Prerequisites for College Algebra (MATH 1314)
and
What do we do to check for them?
Checking prerequisites

From the Math Manual:

3. You should use the student information sheets and Prerequisite Review Sheets to make sure that all students meet the prerequisites for the course.  Most of our students enter with Assessment Test scores that give a good indication of appropriate placement up through Trigonometry.  Some students choose to avoid the advice about placement when they register, so you do need to check.  For more information about this, consult the Math Advising pages on the Web or the summary in this Manual. If you discover that students do not have prerequisites, you may ask the students to withdraw or withdraw them yourself from the course.  Ideally, one should try to make this discovery during the first or second class and direct the student either to adds and drops or to the NCBR coordinator’s office (or Math-Science campus office) where class adjustments can be made for a few days longer, if space is available.

Determining whether a student has the prerequisites for College Algebra

From the Math Manual:

The prerequisite for college algebra is MATD 0390, Intermediate Algebra, or current knowledge of high school Algebra II, as measured by an appropriate assessment test.

Questions:  What is the appropriate assessment test?  Are "Assessment Test" and Placement Test" interchangeable terms?

First of all, a student may be exempt from taking an Placement Test.  According to the Math Manual:
TASP  SAT I ACT
270+ and high school Algebra II 570+ and high school Algebra II 21+ and high school Algebra II Exempt from placement test requirements for MATH 1314 or MATH 1324

Students who want to enroll in college-level math and who are exempt from Placement Test based on prior college degree or college courses before 1989 or TAAS test:

To enroll in MATH 1314, 1316, 2412, 2413, or 1425, student must take the COMPASS test and meet the requirements for the course listed under COMPASS information.
Question: Assuming no college degree or college courses, what TAAS score provides exemption?
Is COMPASS the requirement for students who are not exempt based on TASP, SAT I or ACT?

The Math Manual on COMPASS:

COMPASS Algebra Test: 69 or above:
Student can take any of the following courses, independent of whether he/she has the prerequisite:  MATH 1332, MATH 1333, MATH 1335, MATH 1336, MATH 1342, MATH 1324, MATH 1314.
Then the material on Decision Zones:

COMPASS Algebra Test: 59 to 68:

  1. if the student has passed a full semester of high school Elementary Analysis, Precalculus, Trigonometry, Analytic Geometry, or equivalent courses, then the cut-off for getting into MATH 1324 or MATH 1314 is 59.
  2. if the student has passed Algebra II, the cut-off score for enrolling in 1324 or MATH 1314 is in the range 63 to 69, depending upon a number of factors. If the student answers "Yes" to at least four of these questions, then the cut-off score is 63. If the student only answers "Yes" to two or three of these questions, the cut-off score is 66.  Otherwise, the cut-off score is 69.
  3. Do you have extra study time available this semester in case you need more review than you thought? (More than the usual three hours for every hour in class that is necessary for most math courses.) Your advisor will review with you the number of hours per week you're working, how many courses you're planning to take, and any other time commitments.
  4. Did you complete Algebra II or Intermediate Algebra within the last 18 months?
  5. Did you make an A or B in Algebra II or Intermediate Algebra?
  6. Do you feel confident of your mathematical skills and your test-taking skills?
  7. Do you plan to enroll in an ACC mathematics lab to accompany your course?
  8. Do you have someone available to help you with your questions about your math course several times each week?
  9. Have you worked through the problems on the Prerequisite Review Sheet for this course?
Problems with the above scheme

The classroom teacher hardly has time to make the above assessment on the first day of class, based on the following:

  1. The logic is far too complicated to implement in any reasonable way, especially all the fuzzy logic of "Decision Zones".
  2. Students may not know off-hand what tests they have taken, much less what their scores are.
  3. Because of #2, students may unintentionally mislead faculty as to their scores.
  4. We have no efficient way to check on the validity of their responses, be they intentionally or unintentionally misleading.
Please help

Assuming that the Math Dept. is serious about checking for prerequisites, we need some help from the Task Force on exactly what we should do to make that check.

Please provide a form that we should be using for College Algebra as a first-day prerequisite check, along with what actions we should take based on the answers to that check.