Beware the College Placement Exam

Yesterday I posted a piece about the value of college degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and how preparing our high school graduates to enroll in Calculus as their first math class is critical to their success in a STEM degree. I recognize that many looked at your son or daughter's math grades and said, "That Calculus thing?, not happening." While it is widely recognized that high school students should take four years of math in high school, to include Algebra II, to be optimally prepared for college, we also know that many students will struggle with math and continue to do so when they get to college.

The fact is that most colleges believe that a rudimentary knowledge of algebra is important to being a well rounded college student.  In fact, you will find most colleges will expect students to have completed Algebra II in high school - not doing so or testing poorly on the subject matter will likely place your high school student in a remedial course in college.  Remedial courses are non-credit courses that don't count toward a college degree, but are required for students who don't demonstrate the requisite skills in math and/or English. A remedial class will add extra time and money to a college degree. Even worse, is that students who are placed into remedial education are far less likely to complete a college degree.

While the easy answer is to make sure your high school student completes Algebra II in high school, doing so will not exempt them from remedial education.  When they walk on campus, they will be asked to complete a placement exam, typically either the COMPASS or Accuplacer. Other colleges may take a look at the ACT or SAT score. If your high school student does poorly on these tests, even if they aced Algebra II in high school, they could be placed into remedial education.   Serious bummer.

So, in addition to taking Algebra II your student should study and prepare for these exams.  There are many resources online to help your student prepare for these exams.  Here is a link for the Accuplacer and the COMPASS.

But, your efforts should not stop there. Here is the critical insight that you need to keep in mind.  Placement tests are very poor at predicting whether your high school student will pass a college level class.  In fact, there is research that demonstrates that your student's high school GPA or whether they took a rigorous math class during their senior year is more predictive of success in college-level courses than any test.

So, don't take your son or daughter's performance on a placement exam at face value - if they have taken a rigorous high school curriculum and have gotten good grades, there is no reason they should be placed into remedial education.   The same holds true for getting students into college calculus.  Don't accept a placement into College Algebra when your son or daughter has done well in advanced high school math courses.

Bottom line - while a rigorous high school curriculum offers no guarantee of getting the right placement for your son or daughter into college courses, it is going to be your strongest tool for making a strong case in favor when you advocate for a better placement.