The college uses multiple measures to determine which English and Math courses a student should take. Many students take the Accuplacer placement tests, but there are other ways to determine placement. By submitting official documentation to the Office of Admission from the lists below, students may be able to enroll directly into English and Math courses without completing placement tests. Students should discuss options with an advisor before registering for classes. View detailed information on multiple measures of placement at  gcc.mass.edu/testing/.

Ways to determine English placement:

• High School Transcript (showing overall GPA and grades in all classes within the last 10 years)
• GED ELA (English and Language Arts) Score
• HiSET (Reading and Writing Score)
• AP English Scores
• CLEP
• SAT Verbal Scores (pre-2016 test scores)
• College Transcripts (showing successful completion of English courses or other college-level courses)
• PLA (credit for prior learning)
• Accuplacer (Classic or Next Generation) Scores from GCC or another approved institution

Ways to determine math placement:

• High School Transcript (showing GPA and grades in all classes within the last 3 years)
• GED Mathematics Reasoning Score
• AP Math Scores
• CLEP
• College Transcripts (showing completion of Math Courses)
• PLA (credit for prior learning)
• Accuplacer (Classic or Next Generation) Scores from GCC or another approved institution

If students take the Accuplacer test, math placement test scores are used to place students into their first math course at GCC. Math placement scores may not be used to get into subsequent math courses, e.g. students may not "skip" a math course by retaking the placement test after completing a math course at GCC.

Students who believe their assessment scores do not reflect their level of skill should contact the Testing Center at (413) 775-1821 to discuss their options and to arrange for a retest.