Math Placement

All students who register for courses at the University of Iowa must satisfy the prerequisites for those courses. Prerequisites for all courses are listed on MyUI Courses. Please see the CLAS Prerequisites Policy for more information.

For many mathematics courses, prerequisites are satisfied by earning the required grade in another math course OR by earning the required score on a math placement exam.

If the prerequisite for a course is another math course, only math courses taken at a college or university will be considered to satisfy the prerequisite. High school math courses do not satisfy math course prerequisites.

Placement Courses

The courses listed in the chart below allow a math placement score to satisfy the prerequisites for the course. (Remember: students may also satisfy the prerequisite by taking an appropriate prerequisite course.) Two different math placement tests are offered through the University of Iowa: the ALEKS math placement test and the Advanced Math Placement test (formerly known as the MPT 3). For each course, the placement test students should take to satisfy the prerequisite is listed.

Course	Math Placement Test Used to Satisfy Prerequisite
MATH:1005 College Algebra	ALEKS
MATH:1010 Trigonometry	ALEKS
MATH:1020 Elementary Functions	ALEKS
MATH:1120 Logic of Arithmetic	ALEKS
MATH:1130 Theory of Arithmetic	ALEKS or Advanced Math Placement
MATH:1140 Math Basis of Elementary Geometry	ALEKS
MATH:1340 Mathematics for Business	ALEKS
MATH:1350 Quantitative Reasoning for Business	ALEKS or Advanced Math Placement
MATH:1380 Calculus and Matrix Algebra for Business	ALEKS or Advanced Math Placement
MATH:1440 Mathematics for the Biological Sciences	ALEKS
MATH:1460 Calculus for the Biological Sciences	ALEKS or Advanced Math Placement
MATH:1550 Engineering Math I	ALEKS or Advanced Math Placement
MATH:1560 Engineering Math II	Advanced Math Placement
MATH:1850 Calculus I	ALEKS or Advanced Math Placement
MATH:1860 Calculus II	Advanced Math Placement
MATH:2550 Engineering Math III	Advanced Math Placement
MATH:2700 Introduction to Linear Algebra	Advanced Math Placement

Placement Tests

There are two different math placement tests available to students: the ALEKS math placement test and the Advanced Math Placement Test (formerly known as the MPT 3).

All new first-year students for summer and fall 2021 are required to take the ALEKS Math Placement Test. First-year students who took a year or more of Calculus in high school or who have earned college credit for Calculus should also take the Advanced Math Placement Test.

Transfer students who do not have either high school (1-year) or college credit for Calculus who are interested in taking a math class (for any reason), should take the ALEKS math placement test. Transfer students who took a year or more of Calculus in high school or who have earned college credit for Calculus should take the Advanced Math Placement Test.

Continuing students interested in enrolling in a math course must have the appropriate math placement score or have earned a grade of C- or better in a prerequisite course. Students who have not previously taken a calculus course should take the ALEKS math placement test. Students who have taken a calculus course either in high school or at another college or university should take the Advanced Math Placement Test first. Any student who takes the Advanced Math Placement Test first and earns an 8 or lower should then take the ALEKS math placement test.

ALEKS

The ALEKS math placement test is used to place students into courses at or below MATH:1850 Calculus I, except MATH:1560 Engineering Math II. All new first-year students for summer and fall 2021 are required to take the ALEKS Math Placement Test. Students who register for an ALEKS math placement test are entitled to 5 placement exams and 6 months of access to an ALEKS learning module. More information about the ALEKS math placement test, including a link to take the test, is available at https://newstudents.uiowa.edu/aleks .

When students are admitted to the university, they are automatically granted access to the ALEKS math placement test. Students can have their access to the ALEKS math placement tests or learning modules extended by sending an email to Amanda Marr (amanda-marr@uiowa.edu). Extensions may be requested for the following reasons:

When trying to log in to the ALEKS, a student receives a message that the course has expired or is asked for a course code to take the ALEKS math placement test.
A student has used all 5 placement tests and needs to take an additional test.
A student's 6-month access to the learning module has expired.

Advanced Math Placement Test

The Advanced Math Placement test (formerly known as the MPT 3) is for students who have previously taken a year or more of calculus course in high school or who have college credit for calculus. The Advanced Math Placement test can be used for placement into calculus courses (MATH:1380, MATH:1460, MATH:1550, MATH:1850, or MATH:1860) and linear algebra courses (MATH:2550 or MATH:2700). Students who earn an 8 or lower on the Advanced Math Placement test will be asked to take the ALEKS math placement test before registering for classes. The Advanced Math Placement test is the only math placement test that will indicate whether or not a student is prepared for MATH:1560 Engineering Math II, MATH:1860 Calculus II, MATH:2550 Engineering Math III or MATH:2700 Introduction to Linear Algebra. More information about the Advanced Math Placement test, including a link to take the test, is available at https://newstudents.uiowa.edu/mpt3.

Older Placement Tests

If a student took a math placement exam more than one year ago and has not taken a university math course, the Mathematics Department strongly recommends that the student retake the appropriate math placement test. (See Replacing Outdated Scores below.)

Course Recommendations

The ALEKS Math Placement test gives the following recommendations.

Course	Minimum ALEKS Score Required
MATH:0100 Basic Algebra I	1-29%
MATH:1005 College Algebra	30%
MATH:1010 Trigonometry	55%
MATH:1020 Elementary Functions	60%
MATH:1120 Logic of Arithmetic	30%
MATH:1140 Math Basis for Elementary Geometry	30%
MATH:1350 Quantitative Reasoning for Business	55%
MATH:1440 Mathematics for the Biological Sciences	55%
MATH:1460 Calculus for the Biological Sciences	70%
MATH:1550 Engineering Math I: Single Variable Calculus	75%
MATH:1850 Calculus I	75%

The Advanced Math Placement test gives the following recommendations.

Score	Recommendation
0 - 8	Take the ALEKS math placement test.
9 - 14	MATH:1350 Quantitative Reasoning for Business or MATH:1460 Calculus for the Biological Sciences or MATH:1550 Engineering Math I or MATH:1850 Calculus I (Students should consult with their advisor to determine the appropriate course.)
15 - 20	MATH:1560 Engineering Math II or MATH:1860 Calculus II or MATH:2550 Engineering Math III or MATH:2700 Linear Algebra

Score

Recommendation

0 - 8

Take the ALEKS math placement test.

9 - 14

MATH:1350 Quantitative Reasoning for Business
or MATH:1460 Calculus for the Biological Sciences
or MATH:1550 Engineering Math I
or MATH:1850 Calculus I

(Students should consult with their advisor to determine the appropriate course.)

15 - 20

MATH:1560 Engineering Math II
or MATH:1860 Calculus II
or MATH:2550 Engineering Math III
or MATH:2700 Linear Algebra

Course recommendations are listed on degree audits.

Mathematics Incentive Program (MIP)

Students who studied calculus in high school or elsewhere, but did not receive AP credit, or any other college credit for a calculus course should be able to start with Calculus II rather than repeating calculus. That’s why the MIP was invented. Students who place into MATH:1860 Calculus II with a score of 15 or higher on the Advanced Math Placement test and receive a grade of B or higher in the course will automatically receive 4 s.h. credits for Calculus I in addition to the credits earned for Calculus II. The credit is ungraded but counts toward the hours required for graduation. MIP credit is counted as UI and CLAS residence credit. For more information, including addtional policies and how to apply for MIP credit, please see the CLAS MIP webpage.

Retesting

Students are encouraged to retake the placement test if they do not place into the course they want to take. There is no fee to retake a placement test. It is recommended that students spend some time reviewing material from previous courses before retesting.

Once registered for an ALEKS math placement test, students have access to 5 placement tests, so students can retake the ALEKS math placement test 4 times without requesting permission for additional tests.

Students may repeat the Advanced Math Placement test once without special permission. If additional attempts are needed, students should email Amanda Marr or the ITS Help Desk.

Replacing Outdated Scores

Mathematics placement tests are the most accurate if they are taken soon before enrolling in a mathematics course. Mathematics courses build on one another, and students who have not taken a mathematics course recently may find that they do not recall all of the material learned previously. Therefore, students whose mathematics placement scores are older than one year are strongly encouraged to retake the appropriate mathematics placement test and review their mathematics skills before enrolling in a math course.

Waiver of Duplication or Regression

Students who have transfer or AP credit for a course at or above the course recommended by a mathematics placement test may be eligible to take the recommended course without being charged duplication or regression.

Students who have credit for MATH:1850 or MATH:1860 must take the Advanced Math Placement test in order to determine whether duplication or regression may be waived.

If a student has transfer credit for a course two levels or more above their recommended placement, the student may enroll in an intermediate course. Duplication/regression may be waived until the student completes a math course equivalent to the transfer credit. However, it is recommended that the student retake the placement test first before determining which course to take. For example, a student has transfer credit for Calculus I (MATH:1850) but the ALEKS math placement test recommends College Algebra (MATH:1005). The student may take Elementary Functions (MATH:1020) and Calculus I (MATH:1850) and may have duplication/regression waived for both. (The student could also start with College Algebra and receive a waiver for regression for that course as well.)

Students who wish to be granted a waiver for duplication or regression should contact Amanda Marr (amanda-marr@uiowa.edu). The Department of Mathematics will then review the case and determine whether or not to grant a waiver of duplication or regression.

Accommodations

For accommodations on placement tests, students first need to register with Student Disability Services (SDS), if they have not already done so. For more information on how to register with SDS, please visit Student Disability Services. If students have further questions, they should discuss their situation with their academic advisor.

Mathematics Department Contacts

Amanda Marr, Mathematics Placement Coordinator, amanda-marr@uiowa.edu.
Prof. Yangbo Ye, Director of Undergraduate Studies, yangbo-ye@uiowa.edu.

UI Evaluation and Examination Service Information

For detailed information about mathematics placement tests, including links to the ALEKS and Advanced Math Placement test tests, visit the New Student Services Math Placement page.