<p>The college that D is going to in the fall had her take a Calculus placement exam. She was charged $40.00, and she had to take it at the college. I know some schools allow the students to take exam online. Anyone else have to pay money for this?</p>
<p>D took it online (ALEKS) and was charged $10. It was possible to wave the test if you had AICE, AP or IB exam credit. This year, the test was also used for placement in Chemistry. </p>
<p>my daughter took placement exams for math and language (mainly for advice on which course to take). IMHO it is kind of cheesy to ask for money for it.</p>
<p>UW-Madison (state flagship) requires math and English placement exams- their own and free. If a low score is received remedial work is required. Otherwise results may indicate which college courses are to be taken, but not which calculus. Many students who passed the AP Calculus exam (a 3 means far less knowledge than a 5) are advised to start with the first UW course instead of the second in the sequence. This is because AP Calculus doesn’t cover everything in the UW version. They do not have a specific calculus test, however. There is logic in giving the college’s own test to see which of their courses should be taken. It finds out which material they cover in various courses they teach has been mastered. Private schools seem more prone to add fees- it means those not intending to take calculus aren’t paying for others who do.</p>
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<p>Old final exams for UW calculus courses can be used informally by these students wanting to determine placement, right?</p>
<p>The UW placement exam is precalculus math, some students could need remedial courses to meet university graduation requirements or courses in algebra/geometry. The placement exam does not determine which calculus to take. All UW grads are required to meet certain math and English standards- hopefully most will retain what they were taught in HS before starting college and not need to take 0 credit courses, or can skip composition classes.</p>
<p>I think placement tests are helpful to be sure students are adequately prepared to handle their college level courses.</p>
<p>Using any information available seems logical to me. Looking at exams and textbooks along with discussing with an advisor. Son did the Honors math/calculus sequence so choosing where to jump into the regular sequence didn’t come up. Honors included linear algebra in the first 3 of 4 semesters so he didn’t “lose” a semester by starting with a beginning course. Some Honors program students may choose the regular sequence for its emphasis on problem solving instead of theory depending on the planned major and goals. Thank goodness for the summer advisors! btw- they advise, they don’t dictate. A student can change their mind later.</p>
<p>I thought this difference in placement was interesteing.
Older daughter attended private college, although she considered attending a community college for their graphic design program.
The community college does not use SAT scores or previous courses for placement, they have their own computer test which was not very ADD friendly.
I think she placed into intermediate algebra, wheras she had finished stats & pre calc in high school.
( they charged for the test)
But she wasnt accepted into the design program, so she entered Reed college instead where she took calculus.
( without a placement test)</p>