The PCE sign-up mailing list is open, click the button at the bottom of this page to sign-up!!
Welcome! We hope you are looking forward to the spring semester. We are are excited to offer you the opportunity to access the PCE resource tool via a bCourse site that was designed to help you get a head start in your first year math courses at Cal and brush up on fundamental mathematics concepts for introductory STEM course. Below we have lots of information on the program, and you can find the sign-up link at the very bottom of the page.
Pre-Calculus Essentials is a short course covering foundational topics from algebra and pre-calculus. It was designed specifically for students intending to take Math 1A, 10A, 16A, or 32 here at Berkeley. This online resource that will be available to you throughout the spring semester!
We know many students have a difficult time transitioning from high school mathematics to university level mathematics, and we want to set you up to be more capable and more confident in your first year courses here at Cal.
Pre-Calculus Essentials was developed by Alexander Paulin and Kelli Talaska, who have both been teaching at UC Berkeley for about ten years.
The ALEKS assessment can help determine if you have mastered basic high school math skills needed to do well in pre-calculus or calculus courses. Below are our recommendations based on ALEKS assessment scores. You can find more details on the various enrollment options in the following section.
Scores between 0 and 60:
Recommendation: Algebra-Focused
Scores in this range indicate that students have multiple basic skill areas in which they need to build strength.
Scores between 61 and 80:
Recommendation: Functions-Focused
Scores in this range indicate competence with multiple core skills, but room for improvement in others.
Scores between 81 and 100:
Recommendation: Functions-Focused
Scores in this range indicate competence with most high school math skills. However, there is a big jump in rigor from high school to college, so students can still benefit from the PCE bCourse site resources.
While using the Pre-Calculus Essentials course materials are completely optional, we do feel that it can help all of our students to kick off the semester with a strong start and help you brush up on fundamental mathematic skills that will be useful in STEM course work. The recommendations above are just starting points to help you make a decision on what material would be most useful for you; all students who would like to use the PCE bCourse site welcome to use the self-study course materials.
Please feel free to reach out to us at essentials@math.berkeley.edu if you have questions that have not been answered here.
Use the button below to access the bCourse site for self-enrollment.
Extensive support for this program was provided by the Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation, the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the Department of Mathematics, and the Student Learning Center.