Frequently Asked Questions About the CUNY Proficiency
Exam (CPE)
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What
is the CUNY Proficiency Exam? |
The CUNY Proficiency
Examination (CPE) requires students to demonstrate their competence
in aspects of academic literacy necessary for successful work in the
upper divisions of the CUNY colleges. The CPE has been designed to resemble
typical college assignments where writing is produced in response to
reading material, data, or observations. It is read and scored by members
of the CUNY faculty from a range of disciplines and departments.
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What
skills are tested? |
The
skills tested by the CPE include the following:
- reading and
interpreting general as well as academic texts;
- finding similarities
and differences between ideas and arguments;
- presenting your
opinion about what you've read and connecting it to other information
or concepts;
- supporting your
position with quotes from your readings;
- presenting
your ideas clearly and effectively in writing;
- and interpreting
and evaluating material presented in charts and graphs.
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Who
must take the CUNY Proficiency Examination? |
- Students entering
CUNY as first-time freshmen in Fall 1999 and thereafter will be subject
to the exam as a requirement for moving to the upper division, usually
at 60 credits.
- Community College
students will be required to pass the exam in order to to receive
an associate's degree.
- Beginning in
Fall 2000, students transferring to the upper division of a CUNY senior
college must take the exam.
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How
long is the exam?
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The total time
for the CPE is three hours.
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| What
tasks does the exam consist of? |
Task I - Analytical
Reading and Writing (2 hours)
You will be given two reading selections, a six to eight page selection
to be studied in advance and a one to one and one half page selection
at the time of testing. You must write a focused essay, drawing a relationship
between specified elements of the two reading selections and extending
it, as directed, to your own experience, understanding, or ideas.
Task II - Analyzing
and Integrating Information from Graphs and Text (1 hour)
You will be given a set of materials (two charts or graphs and a brief
reading passage) on the same or similar topics. These materials are
not released prior to the testing session. You will be asked to state
the main claim of the reading selection and discuss the extent to which
the data in the charts support or challenge that claim.
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How
is the CPE scored? |
The two tasks
are read separately by different readers. Each student response is read
by two trained faculty readers. Should the two readers disagree, the
response is read by a third reader.
Task I
Four criteria are used to rate an essay on a scale of six. The criteria
require you to:
- Develop an essay
that is a focused response to the writing assignment, making appropriate
connections among all parts of the assignment.
- Demonstrate
understanding of the readings through summary and explanation of relevant
material.
- Incorporate,
as support for your own thoughts, appropriate references to the readings,
identifying the sources formally or informally.
- Communicate
clearly and effectively, using appropriate conventions of language
(e.g., word choice, grammar, punctuation, spelling).
Task II
Your answers will be assessed for accuracy, completeness, and clarity.
You must communicate the information clearly and precisely.
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What
do I need to bring to the Examination?
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You must bring
your copy of the reading selection, but no other papers. You may bring
one dictionary for use during the examination; however, no electronic
spellers or other devices may be used. In addition, you must bring
a pen, a number 2 pencil, and picture identification.
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| How
many times can I take the exam? |
You can take the
CPE three times.
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What
happens if I fail the CPE?
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If you fail the
CPE, you will be required to enroll in an intervention course or sequence
of workshops to acquire the skills you need to pass the exam next time
you take it.
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How
can I prepare for the CUNY Proficiency Examination?
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| Before
you pick up the exam materials:
- You will have
more time for thinking and writing on the exam if you become familiar
with the format, directions, and scoring criteria beforehand.
Spend some time studying the materials on this website.
- Find somebody
who has already taken the exam. (Several thousand students have
already taken the pilot exam in various CUNY colleges.
- Read the sample
assignments and answers for both Part I and II of the CPE. Pay special
attention to the wording
of the question. Notice that you will be required to summarize,
paraphrase, compare, illustrate and discuss ideas. You can practice
the skills these assignment key words require here.
- Exercises
on Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Comparing are also available on
the internal network in the ESL Resource Center. You don't need
to make an appointment just come and request these exercises at
the front desk.
After
you pick up the exam materials:
Along
with the registration materials for the CPE, students will receive a
reading selection to study. Most of these selections are taken from
materials commonly assigned to students during the first half of their
college experience or from books or articles intended for a general
audience.
- Study the
Reading Selection. You should read the selection you are given several
times, applying a critical reading approach: read with a questioning
mind frame, keep a pencil in your hand, and use it to annotate the
text as you read.
- Think about
what points you could make about the reading selection you are given.
- Write a practice
essay.
- You can find
useful exercises on how to improve your essay on
our website.
We
strongly recommend that you come to the ESL Resource Center and make
an appointment (or a sequence of appointments) to help you
prepare for the exam.
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