Why Placement Matters

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Student signs up for calculus and the transcript says that they passed pre-calc. They got an A in the class, right?

So they should be prepared. And then the first quiz has a problem with fractions in it, and everything falls apart.

Not the calculus, the fractions. See, this situation is why placement exams matter.

You can’t really guess math readiness by vibes or a padded inflated grade from last year. At some point, somebody’s gotta ask the question: Can you actually do the prerequisite work?

Now, my question might feel rude. It might feel like an interrogation, an audit, and, well, it is, but it’s necessary because putting a student in the wrong math class doesn’t make them more advanced.

It doesn’t make them smarter. It just makes them crash and burn while simultaneously making it harder to diagnose what even happened.

Further reading: Why Can’t College Students Do Middle School Math? .

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