All students in the CSU are required to take college-level courses in mathematics or quantitative reasoning in order to graduate. It is important that students arrive at the university with the necessary entry-level mathematics skills. If, on entry, a student is found to need additional work in college preparatory subjects and is placed in appropriate remedial coursework, such remedial coursework will not count toward credit for graduation. In order to ensure that students entering the university are ready to take courses in mathematics or quantitative reasoning, entering freshmen are expected to have completed three years of college preparatory coursework (Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II or an equivalent course sequence). Although not required for admission to the CSU, a fourth year of mathematics is advisable, especially for students planning to pursue majors in technical fields. A Precalculus course is a prerequisite to the freshman calculus courses required in most technical curricula. Students who do not intend to major in technical fields in college may choose another course, such as statistics and probability, in their senior year of high school. All students are encouraged to take mathematics in their senior year of high school, since students whose last math course was completed in the junior year or earlier often have difficulties with the required college-level mathematics courses and with the ELM requirement.
The Entry Level Mathematics Requirement
The ELM placement test assesses entry-level mathematics skills that the CSU expects entering students to have acquired in three years of rigorous college-preparatory mathematics coursework. Such courses must include the topics covered in elementary and intermediate algebra and two- and three-dimensional geometry, whether offered in traditional or integrated mathematics courses. All entering students must take the ELM placement test unless they have demonstrated proficiency in mathematics on the CSU's Early Assessment Program (EAP) in mathematics, SAT, ACT, or Advanced Placement exams (see list below) prior to placement in appropriate university mathematics coursework. This is the ELM requirement. Those who are not exempt must take the ELM placement test prior to enrollment in the CSU. Failure to comply with this requirement will prevent the student from enrolling in the university. Specific policies regarding retesting and placement are determined by each campus. Exemptions from the placement test are given only to those students who can present proof of one of the following: placement in the "Ready for CSU college-level mathematics courses" category on the Early Assessment Program (EAP) taken in conjunction with the 11th grade California Standards Test in High School Mathematics or Algebra II placement in the "Ready for CSU college-level mathematics courses - Conditional" category on the Early Assessment Program (EAP) taken in conjunction with the 11th grade California Standards Test in High School Mathematics or Algebra II PLUS successful completion of a CSU-approved math or appropriate math-related course or activity taken before enrolling at a CSU campus a score of 550 or above on the mathematics portion of the College Board SAT Reasoning Test a score of 550 or above on a College Board SAT Subject Test in Mathematics (level 1 or level 2) a score of 23 or above on the ACT Mathematics Test taken October 1989 or later
a score of 3 or above on the College Board Advanced Placement Mathematics examination (Calculus AB or Calculus BC) a score of 3 or above on the College Board Advanced Placement Statistics examination completion and transfer to the CSU of a college course that satisfies the requirement in Quantitative Reasoning provided such a course was completed with a grade of C or better.
NUMBERS AND DATA (approximately 35%)
Carry out basic arithmetic calculations
Understand and use percent in context
Compare and order rational numbers expressed as fractions and/or decimals
Solve problems involving fractions and/or decimals in context
Interpret and use ratio and proportion in context
Use estimation appropriately
Evaluate and estimate square roots
Represent and understand the data presented in tables, pie charts, bar and line graphs, histograms, and other formats for presenting data visually used in print and electronic media
Interpret and calculate the arithmetic mean
Interpret and calculate the median
Make estimates and predictions based on data
)
