Math Placement Tests

Any student who intends to take a mathematics course at or below the level of Math 140 - Calculus I must furnish proof to the department that he or she is prepared for that course. The required proof is successful completion of the appropriate Math placement test. A table with information on the four versions of the test, including the expected background, the material covered, the placement action, and links to practice tests is shown below.

Testing Center location

Dates and important things to know

Answers to frequent questions

Level	Background	Material	Test Scores & Placement			Practice
Level	Background	Material	Part I	Part II	Placement	Practice
Test A	Students who are not familiar with algebra.	Arithmetic with whole numbers, percentages, simplification of polynomials and expressions involving integers, evaluation of polynomials, solving linear equations, graphing points and lines, proportions, radicals.	0-13	0-15	MATHSK097	Practice Test.
			0-13	16-29	Retake Test A MATHSK097
			14-21	0-15	MATHSK098
			14-21	16-18	MATHSK099
			14-21	19-22	MATHSK099, Math114Q
			14-21	23-29	Math114Q, Math115.
Test B	Students who have studied two years of high school algebra or one or two semesters of College Algebra.	Rules for exponents (positive and negative integers), scientific notation, square roots, manipulating literal fractions with letters in them, factoring, solving linear equations, solving simultaneous equations, word problems, lines and points graphed on a plane.	0-11	0-8	Take Test A	Practice Test
			12-19	0-8	Math 124, Math 125, CS105
			20-30	0-4	Math 129, Math 130
			20-30	5-8	Math 129, Math 130, CS110
Test C	Students who have successfully completed a precalculus course with trigonometry.	Material covered in Test B, + slopes and intercepts of straight lines, parabolas and quadratic equations, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions, inverse functions.	0-14	N/A	Take Test B	Practice Test
			15-25	N/A	Retake Test C
			26-35	N/A	Math140, Math145, CS110.
Test D	Students who have successfully completed a precalculus course.	Material covered in Test B, + slopes and intercepts of straight lines, parabolas and quadratic equations, exponential, logarithmic and inverse functions.	0-11	N/A	Take Test B	Practice Test
			12-20	N/A	Retake Test D
			21-28	N/A	Math 134, Math135

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Page last modified: August 6, 2008			Department of Mathematics University of Massachusetts Boston Phone: 617-287-6460; Fax: 617-287-6433 Information: Webmaster: