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Math: A Guide to Testing out and Learning Efficiently - OE800_85 - 08-09-2012
It seems a lot of people on here often have issues with Math, understandably. I figured I'd gather my knowledge on the topic and sort of consolidate all that info here.
There are many ways to "test out" of math. The best ways are as follows:
ALEKS (Beginner Algebra (sometimes gets credit), Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Trigonometry or Precalculus (pick one, I recommend both though), and Statistics)
CLEP (College Math, College Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus I)
DSST (College Algebra, Statistics)
Straighterline (College Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus I, Calculus II, Statistics)
UExcel (Calculus*4 credits, Statistics)
Obviously, the courses with the same titles overlap as credit. Check with your school to see if any others do.
Many people have mentioned ALEKS as an excellent tool for learning math. That's very true, and I think you should use it. It's only $20/month. However, I think it's a little slow. The structure of learning on ALEKS requires a HUGE amount of time on some repetitive tasks. What I recommend is as follows:
Go to Khan Academy.org. Create an account. It's quite fun, they have profiles and avatars and points and all that. Anyways, the key thing is to watch the relevant videos for your needs. You can do problems on their site, or you can also do them on ALEKS (ALEKS I'd say is better for this). The topics are as follows:
Arithmetic and Pre-Algebra
Algebra
Geometry
Trigonometry
Probability
Statistics
Precalculus
Calculus
Differential Equations
Linear Algebra
Whatever testing method you do, this is the order of difficulty, and since math is cumulative, it's the order you SHOULD take them in.
Beginner Algebra -> Pre-Algebra and Algebra (usually no credit given)
College Math -> Pre-Algebra and Algebra (Different from College Algebra!)
Intermediate Algebra -> Algebra
College Algebra -> mostly Algebra, very little Geometry
Trigonometry -> Trigonometry (overlaps with Precalculus, despite being very different)
Precalculus -> Precalculus (overlaps with Trigonometry)
Statistics -> Probability, Statistics (quite independent of other math topics)
Calculus I -> Calculus (up to when they mention antiderivatives, aka integrals)
Calculus II -> Calculus (from Integrals up to the many AP test examples he gives)
For those who wanna go further, there are options at Ohio U Credit by Examination (If you do, wait a few months until they switch over to a semester system):
Elementary Linear Algebra -> Linear Algebra
Calculus III -> (from the end of the AP questions to the end)
Differential Equations -> Differential Equations
Those are all the math exams I know of. Not enough for a major but it'll reduce a lot of the coursework and costs. Just thought I'd add my two cents.
So, to summarize:
1) Choose the exams to do, in order
2) Study the theory on Khan Academy by watching the relevant videos
3) Practice!! (either on Khan Academy or ALEKS (not available for Calculus onwards))
4) Take the exam and ace it, wondering why math was ever difficult in the first place!
I keep rambling but I have one final thing to say. If you choose an exam somewhere in the middle, and you're not TOTALLY confident about your knowledge of the previous topics (even if you've done them before), go back and do them again! This small investment in time will pay you back in dividends later on!
Math: A Guide to Testing out and Learning Efficiently - NAP - 08-09-2012
Great post!
Uexcel has exams for Calculus I and Statistics. These would be graded for EC students. UExcel - Exams
If interested in a math major, about half of the credits can be completed through proficiency exams.
Math: A Guide to Testing out and Learning Efficiently - OE800_85 - 08-09-2012
Ah yes, I forgot about UExcel. I just updated the original post. If anyone has some suggestions or additions, I'll add them to the first post. Hopefully people can wade their way easily through math exams.
Also, if people are pursuing a Math Major I posted a degree plan on dcan's site a while back
Math: A Guide to Testing out and Learning Efficiently - penshockeyfan - 08-22-2012
Great post! I was going to ask about College Math vs College algebra, but you answered my question. I will look at some of those sites while studying for my math CLEP in the very near future. Awesome!