At 106 hours, it's REQUIRED!

The Academic Profile Examination is a graduation requirement for all students receiving a bachelor's degree.  This website will provide you with general information concerning the Academic Profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is this exam required? The state of Tennessee requires all state-supported colleges and universities to give the Academic Profile or a comparable exam.  Tennessee citizens want proof that higher education is achieving its goals.

What does the Academic Profile cover?  The exam primarily tests students' abiltiy to read and reason in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.  It also includes math items and writing items.   See Boosting Your Score on the Academic Profile for a more complete description of the test.

How does my score affect ETSU? Our university can earn nearly one-third of a million dollars annually from the state of Tennessee based on students= average Academic Profile score. These funds help us offer the best education at the lowest possible cost to students.  We use the Academic Profile results to find ways to improve courses and programs at ETSU.  Finally, the news media report all Tennessee universities= scores. Our score affects employers=, legislators= and others= impressions about how good a school ETSU is.  So when you look good, we look good.

How does my score affect me? When we look good, you look better! Your college degree is worth as much as the school that grants it. When you apply for a job or graduate school, the employer or admissions board can be impressed by where you went to school (and how you did there!) or not so impressed. So it=s important to you that people form a positive impression of ETSU.  If ETSU's average score on the Academic Profile shows we're an excellent school, the value of your degree goes up.

 

BOOSTING YOUR SCORE on the Academic Profile

Your performance on the Academic Profile is important for ETSU and for you! Following these tips can help you get the best score possible.

About the Academic Profile Exam

There are 36 multiple choice items on the test; you are given 40 minutes to complete the test.

The test measures your skills in reading/critical thinking, math and writing.

Students demonstrate reading/critical thinking skills in three subject areas:  humanities (mostly literature; some music, art, philosophy, and film), natural sciences (mostly biology; some chemistry and physics), and social sciences (mostly history; some sociology, economics, political science, psychology, and anthropology).  Test items ask you to read and respond to brief passages in these subject areas.

None of these items ask you to recall specific information about these subjects.  The test gives you all the information you need to answer these questions;  your job is to read and understand the material and think critically about it.  Therefore, you can do well on every reading/critical thinking item even if you have never studied the particular topic it covers.

Math items cover algebra, reading charts and graphs, and some geometry.  Most questions in algebra and geometry cover high school-level material.  For a quick review, visit the Math Lab in 308 Warf-Pickel, where you can pick up a math review sheet.

Writing items ask you to identify writing errors in a passage or select the best way to revise it.

At the present time, there is not a published study guide for the Academic Profile.  You may go to the ETS website at http://www.ets.org/hea/acpro/index.html for downloadable information and sample questions (a few of which are listed below).

Sample questions:

(In the following passage from Shakespeare=s Henry IV, Part 1, Hotspur and Glendower are meeting during their rebellion against the English King Henry IV.)

                                        Glendower: . . .                  At my nativity

The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes

Of burning cressets, and at my birth

The frame and huge foundation of the earth

Shaked like a coward.

Hotspur: Why, so it would have done at the same season, if your

mother=s cat had but kitten=d, though yourself had never been born.

                    Glendower: I say the earth did shake when I was born.

Hotspur: And I say the earth was not of my mind,

If you suppose as fearing you it shook. . . .

 

Glendower: Cousin, of many men

I do not bear these crossings. . . .

These signs have marked me extraordinary,

And all the courses of my life do show

I am not in the roll of common men. . . .

I can call spirits from the vasty deep.

 

Hotspur:       Why, so can I, or so can any man;

                   But will they come when you do call for them?

 

1. Which of the following best describes Hotspur=s response to Glendower=s assertion about events on the day of Glendower=s birth?

(A) Hotspur contends that the extraordinary events were merely coincidentally related to the time of Glendower=s birth.

(B) Hotspur insists that Glendower has no way of knowing that the extraordinary events really occurred, since Glendower was too young to be conscious of them.

(C) Hotspur argues that Glendower=s stories of comets and earthquakes are farfetched and unbelievable.

(D) Hotspur argues that the events were insignificant, not extraordinary, and that Glendower should forget about them.

2. In his final attempt to refute Glendower=s claims of exceptional powers, Hotspur exploits an ambiguity in the meaning of which of the       following words?

(A) >>spirits==

(B) >>man==

(C) >>come==

(D) >>call==

 

Directions: In the sentence below, three portions are underlined and lettered. Read the sentence and decide whether any of the underlined parts contains a grammatical construction, a word use, or an instance of incorrect or omitted punctuation that would be inappropriate in carefully written English. If so, note the letter printed beneath the underlined portion and fill in the corresponding lettered space on the answer sheet. If there are no errors in any of the underlined portions, fill in space D.  No sentence has more than one error.

 3. The place that American history now holds as the common element in children=s schooling belonged in the nineteenth century to

         A                                                                           B                                                                                                    C                     

Noah C Webster=s spelling and rhetoric books. No error

                                                                         D

 

Economic growth and territorial expansion in medieval and early modern times depended on urbanization, trade, colonization, conquest, and the clearing of land. But the increase in human contact established by these endeavors carried enormous risks of infection by disease. By adopting the concept of the unification of the globe by disease, we can discern the relationships between, and therefore better understand, phenomena seemingly very diverse. For example, we can see a connection between the outbreaks of plague in Western Europe, which recurred from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries, and beginning in the sixteenth century, the drastic depopulation of the New World by the spread of disease among its population. This >>community of disease== came about as the large populations of the world Cthe Chinese, the European, the Native American Cexpanded, and travel and trade among them greatly increased. The trade routes (traveled by armies of rats and fleas as well as humans) stretched across many disease-ridden areas. The danger became acute the moment traders from Genoa crossed the Black Sea and arrived in Central Asia, newly unified by the Mongols; and then once again, when Christopher Columbus, also Genoese, set sail westwards. Ultimately a large part of the world=s population perished from disease. So great is the role of demography as something that shapes the development of human civilization that these devastating losses of life and the painfully slow recoveries from them influenced much of world history.

 

4. In using the phrase Acommunity of disease@ above, the author of the passage most likely intends to indicate that

(A) members of a particular society generally develop resistance to diseases that occur frequently in their society

(B) only members of the same society are likely to be susceptible to certain diseases

(C) the exposure of diverse peoples of the world to the same diseases constitutes a link between these peoples

(D) the devastating effect of disease is a unifying factor among the people who suffer from it

 

5. The author=s discussion in the passage above presup-poses that, before expanded trade routes linked Europe, China, and the               Americas, which of the following was the case?

(A) The large populations of the world did not suffer from disease.

(B) Infectious diseases were found only in Western Europe.

(C) Infectious diseases were unlikely to spread between the large populations of the world.

(D) The traders from Genoa contributed to the spread of infectious diseases more than did any other group.

 

6. Which of the following is the best revision of ASo great is the role of demography as something that shapes the development of human     civilization that@ in lines above?

(A) So great is the role of demography in shaping the development of human civilization that

(B) Of such greatness is the role of demography to shape the development of human civilization,

(C) The role of demography is of such greatness in shaping the development of human civilization,

(D) The role of demography is great enough to shape the development of human civilization such that

 

The influence of the color of the coat of an animal on its ability for absorbing solar radiation is a subject of debate between biologists. Surface coloration arises from tdifferen-Line tial reflection or transmission of light waves by fur or feathers. Light that is not reflected or transmitted is absorbed, resulting in heat generation. Biologists have generally accepted the view that animals with dark-colored fur or feathers, and hence greater absorptivity for light waves, gain more heat from solar radiation than do animals with light-colored coats. Recent findings suggest, however, that properties of the coat other than color are important in determining how effectively an animal can use the Sun=s energy.

The amount of light that penetrates the coat of an animal and reaches the skin is an important determinant in the relation between solar heat gain and coat color. Light penetration is affected by the structure of an animal=s coat and by the optical properties of fur or feathers. It has been found that different animals with similar coloring have coats that vary greatly in the density and arrangement of hairs or feathers. The amount of light that passes through the coats of these animals also varies greatly. Furthermore, some light-colored animals, such as the polar bear, have hollow,  transparent hairs that allow light to pass through to the skin. Such animals might be able to use the Sun=s energy more effectively than animals with dense coats of solid hairs.

7. The passage indicates that the coloration of an animal=s coat

(A) is totally independent of the animal=s habitat

(B) is determined by the optical properties of the animal=s fur or feathers

(C) changes in response to cold weather

(D) has evolved in response to the need to retain heat energy from sunlight

 

8. If the previously accepted view described were correct, then

(A) arctic species would have to sacrifice camouflage to capture the maximum heat from sunlight falling on them

(B) dark-colored birds would retain body-generated heat in high wind-speed conditions better than light-colored birds would

(C) species living in hot desert habitats would tend to be dark-colored, rather than colored to match their environments

(D) the relative body size of two dark-colored species would not affect their relative loss of body heat in cold, sunny conditions

 

Directions: In the sentence below, three portions are underlined and lettered. Read the sentence and decide whether any of the

underlined parts contains a grammatical construction, a word use, or an instance of incorrect or omitted punctuation that would be

inappropriate in carefully written English. If so, note the letter printed beneath the underlined portion and fill in the corresponding

lettered space on the answer sheet. If there are no errors in any of the underlined portions, fill in space D. No sentence has more than one error.

 

9. There appears to be a strong relationship between geomagnetic activity with violent events on the sun, including sunspots and

                A                             B                                                             C

solar flares. No error

                      D

 

Answer Key for Sample Questions

1. A

2. D

3. D

4. C

5. C

6. A

7. B

8. A

9. C

Don't assume you can't answer a question because the passage you have to read is difficult.  Often the questions following a passage aren't as demanding as the passage was!  So read carefully and give every question your best effort.

Don't skip or automatically guess about questions on subjects you haven't studied.  Every item in humanities, natural science and social science gives you all the information you need-your job is to read carefully and use your reasoning skills.

Look for formulas in math questions. Some questions provide the formula you need to solve the problem-you just have to plug in the numbers.

Answer every question. You aren't penalized for guessing, so if a question really stumps you (after you've read it carefully), try to eliminate some of the possible answers, then make an educated guess.

Thank you!