Can I test out of this course?

There are a couple of different things a student could mean by this question. Sometimes, students want to be placed in a higher level course rather than the one in which they placed initially. In other cases, they may just want to remove the state requirement that they enroll continuously in developmental courses in their area of deficiency.

It is possible to use a test given at an Assessment Center to be declared "College Ready" or TSI Complete in math, and thus no longer be required by the state to enroll continuously in developmental math courses.

Texas law requires public institutions to allow any student who has been declared college ready in math to enroll in any first year math course. This law is at odds with prior practices at ACC, and we do not believe it is in the best interest of our students to enroll in a course for which they have not met the institutional standard of readiness. This most often comes up with College Algebra and Math for Business and Economics. Assessment cut scores chosen by the math department for these courses are much higher than the scores that declare a student college ready. The math department believes that successful completion of Intermediate Algebra, or a score of 369 on the TSI Math assessment for an entering student, is sufficient to recommend enrolling in one of these courses.

What happens if I drop my college credit math class?

The consequences are the same as those for dropping any college credit course. See the ACC withdrawal tutorial.

What happens if I drop my developmental math class?

Some students who have not been declared "College Ready", or TSI Complete, in math are required to enroll in developemental math courses each semester until College Ready status has been achieved. If that is the case for you, then dropping your developmental math class will cause a hold to placed on your registration the next semester. For more information, see:

• TSI Information
  
• ACC withdrawal tutorial
  

I passed the TSI Math test. Does that mean I can take any course I want now?

Tests given at the Assessment Center are used for two things: initial placement (before enrolling in your first math course) and TSI status. A student who has been told that he or she "passed" the test generally has gotten a score that is sufficient to make him or her TSI complete, which means that the student is no longer required to be continually enrolled in developmental math courses. However, there are lots of courses that a "passing" score still does not place a student into, and it is still necessary to complete the entire course sequence from the initial placement up to the college credit math course needed for the student's degree plan. See the Course Flow Chart for more information about course sequences.

How can I skip a level?

Re-testing after you have started a course sequence is not a good way to skip courses. Once placed, the best process for skipping a course as a prerequisite is to get a recommendation from a full time math faculty member. That is because it is much easier to get an artificially high score when you are fresh from a math course than it is for a student just entering college. We want to make sure we enroll students only in courses in which they have a good chance of being successful.

While it is true that Texas law allows students who have been declared college ready in math to enroll in any first year math course, students should still contact a full-time faculty member in the math department if they are considering skipping a level. Under most circumstances, skipping a level gives students a very low chance of success in the course they are entering.