Math Placement

All students enrolling in an academic course of study at Lee College are required to take an initial math placement exam, unless they are exempt based on the TSI (Texas Success Initiative) criteria listed in Testing Services. Counselors and advisors can assist students in identifying whether they need to test or meet an exemption. Depending on the specific program of study, students entering Lee College to earn a certificate in a skill or trade may not need a math placement exam.

TSI (Texas Success Initiative)

The purpose of TSI is to ensure that all students enrolling in public higher education in Texas possess the academic skills needed to perform effectively in college-level coursework. TSI is designed to assess your ability to successfully complete freshman-level academic courses such as English composition, history or college mathematics. It requires an assessment of skills in math, reading, and writing. For more information about TSI requirements for Lee College, please refer to Testing Services.

What is the Accuplacer®?

Accuplacer is an assessment tool used at many colleges nationwide to help students identify their present academic skill level. This targeted information is used to assist in planning an appropriate schedule of coursework. It is a set of state approved initial tests for first-time-in-college students which include tests in reading, sentence skills, writing and mathematics. In math, it identifies skill levels to determine the optimum starting math course that will lead to a student’s greatest chance of academic success. The tests are computerized and scores are available upon completion of the tests. A description of the Accuplacer and its test for each math level can be found at the College Board website, www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/accuplacer/accuplacer-tests.html.

Taking the Accuplacer

Usually, the Accuplacer math placement test starts with questions from Elementary Algebra. If a student does well on this portion of the test, Accuplacer will increase the level and difficulty of the questions until the test identifies the student’s highest skill level.§· Once this happens, Accuplacer will generate placement score(s) for Elementary Algebra and possibly College Math. If a student struggles with the Elementary Algebra questions, Accuplacer will switch to the Arithmetic test and will consequently generate two placement scores, one for Elementary Algebra and one for Arithmetic. Testing instructions and costs can be found in Testing Services – Accuplacer.

Preparing for the Accuplacer

For the most accurate math placement, it is very important to prepare prior to taking the test. First, review the math questions in the ACCUPLACER Sample Questions to familiarize yourself with the format and content of the test. Second, review the test descriptions for the Arithmetic Test, Elementary Algebra Test and College Level Math Test to identify content areas that you may wish to refresh or improve. You will find that there are many free websites and instructor lecture notes available on the Internet to help improve your math skills. Some examples include the Khan Academy at www.khanacademy.org, Free Math Help at www.freemathhelp.com and Math TV at www.mathtv.com.

Interpretation of Scores

Accuplacer scores must be on file with Lee College before the student begins any math classes. Below is the Math Placement Chart used by Lee College counselors and advisors to identify math placement based on Accuplacer score(s). If you are a first-time in college student, you will meet with a counselor or advisor to discuss your test scores and set up your new student orientation. It is highly recommended that returning students not meeting the minimum scores for credit math courses visit with a counselor to discuss their math placement and pathway.

Math Placement Chart

Effective fall 2012

*For TASP taken prior to September, 1995 a TASP score of 220 or higher is passing and places student in MATH 330, MATH 1332 or MATH 1342.
**For TASP taken beginning September, 1992 a TASP score of 270 or higher places students into MATH 1314.

Students who have not recently taken math may be advised to take an assessment to determine current math level.