Curriculum

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Calculus Placement Changes

Effective: Summer A/C, 2001

Calculus placement is changing substantially. The SATII Math 11-C is no longer required. Here's what's new:

1) There are no longer prereqs in the registration system to prevent students from registering for either calculus course (MAC2233 or MAC2311). Of course, the Math department strongly encourages students to follow the placement guide- lines. Current students can read the basic information at http://www.advising.ufl.edu/placement to see if they should enroll directly in calculus or should take the new Calculus Readiness Assessment (CRA) which is in ISIS - under "Hot . Links" on the ISIS homepage http://www.isis.ufl.edu.  More complete information will be made available to incoming first-year students prior to and during Preview.

2) Students who have successfully completed MAC1147 with a C or better may enroll directly in MAC2311 without further placement. However, if they only earned a C, they should expect to have to work extra hard in 2311 to be successful. 3) Students who have taken MAC1147 and earned below a C are most likely not ready to take a calculus course. They should discuss their next step with their math instructor or an advisor in the Math department.

3) Students who have an SATII Math II-C score may still use that for placement, though the CRA is preferred. The Math department has raised the recommended score threshold for MAC2311 to 550 on the SAT II Math II-C test.

4) The CRA is truly designed to be an assessment of the student's preparation for calculus. Since there are no prereqs in the system and students may enroll regardless of score, we hope that students will not feel they have to do anything to "enhance" their CRA score (such as redo the questions multiple times).

5) After students complete the last question in the CRA, their test is submitted. Their scores - one for the algebra portion and one for the trigonometry portion - are displayed along with the placement recommendations. For MAC2311, the score on both portions is important as well as HS math background. In general, a score of 20 or higher on both portions of the CRA should indicate readiness for MAC2311.

6) Students' CRA scores will also appear on screen TST in the Student Records System. Here's how it will be coded: 

• For the algebra questions, screen TST is to be updated with a record of Test Type CRAA and the Remark field is to be updated with CRA.AIgebra. The number correct out of the 20 algebra questions will appear under "Total" and the number not answered are to appear under "VB".
• For the Trig questions, screen TST is to be updated with a record of Test Type CRAT and the Remark field is to be coded CRA. Trig. The "Total" score will reflect the number correct out of 5 Trig questions, the number not answered will appear under "VB".