under a test approved as of June 30, 1996,
it does not have to redetermine the student's eligibility under a newly
approved test.
In addition, approved tests must be administered in accordance with
the provisions of 34 CFR 668.151 or 668.152.
Exception: Section 668.153 contains special provisions for testing
students whose native language is not English and who are not fluent in
English and for students who have disabilities. None of the approved
tests included in this notice has been approved for those purposes.
Accordingly, institutions may continue to make ATB eligibility
determinations under the guidelines prescribed in the ATB notice
published in the Federal Register on December 30, 1992, (57 FR 62440)
and by using the tests approved as of June 30, 1996, for those types of
students. Moreover, the administration of those tests will not be
governed by the provisions of 34 CFR Part 668, Subpart J.
Dated: October 21, 1996.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 96-27392 Filed 10-24-96; 8:45 am]
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