Whittier College Math Placement Test
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Who needs to take this exam EVER?
Any student entering in the fall of 2005 as a freshman.
Any transfer student who has not completed his / her Communication I (QL) requirement.
2) Who needs to take this exam ASAP?
Any student (entering freshmen or transfer student) wishing to register in a Communication I (QL) course for the Fall 2005 semester MUST pass the placement exam first!
It's best for everyone to take the test sooner rather than later ... this helps avoid the phenomenon of "forgetting all your math" that a few students have observed!
3) What are the deadlines for taking this exam?
i) Any freshman student admitted after 2005 must take the exam and pass categories 1 through 5 before registering for any Communication I (QL) course. Such courses include any math class except Math 76. In particular, you must pass categories 1 ... 5 before registering for Math 75.
ii) Freshmen must complete this exam before the end of their Junior year. Failure to do so results in a block to registration.
4) What if I pass some but not all of Categories 1 ... 5?
You must retake only the categories you didn't pass. But you must pass all of the first 5 before taking a Communication 1 (QL) course.
5) How often may I take this test?
You may retake any of the tests as many times as you want. However, you must wait 2 weeks to retake a test. This encourages actually learning the material covered, rather than simply hoping to take the test enough times to accidentally earn the score you need eventually. This "2 week rule" may occasionally be relaxed during critical times, such as registration time ... but we give no guarantees. We'll notify you on the webpage when this happens.
6) Is the test timed?
The only time limit is the two or three hour period over which the test is given. In that time you may take anywhere between 1 and all 10 tests. This effectively gives as much time as you need.
7) Can we use Calculators?
No. The questions were written in such a way that you should not need a calculator. Any numerical computation you need to do is simple enough to do on paper very quickly.
8) What should I bring to the test?
The test is computer administered, and no calculator is allowed. So all you need is a pencil or pen. We will supply scratch paper. You will also need to know your 8 digit student ID number. (Most of these are of the form 20xxxxxx or 00xxxxxx).
9) What if I don't pass the first 5 categories but want to take Math XX or any other Communication I (QL) course this fall?
The courses you would take assume that you have mastered the material on each required test. If you do not pass one or more of these tests, you are not ready for the course, and should not take it anyway. Rather than "just being mean about the whole thing", we do this to have you avoid taking a course in which you'll feel overwhelmed from the beginning, ending up with a poor or failing grade at the end. Contrary to what many students have claimed, it's rare that a student will "pick it up as we go" in a course if he's not ready at the beginning.
10) Where can I get help in studying for this test?
The type of help you get depends on the amount of help you need. At present, if you passed most of the first 5 categories, you may just need a little bit of review. You can drop by CAS and get help from a tutor. There will be a few review sessions available for each category, announced as needed. If you passed less than half of the first 5 categories, you should consider enrolling in Math 76 - College Algebra. There are many websites which give brief tutorials in each of our topics.
Eventually, the placement test will have a tutorial mode where you can take sample tests, and each wrong answer will be discussed, and correct solution techniques given. However, this is not currently available.