Informed Self Placement (ISP) for English

At Shoreline Community College, we are dedicated to helping you succeed in college now and in the workplace in the future. One of the keys to that success is your ability to read, write, and think at the college level. We have designed our English classes to help you develop these important abilities. Your first college English class should be challenging, but it should also start where you currently are with your reading, writing, and thinking skills. As a result, selecting the best class for yourself is a very important process.

This questionnaire will help you decide which English class is best for you.

Are you an ESL/ELL student?

If you have not attended high school in the US and have lived in the US (or other English speaking country) for under 5 years, ESL classes may be better for you. Contact Taraji Belgacem, ESL Student Success Navigator, at tbelgacem@shoreline.edu.

Do you have a high school credential (diploma/GED)?

If not, or if you have been out of school for more than 5 years, our Adult Basic Education (ABE) program may be a good starting place for you. To learn more, contact abe@shoreline.edu or call (206) 705-8725.

Are you applying to become a Running Start student?

At this time, eligibility for Running Start is determined with high school GPA (2.5 or higher), scores from the Smarter Balanced Assessment, AP and IB exams, SAT or ACT scores, and Accuplacer. We will also honor English 101 placement from another community or technical college in Washington state. Contact the Running Start office in Room 5229 or at runningstart@shoreline.edu.

Have you graduated from a US high school in the last five years?

If you have completed two years at any US high school within the last five years, and earned a cumulative 2.5 GPA, you can use your high school transcript to enroll in English 101. 

Have you taken any of the following tests?

  • Smarter Balanced
  • ACT/SAT
  • IB/AP
  • GED

If so, you may be able to use your scores to place into English 101. See the Placement page for more information.

Do none of these questions apply to you?

Continue with the online English self-placement process. The entire assessment will take approximately 15-20 minutes. 

After you complete and submit the questionnaire, you will receive an email confirmation of your course selection. Testing Center staff will upload your placement within 24 hours, Monday-Friday. Once you have received your placement, you have several options for registering at that point:

  • If you would like to discuss your course selection, you can take your email confirmation with you when you meet with an advisor in person, or email it to advising@shoreline.edu.
  • If you are ready to register, you can take your email confirmation with you to Enrollment Services, or forward it to enrollmentservices@shoreline.edu
  • If you have questions about your readiness for English classes, you can forward your email confirmation, along with any questions to englishadvising@shoreline.edu