Online placement test are for students who studied French for a year or more before arriving at WOU, or heritage speakers who are not sure which class they should sign up for. The general rule of thumb is : if you took two years of French in High School, you should place at the start of second year (FR 201) and if you took four years of French in High School, you should place at the start of third year (FR 301). However everyone is different and a test is just a test, so don’t hesitate to reach out to French instructor for a more in depth placement once you have your results. If you’d rather avoid the online placement test altogether ask for an appointment with French instructor.
- In order to take the placement test, you will need to contact the French instructor (Maguelonne Ival, ivalm@mail.wou.edu) during the school year or the Humanities division office (Karen Bednarowski, bednarowskik@mail.wou.edu) during summer for preliminary contact and to obtain the password.
- Once you have the password, go the official WOU page for placement test where you will find the link to take the test.
- You will be asked to enter your V-number and complete a brief survey and sample questions.
- Choose French
- Once you have your results, Your score will determine the correct course level and will allow class registration within 24 hours.
- If you are unhappy with the results (either you think that your test results are lower than they should be, or you are worried the class you were placed in will be too difficult) you can contact the French instructor (Maguelonne Ival), who can talk with you and override registration if she thinks it is justified
Results Guidelines (keep in mind that the test does not test speaking and is just a tool that does not take into account motivation, cultural knowledge, etc…):
less than 150: FR 101
150-225: FR 102
226-275: FR 103
276-325: FR 201
326-350: FR 202
351-400: FR 203
400+: FR 301
Some clarifications about the placement test and BA language requirement:
1. Placement tests do not grant credit — if a student places into a 301 language course, that does not grant credit for 203.
2. If a student places into 301, the student can take 301 or take other language courses that have only 203 as pre-req, but it’s a good idea to check with the French instructor first.