2.1 Who Must Take the PERT & Exemptions

Why Florida Colleges Use the PERT

The Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT) is Florida’s customized common placement exam. Its job is not to “pass or fail” you for college admission. Instead, it measures whether your current skills support college-level reading, writing, and mathematics—or whether you should start in developmental (also called preparatory) coursework first.

Florida College System institutions use placement results to match you with the right first-term classes. Placing correctly protects your time and money: a student who is not ready for college algebra but enrolls anyway can lose a semester, financial aid progress, and confidence. A student who is ready but gets steered into developmental courses wastes time on material they already know. The PERT exists to reduce both mistakes.

This chapter focuses on eligibility and strategy—who must take the exam, who can skip it, how retakes work, and how to study for an adaptive test. Content chapters later in this guide drill into reading, writing, and math skills.

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Who Typically Must Take the PERT

Degree-seeking college students without an exemption

If you are entering a Florida College System program as a degree-seeking student—and you do not already have an approved exemption score—you will usually complete a common placement assessment. Many colleges require placement before you register for gateway English or math, and some require it before you enroll in a full program load (often framed around 12 or more credit hours of college coursework).

“Degree-seeking” usually means you are pursuing an associate degree (AA/AS), a baccalaureate pathway, or another program that counts as degree-seeking under that college’s catalog. Non-degree, dual-enrolled high school, or short certificate pathways can have different rules, so treat catalog language as the authority.

Students without usable prior scores

Even if you took the SAT or ACT years ago, scores that fall outside the validity window (commonly two years) or scores that never met the college’s cut points do not exempt you. In that case you sit for the PERT (or another approved placement instrument your college accepts).

High school students seeking dual enrollment

Florida high school students—typically grade 10 and above—may take the PERT to demonstrate readiness for dual enrollment courses taught by a partner college. Dual enrollment lets you earn high school and college credit at the same time, but colleges protect academic standards by requiring college-ready placement results before you enter most college classes.

Dual enrollment pattern (common, institution-specific):

• Initial eligibility often requires college-ready scores in Reading and Writing (so you can succeed in reading-intensive courses).
• Retaining eligibility beyond roughly 12 college credits at many colleges (a pattern associated with policies such as those published by Pasco-Hernando State College and similar partners) often requires college-ready status in all three subtests—Reading, Writing, and Math.

That “two now, three later” pattern is a useful study planning signal: if dual enrollment is your goal, do not ignore math because you only need Reading/Writing today.

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Who May Be Exempt from Taking the PERT

You may not need the PERT if you already hold qualifying scores on another approved common placement measure. Florida Rule 6A-10.0315 and related guidance establish a framework; each college publishes a placement chart that translates official scores into course placement or exemption.

Common exemption pathways

Key rule of thumb: Exemptions are not automatic because you “took the SAT.” You need the right scores, on the right sections, still within the validity period, and recorded in your college’s system.

Score validity for exemptions

Approved common placement scores—including PERT results used for placement—are generally valid for two years from the test date. After that window, many colleges require retesting unless another exemption (for example, completed college coursework) applies. Always confirm the start date used for “two years” (test date vs. score report date) with the testing office.

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Senate Bill 1720 and Developmental Education Context

Florida’s Senate Bill 1720 and later refinements reshaped developmental education and placement practices for many students. In broad terms, the policy environment expanded alternatives to traditional developmental sequences and clarified that placement rules interact with student classification, high school performance, and college advising pathways.

What this means for you as a test-taker:

• Some students may have more flexibility in how developmental needs are addressed (for example, co-requisite models rather than long prerequisite chains).
• Placement assessment is still widely used to inform first English and math registration.
• Exact obligations can differ by student type (first-time-in-college, dual enrollment, transfer, military, etc.) and by institution.

Because this area is policy-complex and institution-specific, treat statewide news or outdated blogs as background only. Before you schedule—or skip—the PERT, contact your college’s testing office or academic advising team and ask:

1. Am I required to take a common placement test for my program?
2. Do I already have an exemption on file?
3. Which cut scores apply to the courses I want (especially math tracks)?
4. How long are my current scores valid?

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Dual Enrollment Readiness: Planning Beyond the First Semester

Dual enrollment students should map two horizons:

Horizon 1 — Getting approved to start

Most partner high schools and colleges require college-ready Reading and Writing first. Focus early study on those subtests if you are short on time, but do not abandon math entirely—weak algebra skills still limit which dual enrollment STEM and business courses you can take.

Horizon 2 — Staying eligible after initial credits

Many colleges require college-ready status in all three areas to continue dual enrollment after you accumulate a modest credit total (commonly discussed around 12 credits). A student who skips Math “for now” can hit a wall mid-pathway.

Practical checklist for dual enrollment candidates:

• Confirm your high school’s dual enrollment application timeline and test deadlines.
• Ask whether your district pays for the first PERT attempt.
• Target the college-ready cuts used by the partner college (not a different school’s chart).
• Retest strategy: if Reading/Writing are ready but Math is not, schedule focused math remediation before you reach the credit limit that requires all three.

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How to Confirm Your Personal Requirement

Use this decision path:

1. Identify your status — First-time college student, dual enrollment, transfer, returning adult, or non-degree.
2. Pull any prior scores — SAT, ACT, ACCUPLACER, older PERT, CLEP, or prior college English/math grades.
3. Open your college’s placement chart — Match scores to exemption or course placement rows.
4. Check validity dates — Anything older than about two years may be unusable.
5. Email or visit testing services — Ask them to confirm whether you must test and which subtests.
6. Only then schedule — Prepare seriously for the attempt you book (see Section 2.3).

Bottom line: If you are a non-exempt degree-seeking student heading into a Florida College System program, plan on the PERT (or an accepted alternative). If you have strong, recent SAT/ACT/ACCUPLACER scores, you may be fully or partially exempt. Dual enrollment students should treat Reading and Writing as the first gate—and Math as the gate that keeps the door open.