Attaining good scores on the TSI (Texas Success Initiative) exam is crucial so get properly prepared!
Many Texas post-secondary educational institutions use the TSI to assess a student’s competencies and academic proficiency.
School instructors will use applicants’ TSI results to guide them towards a successful college education by placing them in appropriate classes.
Your TSI scores are helping your college to determine whether you will be able to successfully attend their courses. There are three TSI subtests that cover writing, reading, and mathematics.
On this page, we will explain what’s on the TSI test. The best way to get ready for TSI testing is to take multiple practice tests offered at no cost on this website.
These practice tests help students to strengthen their critical thinking skills, to analyze and explore new and unfamiliar problems, and also solve problems using algorithms or formulas.
Our practice tests are inspired by the Open Course Library (OCL); the project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Washington State legislature.
How difficult you will find the TSI, depends entirely on you, the test-taker. Generally, we can say that the TSI isn’t that challenging if you take enough time for decent preparation. That’s key!
The TSI subtest Writing has two parts. You must write an essay and there’s a multiple-choice section that has around 20 questions that assess your writing skills. You also must produce a five-paragraph essay that has around 400-500 words.
Each of the three TSI testing fields (Math, Writing, and Reading) includes around 20 questions. The TSI exam is entirely multiple-choice based, except for the essay part.
The TSI exam is computer-adaptive which means that the difficulty level increases or decreases in line with an applicant’s previous answers.
Who is the TSI exam for?
Colleges may ask students to take the diagnostic TSI exam. This can be part of the enrollment process. If that’s the case, the students are informed by the college they applied to.
Having to sit for the TSI exam is no reason to feel discouraged or become worried. The TSI test’s purpose is to measure if students are ready to successfully attend college-level courses.
If the TSI results indicate that a student is not prepared enough for college, the school’s teachers can use the test results to help them become better prepared for a college education in the best possible way. Learn more about TSI scores here.
When you pass the TSI exam, students demonstrate that they are ready for college-level education and that they don’t require any remedial classes. Check out our free entertaining practice tests and video lessons that help you be successful on the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) exam.
TSI exemption
Students who reached sufficient scores on other academic proficiency tests, such as ACT, SAT, TAKS, or STAAR, are not required to take the TSI exam. Students who attained at least the following scores are exempted:
ACT: at least 19 in both Math and English
SAT: no less than a 500-score in Math and Reading
TAKS: at least 2200 points in Math and English and a 3-score in Writing
STAAR: no less than a 2000-score in reading and writing, and a 4000-score in Algebra
TSI pre-assessment activity
Before getting admitted to the actual TSI exam, applicants must partake in a mandatory part of the process, the TSI Pre-Assessment Activity. If a student does not complete this part, he or she will not be allowed to take the actual TSI test. This part of the TSI process will take, on average, only around a half-hour to complete.
The “pre-assessment activity” provides students with lots of information regarding testing practices, clarifications about the test, college success tips, what to do if the TSI results are insufficient,
It is key to take numerous practice tests to get ready for the TSI exam efficiently. MyCareerTools’ free TSI practice tests will point you in the direction of your strong and weak points. This way, you won’t have to go through all the topics that are on the test thoroughly and just concentrate on those areas that need your attention most. Read more in this post: TSI Study Guide.