PERT Exam

Who is Eligible?

All Florida high school students must take the PERT to graduate unless they have recently taken and passes other standardized tests that make them exempt. There are no fees for the PERT if taken during high school.

Those who are planning on attending any Florida college or university will also need to take this test. The eligibility requirements and fees vary for each college. Be sure to know what those are when you are ready to take the PERT.

When and Where is it Taken?

The PERT is taken during a student’s 11^th-grade year and is scheduled by their high school. This can be done at a college the student wished to attend or at an approved testing center that administrates the PERT. Some schools may schedule the PERT several different times and allow for walk-ins, while others only offer it once or twice a year and may require pre-registration.

It is important to check with your high school and/or the college you plan on attending to see what their registration guidelines are and to make sure that you have met all requirements.

What Should I Bring?

As with any scheduled event, it is important that you arrive on time for your PERT session. Many schools will not allow you to take the test if you arrive late. You may then have to reschedule it or wait until another testing window is open.

Most schools have a check-in process of some sort upon entering the testing area. This may mean that you will need to present at least one current and valid form of personal identification. If this is the case, be sure your ID(s) meets all the requirements your school has in place such as including a photo, your signature and/or your full legal name as it appears on your registration information.

This is a computer administrated test. This means that no pencils, paper, or even calculators will be needed to complete it. However, certain mathematics questions will have an on-screen pop-up calculator available for use.

Any personal items, including the above-mentioned ones, cell phones, or any study materials, are not permitted in the testing area and may result in your testing dismissal if they are found on your person during the exam.

It is up to each school as to how they administer this test. You will need to make sure you are aware of all requirements, as well as the rules and regulations that must be followed for you to successfully complete this test.

What is Covered?

The PERT’s three assessments are made of 30 multiple-choice questions each. They are not timed, giving you as much time as you need.

Below are a brief outline and description of each assessment and what it entails.

Mathematics

The mathematics section will test your basic math skills. You will be expected to know such concepts as the order of operations, percents and decimals, prime numbers, exponents, and fractions. The following abilities will also be evaluated.

• Equations
• Evaluating algebraic expressions
• Polynomials
• Dividing by monomials and binomials
• Applying standard algorithms or concepts
• Coordinate Planes
• Focusing on pairs of simultaneous linear equations in two variables

Reading

This section will provide you with a number of reading passages. You will need to read through them and answer the following one or more questions about them.

These questions will focus on how well you understand and comprehend the passage. You will be asked to notice, identify, and comprehend such things as:

• Important ideas, events, and/or information
• Author’s purpose, theme, style, and intent
• Patterns and relationships
• Facts and opinions and points of view
• Meanings of words in context

Writing

In this section, you will be given several passages to read as well. Each passage will have questions that follow. However, here in these passages and questions, you will not be asked to comprehend the content so much as be able to notice and fix any errors that are present. These errors will include topics such as word meaning, grammar, usage, the mechanics of written English, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation, and overall organization of information.

How is it Scored?

While this test is not given a pass or fail status, each assessment is scored individually on a scale from 50-150. This allows each school/college to help place you in certain classes that they feel you are adequately prepared for and will succeed in, as well as allow you to continue growing in that area.

These scores will be provided to you immediately upon your submission of the exam with each assessment being scored individually.

Your college or school will then use these scores to appropriately place you in classes that are the best suited for you. Each college may use a different score or set of standards to determine this placement. Therefore, it is imperative that you check with your educational program about the scores needed for certain levels and classes.  

How Can I Prepare?

Even though this test is not scored in a pass or fail status and does not affect your grades, it is still very important that you try your best and are prepared for it. Here at Mometrix, we want to help you by offering you unique study guides, practice tests, and flashcards to make sure that you know all about the content found on the PERT and have no surprises on test day.

These study materials are written by exam experts who have first-hand experience with this test, making sure that the language, sentence structure, and even the layout and fonts will be similar to the real deal. Don’t just think you are prepared, know it with Mometrix.

How Can I Prepare for the PERT Test?

We believe that different learning styles require different tools for success. We have compiled a list of the best study guides, flashcards, and practice tests that we’ve found on the market. Some of these guides have review videos, for you visual learners out there. Others have practice tests, which have been proven to increase student scores by a whole letter grade (in some cases more than that)!