LIB-495 Capstone question.

[Merlin]

I am reading about this ETS Proficiency profile. When does one take that test? And how does one prepare for this ETS test? Any specific study materials?  I am beginning the Capstone course on April 1st.

The ETS Proficiency Profile is generally planned into your last month of the capstone course, but you can technically take it any time before that. I took it in the first week, for example.

As for study material, it is a skills assessment that measures critical thinking, reading comprehension, english composition, and basic mathematics skills. The assessment isn't graded, so there is no passing score needed and you don't need to study for it. The results of the test are scored to create a number (similar to an SAT score) which can then be compared against the national average scores to determine a rank/percentile. I assume these scores are used for some internal purpose by the school, perhaps in comparison to an earlier test taken towards the beginning of a degree? Maybe it factors into funding or something? I do know that they also ask for a bit of demographic information as part of the assessment, so the scoring is broken up by student categories.

In any case, it is nothing to worry about. I aimed to get the highest score I could because I'm competitive and that's just the way I am, but you can pick (a) for every answer and still get the same credit for completing the assessment. I think you get 45 minutes all told, and I ended up taking the whole time because I was aiming for a top score, but others completed it in like 5 minutes by just picking the first thing that sounded right.