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CLAST Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the CLAST?
  2. Is the CLAST a required test?
  3. What are passing scores on the CLAST?
  4. What happens if a student does not pass all four subtests of the CLAST?
  5. May students retake the CLAST?
  6. Where do students register for the CLAST?
  7. When is registration, and when is CLAST given?
  8. Where is the CLAST administered?
  9. What is the total testing time for the CLAST?
  10. When will test results be mailed?
  11. Are special testing arrangements available for students with disabilities?
  12. How do students prepare to take the CLAST?
  13. What do students need for the CLAST?
  14. What specific skills are measured by the CLAST?
    1. Essay Skills
    2. English Language Skills
    3. Reading Skills
    4. Mathematics Skills

  1. What is the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST)?
    The CLAST is an achievement test that measures selected communication and mathematics skills adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE). It includes four sub tests: essay, English language skills, reading, and mathematics. The mathematics, reading and English language skills subtests are multiple-choice. The essay requires written composition on one of two provided topics.

  2. Is the CLAST a required test?
    Demonstrating attainment of basic college-level communications and mathematics skills is required for (1) the award of an associate in arts degree from a community college or state university and (2) admission to upper-division status in a state university or receipt of a baccalaureate degree from a state university.

    The CLAST is one measure of students’ academic proficiency. Effective January 1, 1996, s. 24107, F.S., provides alternative ways for students to demonstrate attainment of the required communications and mathematics skills. For further information about these alternatives, contact the Office of Evaluation and Testing who is responsible for administering the CLAST at USF.

  3. What are passing scores on the CLAST?
    Passing scores on the CLAST have been established by the State Board of Education as follows:

      Essay English Language Skills Reading Mathematics
    8/01/84 - 7/31/86 4 265 260 260
    8/01/86 - 7/31/89 4 270 270 275
    8/01/89 - 9/30/91 4 295 295 285
    10/01/91 - 9/30/92 5* 295 295 290
    10/01/92 and thereafter 6 295 295 295

    *In October 1991, the essay scoring scale was revised. A score of 5 on the revised scale is equivalent to a score of 4 on the former scale.

    A student is required to present scores which meet the standards that are in effect at the time he or the initially takes the test. Students should check with local school authorities to determine which passing scores apply to them.

  4. What happens if a student does not pass all four subtests of the CLAST?
    Students who have not passed all four subtests and who are seeking a baccalaureate degree may be required to pass at least three subtests before they are allowed to earn more than 60 degree credits. They also may be required to pass all four subtests before they are allowed to earn more than 96 degree credits.

  5. May students retake the CLAST?
    Students who have not passed a subtest of the CLAST may retake it during any subsequent administration for which they are properly registered. Students may retake as many sub tests as necessary to meet the CLAST requirement.

    Students may retake an examination no sooner than the thirty-first (31st) day after any previous administration date regardless of whether the previous administration was a regular administration a special administration, or a computer-adaptive (CAT) administration. If the student takes a subtest of the CLAST before the thirty-first (31st) day, the scores, will be invalidated, and no score report will be mailed.

    Students may not retake any CLAST subtest for which they already have a passing score.

  6. Where do students register for the CLAST?
    Students must register for the CLAST at an institution that can determine their eligibility to take the test; e.g., a student must normally be a degree-seeking student. Normally, this will be the institution in which students are enrolled when they take the test. Registration must be completed by the established deadline: late registration, standby registration, or walk-ins to the test are not permitted.

  7. When is registration and when is the CLAST given?
    The Commissioner of Education has established the following registration and test dates for the CLAST for the coming year:

    Test Date Registration Date
    Mid February Mid January
    Early June Early May
    Early October Early September

    Call 974-2742 for specific dates

    Participation in any administration of the CLAST is limited to those persons who have registered for that administration on or before the registration deadline.

    An alternate administration is held on the Tuesday following each regular administration of the CLAST. This administration is open only to students who were registered for but could not participate in the regular administration because of health or religious reasons, duty assignment in the military, administrative error on the part of the institution or participation in an authorized school function.

  8. Where is the CLAST administered?
    The CLAST is administered in all community colleges and state universities and in many private institutions in Florida.

  9. What is the total testing time for the CLAST?
    The total testing time for the CLAST is approximately five hours, which includes the time required for arrival instructions and a break. The time allowed for each subtest is as follows:
    • Essay Subtest - 60 minutes
    • English Language Skills and Reading Subtests - 80 minutes
    • Mathematics Subtest - 90 minutes
    • Retake examinees are allotted double time for each subtest.

  10. When will test results be mailed?
    Test results will be mailed to students approximately five weeks after the test administration.

  11. Are special testing arrangements available for students with disabilities?
    Yes. Adaptations of testing materials as well as of testing conditions are made for students with documented physiological impairments or learning disabilities. It is the responsibility of students who need special testing arrangements to request them when registering for the CLAST.

  12. How do students prepare to take the CLAST?
    Community colleges and state universities in Florida are required to afford students the opportunity to acquire the skills that are measured in the CLAST as part of freshman and sophomore courses.

    Additionally, each community college and state university has an individual who coordinates all activities involved in the administration of the CLAST. Evaluation and Testing will refer students for the help they may need.

  13. What do students need for the paper and pencil version of CLAST?
    Students need an admission ticket from the institution, two forms of photo identification, several soft leaded pencils with erasers, and ball point pens with blue or black ink.

  14. What specific skills are measured by the CLAST?
    The following skills, which have been agreed upon by community college and state university faculty members, are measured by CLAST:

    1. ESSAY SKILLS
      • Select a subject that lends itself to development
      • Determine the purpose and audience for writing
      • Limit a subject to requirements of time, purpose, and audience
      • Formulate a thesis or main idea statement
      • Provide adequate supporting details
      • Arrange ideas and details in a logical pattern appropriate to the purpose and focus
      • Write unified prose with relevant supporting material
      • Write coherent prose with effective transitions between parts
      • Avoid slang, jargon, cliché, and pretentious expressions
      • Use a variety of sentence patterns
      • Avoid overuse of passive construction
      • Maintain consistent point of view
      • Revise edit, and proofread for clarity, consistency and conformity to standard American English
      • All of the skills tested on the English language skills subtest are also tested on the essay subtest.

    2. ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS

      Word Choice Skills

      • Use words which convey the meaning required by context
      • Avoid wordiness

      Sentence Structure Skills

      • Place modifiers correctly
      • Coordinate and subordinate sentence elements
      • Use parallel expressions for parallel ideas
      • Avoid fragments, comma splices, and fused sentences

      Grammar, Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation Skills

      • Use standard verb forms
      • Maintain agreement between subject and verb, pronoun and antecedent
      • Use proper case forms
      • Use adjectives and adverbs correctly
      • Avoid inappropriate verb tenses
      • Make logical comparisons
      • Use standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

    3. READING SKILLS

      Literal Comprehension Skills

      • Recognize main ideas
      • Identify supporting details
      • Determine meaning of words

      Critical Comprehension Skills

      • Recognize author’s purpose
      • Identify author’s overall organizational pattern
      • Distinguish between fact and opinion
      • Detect bias
      • Recognize author’s tone
      • Recognize relationships within sentences
      • Recognize relationships between sentences
      • Recognize valid arguments
      • Draw logical inferences and conclusions

    4. MATHEMATICS SKILLS

      Arithmetic Skills

      • Add, subtract, multiply and divide rational numbers in fractional form
      • Add, subtract, multiply and divide rational numbers in decimal form
      • Calculate percent increase and percent decrease
      • Solve "a% of b is c," where two of the variables are given
      • Recognize the meaning of exponents
      • Recognize the role of the base number in the base-ten numeration system
      • Identify equivalent forms of decimals, percents, and fractions
      • Determine the order relation between real numbers
      • Identify a reasonable estimate of a sum, average or product
      • Infer relations between numbers in general by examining number pairs
      • Solve real-world problems that do not involve the use of percent
      • Solve real-world problems that involve the use of percent
      • Solve problems that involve the structure and logic of arithmetic

      Geometry and Measurement Skills

      • Round measurements
      • Calculate distance, area, and volume
      • Identify relationships between angle measures
      • Classify simple plane figures by recognizing their properties
      • Recognize similar triangles and their properties
      • Identify units of measurement for geometric objects
      • Infer formulas for measuring geometric figures
      • Select applicable formulas for computing measures of geometric figures
      • Solve real-world problems involving perimeters, areas, and volumes of geometric figures
      • Solve real-world problems involving the Pythagorean property

      Algebra Skills

      • Add, subtract, multiply, and divide real numbers
      • Apply the order-of-operations agreement
      • Use scientific notation
      • Solve linear equations and inequalities
      • Use formulas to compute results
      • Find particular values of a function
      • Factor a quadratic expression
      • Find the roots of a quadratic equation
      • Solve a system of two linear equations in two unknowns
      • Use properties of operations correctly
      • Determine whether a number is among the solutions of a given equation or inequality
      • Recognize statements and conditions of proportionality and variation
      • Identify regions of the coordinate plane that correspond to specific conditions and vice versa
      • Use applicable properties to select equivalent equations or inequalities
      • Solve real-world problems involving the use of variables
      • Solve problems that involve the structure and logic of algebra

      Statistics Skills, Including Probability

      • Identify information contained in graphs
      • Determine the mean, median, and mode
      • Use the fundamental counting principle
      • Recognize properties and interrelationships among the mean, median, and mode
      • Choose the most appropriate procedures for selecting an unbiased sample
      • Identity the probability of a specified outcome
      • Infer relations and make accurate predictions from studying statistical data
      • Interpret real world data involving frequency and cumulative frequency tables
      • Solve real-world problems involving probabilities

      Logical Reasoning Skills

      • Deduce facts of set inclusion or set non-inclusion from a diagram
      • Identify negations of simple and compound statements
      • Determine equivalence and nonequivalence of statements
      • Draw logical conclusions from data
      • Recognize invalid arguments with true conclusions
      • Recognize valid reasoning patterns shown in everyday language
      • Select applicable rules for transforming statements without affecting their meaning
      • Draw logical conclusions when facts warrant them
      • The unedited definitions of the skills listed above are contained in State Board of Education Rule 6A-10.0316, Florida Administrative Code.



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