Placement Tests

The language requirement at Tufts aims at proficiency of a second language and not a set number of courses. It is to your advantage to enroll in the most advanced language course for which your high school studies have prepared you, unless you plan to start a new language at Tufts. For this reason, we urge you to prepare for the Placement Test by reviewing material from your last language course or by reading in the foreign language.

You are required to take the Tufts Placement Test if you plan to study French, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese unless (a) you are just beginning one of these languages; (b) you took the SAT Subject Test, or (c) you received a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the Advanced Placement Test (see the Advanced Placement Test guidelines).

You may also choose to take the Tufts Placement Test even if you are not required to do so. Students whose results on the Tufts Placement Test are superior to their scores on the Advanced Placement Test, or the SAT Subject Test will be placed at the higher course level. Please note that the Tufts Placement Test is for diagnostic purposes only. It does not result in acceleration credit.

Guidelines for Placement

To ensure greater uniformity of level within each class, we have also established a set of guidelines for the lowest numbered course for which you should normally register on the basis of high school study:

If you have good reason to ask for an exception to these guidelines, please see the French, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish Language Coordinator.