All other exams
Kirkwood Test Center administers a wide variety of placement, professional certification, and other third-party exams. An appointment is required for all exams. Please note that third-party testing may be limited or unavailable during the College's peak academic testing times (midterm and final exam weeks).
Some exams require a proctoring fee, while others are administered free of charge. Please check our proctoring fees and refunds help article for more information.
ACCUPLACER (ELA and Next Gen)
Offered at Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Hiawatha
Kirkwood multiple measures for placement into college-level English courses. You should take ACCUPLACER only if you have been advised to by your adviser or another College employee. You must have been issued a "K" number (a student ID number) in order to take ACCUPLACER.
ACCUPLACER consists of multiple sections:
- ELA Grammar
- ELA Reading
- ELA Writing
- Next Gen Reading
- Next Gen Writing
ACCUPLACER is not timed; however, you should allow for approximately 1 hour per section.
ALEKS
Offered at Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Hiawatha
ALEKS is a required math assessment used to map a student’s strengths and weaknesses, and determine the most appropriate courses for each student as they move forward. It is proctored and available at all our test centers. There is a 48-hour cooldown period and three hours of practice required between each attempt. Students have the option to complete one free un-proctored practice test by accessing the ALEKS placement test on MyHub.
Note: ALEKS must be taken through Kirkwood Community College (as opposed to another institution).
Bio Readiness
Offered at Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Hiawatha
Bio Readiness is an alternate pre-requisite for enrollment in BIO-112 General Biology I. The exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions. A score of 65% (26/40) or higher will allow registration in BIO-112. You are allowed 2 attempts to pass the Bio Readiness exam. If a passing score is not earned after the second attempt, you must pursue an alternate BIO-112 prerequisite option.
Before you can take Bio Readiness, contact the Math & Science department at (319) 398-5516 or mathscience@kirkwood.edu to request Bio Readiness be added to your Talon dashboard.
Important info about Bio Readiness
- No materials or resources are allowed on the exam.
- You cannot take the exam twice in the same day.
- A Bio Readiness exam study guide is posted in the Talon shell. Students are strongly encouraged to review this study guide before taking the exam.
Business & IT credit by exam (test-outs)
Offered at Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Hiawatha
Kirkwood Test Center administers credit-by-exam test-out for the following Business & IT courses:
- BCA-189 Microcomputer Literacy
- CIS-121 Intro to Programming Logic
- CIS-207 Fundamentals of Web Development
- CIS-335 Relational Database and SQL
- CSC-116 Information Computing
For more information about these credit by exam options, contact the Business & IT department or visit their BIT test-outs website.
CuspED, LLC, trainee exams
Offered at Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Hiawatha
The CuspED, LLC, trainee program prepares dentist, dental hygienist, and dental assistant students for their careers. The CuspEd program is managed by Annette Hayes, M.Ed., BAS, RDH CDA, CDIPC. For more information about the program, please visit the CuspEd website.
Note: The CuspEd, LLC, trainee program exams are not the same as the Iowa Dental Board exams. Please confirm your exam choice is correct before registering.
HESI
Offered at Cedar Rapids
HESI is an entrance exam for Kirkwood's veterinary technician program. You will need to bring your receipt from the bookstore to take the exam. Make sure to create an Elsevier account prior to your appointment. You will receive your results immediately upon completion of the test. You are allowed two attempts at the exam.
For more information about HESI, visit Kirkwood's veterinary technician program website.
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