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TABE Testing Information

The Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) tests skills and aptitudes in reading, math, and language, as you'll apply them in the workforce or classroom. Students who enroll in a program offered for career credit of 450 clock hours or more must meet the TABE requirement. The chart at the bottom of this page lists passing TABE scores for each program that requires it before a certificate can be awarded. You'll also find test preparation information and details about possible TABE exemptions.

TABE testing is available by appointment only, via the RegisterBlast online registration system at all four EFSC Campus Assessment Centers. Test takers must show a photo ID and will have to store any personal belongings, including cell phones, in the Center's secure lockers.

Appointments must be made more than 24 hours before the scheduled test session. The TABE test publisher requires 3 months or 30 hours of instruction between TABE retesting attempts. In order to make a TABE test appointment, students will need their EFSC ID number, Titans student email, telephone number, and the academic program for which they need the TABE test. View more details about the RegisterBlast system.

Make a TABE Appointment by Campus

Why the TABE Matters

Although there's no such thing as passing or failing the TABE test, your score can play a role in your eligibility for several career programs, and you will need to achieve a state-required basic skill level, as measured by the TABE, in order for you to graduate from many career programs, unless you qualify for an exemption.

EFSC uses the TABE 11/12 Level A Complete Battery for certain Career and Technical Certificate (CTC) programs and for admissions points to some limited access programs.

TABE 11/12 is aligned with College and Career Readiness (CCR) standards and complies with today's rigorous Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) regulations. In accordance with State Administrative Code, students enrolled in Career and Technical Certificate (CTC) programs that require TABE must complete testing within the first six weeks after beginning classes in the program. That mandate allows sufficient time for remediation and retesting before graduation for students who do not meet the basic skill levels outlined in the chart below.

Preparing for the TABE and Score Requirements

TABE 11/12 measures literacy in these three key types: Foundational Skills, Literary Texts, and Informational Texts. Scores are expressed as scaled scores (the value of the actual number correct out of the possible total). Scores are valid for two years from the test date until the date a student enters a program of study and remain valid with continuous enrollment. Eastern Florida offers resources for preparing and also a remediation process that can include assitance from the EFSC Academic Success Centers. We also have answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the TABE.

Minimum basic skill levels in math, language and reading are defined in each vocational program description and listed in the chart below. Please note the update for students who start a program in Fall Term 2022 or later, plus the requirements for students who began their program earlier than that.

TABE 2023 – 2024 BASIC SKILLS SCORE REQUIREMENTS

Exit from Career & Technical Certificate (CTC) Programs: Based on a student's Term Start Date

PROGRAM CODE      TABE TEST
11/12 Scaled Score
(Earlier Term Starts)		 11/12 Scaled Score
(Starting 2022-2023 Terms)

MATH
LANG
READING
MATH
COMMUNICATIONS
LANG or READING
Aviation Airframe Mechanics ACAM 627 584 597 627 584 or 576
Aviation Powerplant Mechanics APPM 627 584 597 627 584 or 576
Cosmetology COS2 577 572 576 577 572 or 563
Fire Fighter I/II FRI2 627 608 597 627 608 or 597
Heating, Ventilation, Air
Conditioning/Refrigeration HVAC		 AIR3 627 584 576 627 584 or 576
Mental Health Technician MHTC 596 584 576 596 584 or 576
Practical Nursing LPN2 657 631 617 657 631 or 617
Welding Technology WEL2 596 584 576 596 584 or 576

NOTE: Non-exempt students must attain benchmark scores in Mathematics and Communications to be awarded a Certificate. Beginning with program starts during the 2022-23 academic year, the Communications requirement may be satisfied with attaining the grade level benchmark in either the Language or Reading subtest. Students enrolled in programs of 450 hours or more that require a state, national, or industry licensure exam for employment must be initially tested (unless one of the approved exemptions is met.). If upon program completion, the student documents passage of the licensure exam within six months of program completion, the basic skills exit requirement is waived.