Self-Diagnostic Assessment for Programming Methodologies

Polytechnic Candidates and candidates who are holders of GCE ‘A’ Levels, International Baccalaurate or equivalent qualifications may wish to take our self-diagnostic assessment for the Computing Placement Test.  Note that the Computing Placement Test is only applicable to incoming freshmen.  This online test is a mock up of the actual Computing Placement Test for CS1010.  This assessment is purely optional, self-timed and administered.  Participation and marking on the test is anonymous and does not count for or against any placement, it is provided to help prospective students assess the level of difficulty in CS1010. Answers are provided at the end of the assessment.

We envision that candidates may want to take the self-diagnostic assessment to check whether their programming compentencies are up to the level of an incoming student.

This self-diagnostic thus serves two purposes for candidates:

  • For polytechnic students who enjoy the automatic exemption, whether they would prefer to revoke the exemption and opt to take the introductory level course 1;
  • For other students who may have sufficient mastery, to assess whether they would like to take the placement test, and if passing, to exempt themselves from the introductory coursework.

We hope that candidates will take the self-diagnostic assessment as a serious exercise; i.e., suitably prepared, timed and in the confines of a examination-like environment.

All candidates who are to be admitted in Semester 1, academic year 2022-2023 starting 1 August 2022 for a course in either Computer Science or Information Systems or Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering) or Business Analytics or Information Security course in the School of Computing.  Freshmen from either the Faculty of Engineering or Faculty of Science who require CS1010E/S as their core may also apply to sit for the placement examination

Please note that the Computing Placement Test will be offered only in C, Java and Python.  In cases where a question shows a snippet of code, snippets that are written in all three languages will be provided. Students have to answer the questions in the language specified in their degree requirements.

Click here to take the self-diagnostic assessment

Preparatory Materials

In the past, the School of Computing had prepared materials for candidates to review in a programming refresher workshop. Candidates may find it worthwhile to review the materials before attempting the above assessment.

1 Note: Students who wish to revoke their exemption may submit their request to Ms Diana Wong, School of Computing Office of Undergraduate Studies (COM1 #02-19) NO later than Friday, Week 3 of Semester 1. Once the approval is granted, it will be irrevocable.