Video Transcript – Math Placement – Boise State New Student Orientation

Video Transcript

[Alizabeth, academic counselor]: Hey everyone, my name is Alizabeth and the goal of this video is to assist you with understanding your current math placement, as well as a general understanding of how to learn the math requirements for your major. Understanding these two elements will help you make an informed decision on if taking the math placement exam, the Accuplacer is right for you. But first, welcome to Boise State University. We are thrilled to have you join our community. Hey Matt, how are you today?

[Matt, pretend student]: I’m pretty awesome!

[Alizabeth]: Wonderful! That is good to hear. I hear you have a few questions regarding math placement. How can I help you today?

[Matt]: I heard that there was some math placement test, what is that about?

[Alizabeth]: Let’s take a look at a few resources to help us. First, we have our math path and based on your ACT and SAT score, you are currently placed in Category 1. Do you have a major or area of study in mind?

[Matt]: Yeah, I’m interested in biology.

[Alizabeth]: Biology, awesome. Okay great, let’s take a look over at the Biology major requirements. To do so you can actually click on “Majors, Minors, and Certificates” and type in Biology, and it will pop up for you. Scrolling down, every student has a Foundations of Math to complete for their major. For Biology, Math 160 or Math 170 is required. Heading back over to the math path, you will see that you will be going from Category 1 to Category 4 or Category 5. If you have had recent experiences with math since you took the ACT/SAT and think you can place differently, it may be in your best interest to take the math placement exam. Your highest score is what is used.

[Matt]: Yeah, I think I took a math class…uh… a college math class at my last school. Would that change anything?

[Alizabeth]: It may, we can take a look. Please be sure to send final transcripts to Boise State so we can process them and make sure we’re tracking your degree progress correctly. For example, let’s say you are transferring over Math 103 and Math 133, then you are actually in Category 3 instead of Category 1. Again, if you think you can place differently, we welcome you to take the placement exam, however, it may not be necessary in this situation.

[Matt]: So… what if someone doesn’t have any test scores or they just haven’t taken math in a while? What happens then?

[Alizabeth]: Good question. For students that do not have scores on record or maybe some time has passed since applying math then we highly encourage them to take the Accuplacer. Students may choose to begin at Math 103, in that Category 1, however we strongly recommend taking the math placement exam for students to begin math at their current skill level. This will allow them to be confident and set up for academic success.

[Matt]: Uh…I think that’s all I need, uh…I’m going to check out that math placement exam.

[Alizabeth]: Awesome. Have a good day.