The on-line University of Michigan Mathematics Placement test provides part of the information that is used to place new students into mathematics courses at the University. It is based on the pencil-and-paper test that was used until 2004, and is a test of high school mathematics skills. As such, it tests some, but not all, of the mathematics that students will have seen in their high school mathematics courses, and is different in appearance and content to the mathematics courses at the University of Michigan, which are highly conceptual and which emphasize problem solving and understanding.
The placement test, in conjunction with other information about students' mathematics skills and background, is evaluated each year to verify that it provides a useful metric for placing students into precalculus or calculus courses. Because this information does not include material from calculus, the test is not used to place students into Calculus II (Math 116) or higher-level courses. Those placements may, however, be obtained by scoring well on the AP calculus test.
A Bit of History:The on-line placement test has been in use since the summer of 2005. In 2004 it was used with some pilot groups of students, which allowed us to determine that the on-line test is as accurate as the pencil-and-paper test for placing students into courses in which they will succeed.
The test is currently administered using the
testing
module in
WeBWorK.
For further information about the technical underpinnings of the test,
contact the Mathematics Department Instructional Technology
Consultant, at <math-itc(at)umich(dot)edu>.
For other aspects of the Department's use of instructional technology
applications, including testing and homework, see the Department's
Instructional Technology
Server.