Central Campus

Exit Test for ENC0085

The State of Florida Basic Skills Test in English is required of all students who take ENC0085. All students who are actively registered for the course at the time that the exit test is administered are eligible to take the exam.

This test consists of two parts, both of which are mandatory.

Part A consists of a minimum of 40 multiple-choice questions from the state-developed item bank. You must obtain a score of 25 or higher to pass this part of the test. This score is 25% of the total Exit Exam score.

Part B consists of a fully developed, unified, and coherent paragraph or short essay. A score of 3 or higher on the Writing subtest is required. This score is 75% of the total Exit Exam score.

The Florida Basic Skills Exit Test is the final exam for ENC0085. You must satisfactorily complete the course requirements and pass the exit exam to proceed to the next course, ENC 1101. If you fail the final exam, you must repeat the course or take ENC0010; if you get a “D” on the final exam, you must take ENC0021. Only under one of these circumstances will you be able to take the exam again.

Making up the final exam. In order to make up the final exam, you must follow the specific BCC procedure:

•  Provide your professor with a legitimate reason for missing the exam, such as illness or death in the family.

•  Obtain written permission from your professor to make an appointment at the campus testing office to take the exit exam make-up.

If you have a documented disability and have received testing accommodations during the semester, you will be given the same accommodations for the exit test.

Competencies and skills tested

The following competencies and skills are tested in Part A, the objective test:

Conceptual and Organizational Skills

•  Identifies a topic sentence or a thesis statement

•  Recognizes adequate support provided by generalized and specific evidence

•  Arranges ideas and supporting details in a logical pattern

•  Identifies supporting material that is relevant or irrelevant to the topic sentence or thesis statement

•  Recognizes effective transitional devices within the context of a passage

Word Choice Skills

•  Chooses the appropriate word or expression in context

•  Recognizes commonly confused or misused words or phrases

Sentence Structure Skills

•  Places modifiers correctly

•  Uses coordination and subordination effectively

•  Recognizes parallel structure

•  Avoids fragments, comma splices, and fused sentences

Grammar, Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation Skills

•  Uses standard verb forms

•  Avoids inappropriate shifts in verb tense

•  Maintains agreement between subject and verb

•  Maintains agreement between pronoun and antecedent

•  Avoids inappropriate pronoun shifts

•  Maintains clear pronoun reference

•  Uses proper case forms

•  Uses adjectives and adverbs correctly

•  Uses appropriate degree forms

•  Uses standard spelling

•  Uses standard punctuation

•  Uses standard capitalization

The following Scoring Criteria describes the competencies that are tested in Part B, the Writing Test. Scores range from 1 to 6, with 1 as the lowest and 6 as the highest.

Score of 6: The paper has a clearly established main idea that the writer fully develops with specific details and examples. Organization is notably logical and coherent. Vocabulary and sentence structure are varied and effective. Errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics are few and insignificant.

Score of 5: The paper has a clearly established main idea that is adequately developed and recognizable through specific details and/or examples. Organization follows a logical and coherent pattern. Vocabulary and sentence structure are mostly varied and effective. Occasional errors in sentence structure, usage and mechanics do not interfere with the writer's ability to communicate.

Score of 4: The paper has an adequately stated main idea that is developed with some specific details and examples. Supporting ideas are presented in a mostly logical and coherent manner. Vocabulary and sentence structure are somewhat varied and effective. Occasional errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics may interfere with the writer's ability to communicate.

Score of 3: The paper states a main idea that is developed with generalizations or lists. The paper may contain occasional lapses in logic and coherence and is mechanical. Vocabulary and sentence structure are repetitious and often ineffective. A variety of errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics sometimes interferes with the writer's ability to communicate.

Score of 2: The paper presents an incomplete or ambiguous main idea. Support is developed with generalizations and lists. Organization is mechanical. The paper contains occasional lapses in logic and coherence. Word choice is simplistic, and sentence structure is disjointed. Errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics frequently interfere with the writer's ability to communicate.

Score of 1: The paper has no evident main idea. Development is inadequate and/or irrelevant. Organization is illogical and/or incoherent. Vocabulary and sentence structure are garbled and confusing. Significant and numerous errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics interfere with the writer's ability to communicate.