Comments on I Want to Teach Forever: 3 Ideas to Prepare Students for College Placement ...

Thank you for these links! My high school student ...

2009-07-11T10:35:36.535-05:00

Thank you for these links! My high school student is working toward taking these tests this summer, in hope of testing into one of the "remedial" classes. (He's going to be a sophomore, but he slacked off in algebra 1, so he has a lot of studying to do before he can take the Community College's algebra 2 class in the fall.) He's already worked twice through the sample tests at our college, so having some new ones to try will definitely help.

kdub: This is actually a great idea for my school,...

2009-06-20T19:47:55.909-05:00

kdub: This is actually a great idea for my school, and would work out well with our unique schedule. I'm going to pass it along to the admin. Thank you!

In my district, our seniors get out earlier than t...

2009-06-19T22:26:56.178-05:00

In my district, our seniors get out earlier than the rest of the students. We invited college bound seniors to come back on their week off and review for the Compass exam and then actually take it. We worked out this arrangement with the University and Community College near us. The plan was for the students to take the exam while it was still fresh in their minds.

We had great success with this! We had a greater percentage of students scoring better on the exam so they could be placed into the appropriate math course instead of being placed into a remedial course! We are hoping to continue this process next year and include more students!

@j4luck: Thank you so much! I'm using the Compass...

2009-06-11T21:09:26.649-05:00

@j4luck: Thank you so much! I'm using the Compass sample problems for Friday's classes. Your links also prompted me to do a little more searching, and I found more great online sample tests from the State College of Florida.

The kids LOVED FreeRice My Algebra I students will have a chance to play around with it tomorrow. I forgot that FreeRice now has quizzes in different subjects including languages, geography, chemistry, and basic math. In short, you can do a lot more with it. I was so excited that after I told them about the purpose of the site, so many students said, "I'm going to go home and play this," because they wanted to help. Now if I can just get them to add an Algebra I or II quiz...

I had to take my college placement exams when I wa...

2009-06-09T16:50:34.926-05:00

I had to take my college placement exams when I was 30 years old, so I really needed to brush up on math, in particular. This may be weird, but what really helped me was this website for kids:
http://www.coolmath.com/0-math-help-lessons.html.
I did the tutorials under Algebra 1and 2 and I aced my placement exams 14 years after my last math course! It might be a fun way for your students to review before they have to go for the test.
A practice test is available on http://www.act.org/compass/sample/index.html
and a great tutorial & practice test also on:
http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/