English Assessment & Transfer-Level Placement

English Assessment

It is our core belief at Foothill College that all students can succeed given the right level of support. All students are eligible to access transfer-level English composition, regardless of your educational background or native language. Based on a student's need for additional support, Foothill offers four options of transfer-level English Composition & Reading.

Request to take the English Guided Self-Placement at fhtesting@fhda.edu.

English Composition


COURSE TITLE	COURSE DESCRIPTION
ENGL 1A Honors: Composition & Reading Honors	Designed for students who want additional rigor, the honors section offers collegiate preparation in analytic reading and writing skills. Honors courses are different because they offer longer and more difficult readings, more frequent writing assignments, more rigorous grading criteria. One quarter Five total units
ENGL 1A: Composition & Reading	This course is offered face-to-face, fully-online, or hybrid. A standalone English composition course offered without any additional support. However, if you need additional help, you can attend instructor office hours or visit the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). One quarter. Five total units.
ENGL 1A (credit) + NCEN 401A (noncredit) or ENGL 1A (credit) + ESLL 201A (credit)	A transfer-level composition and reading course paired with an additional support course designed for students who need additional help. The non-credit co-requisite, taught by the same instructor, offers you dedicated in-class support throughout the quarter. One quarter, two courses Five total units A second option available for Non-native English language learners is English 1A (5 units) + ESLL 201A (2 units), support course that focuses on language acquisition skills. One quarter, Two courses Seven total units

COURSE TITLE

COURSE DESCRIPTION

ENGL 1A Honors: Composition & Reading Honors

Designed for students who want additional rigor, the honors section offers collegiate preparation in analytic reading and writing skills. Honors courses are different because they offer longer and more difficult readings, more frequent writing assignments, more rigorous grading criteria.

One quarter
Five total units

ENGL 1A: Composition & Reading

This course is offered face-to-face, fully-online, or hybrid. A standalone English composition course offered without any additional support. However, if you need additional help, you can attend instructor office hours or visit the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).

One quarter.
Five total units.

ENGL 1A (credit) + NCEN 401A (noncredit)

ENGL 1A (credit) + ESLL 201A (credit)

A transfer-level composition and reading course paired with an additional support course designed for students who need additional help. The non-credit co-requisite, taught by the same instructor, offers you dedicated in-class support throughout the quarter.

One quarter, two courses
Five total units

A second option available for Non-native English language learners is English 1A (5 units) + ESLL 201A (2 units), support course that focuses on language acquisition skills.

One quarter, Two courses
Seven total units

How You are Placed

Placement into English Composition is based on high school transcript evaluation or guided self-placement.

Traditional high school student matriculation

If you are a domestic student or your high school used an American style 4.0 scale grade point average (GPA) grading system, your placement has already been calculated. Check your MyPortal account for placement.

You did not attend high school or did not attend high school in the United States

If you did not go to high school in the United States, never attended high school anywhere, or your high school transcripts are unavailable. Email to the Testing and Assessment Center to complete a guided self-placement for English.

You are a transfer student from another college or you already have college credit

If you have transfer credit from another college/university or Advanced Placement (AP) scores please complete a Prerequisite Clearance Form.

You are currently in high school

At Foothill College, high school students currently in 11th and 12th grade are placed into English 1A based on cumulative unweighted high school GPA.
For 10th graders seeking placement, we require not only a transcript for GPA, but also letters of recommendations from both an English instructor and a Counselor.
We are interested in your readiness for college-level reading and writing, as well as your ability to participate in a college-level classroom comprised of traditional-age college students and older returning students.
In particular: consider if you have the social maturity for non-fiction readings that may include complex themes of an adult nature. Do you have about the social maturity to engage in critical discourse on these themes with adult learners in a collaborative classroom?
Therefore, per Foothill English Department policy, if you are currently in 9th grade, you are not not permitted to enroll into English 1A.

Contact Us

Testing & Assessment Center

Student Services Building 8200 Room 8212
(650) 949-7743
fhtesting@fhda.edu
TAC Office Hours

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