American Sign Language Placement Test

Evaluation of ASL skills is required of all new students, including transfers, to determine course placement.  Scores from the ASL Placement Test (ASLPT) and/or face-to-face interview will determine whether to place you directly in GSR 103 American Sign Language and Deaf Studies course or in prerequisite ASL 101 or ASL 102 course(s).

ASLPT is a 45-minute video multiple choice to measure your ASL skills. It is entirely in ASL, including the directions. If the resulting scores are borderline, then an additional face-to-face interview will be scheduled before or during New Student Orientation. New signers should email the placement coordinator at placement.testing@gallaudet.edu if they find the test overwhelming or hard to understand.

New Signers

If your sign language skills are minimal, we will require you to sign up for the JumpStart: New Signers Program for new students who have been accepted to Gallaudet University.  It is a five-week summer program geared for new students prior to the fall semester and provides intensive instruction in ASL.

We also encourage you to maximize every opportunity to learn sign language by participating in ASL classes offered at your high school or local community college in order to have enough skills to skip one or two of the prerequisite ASL courses.