East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

Basic Mathematical Skills Competency Requirement

A Basic Mathematical Skills Competency requirement is one of the requirements for an undergraduate degree from East Stroudsburg University. This requirement applies to all students, first-year or transfer, who have been admitted to ESU, beginning with those students admitted during Summer 1999. There are a number of different ways that a student can satisfy this requirement. Please consult the current Undergraduate Catalog for a full description of this requirement.

1. Have a Mathematics SAT score of 500 or higher.

2. Have a rating of Proficient or Advanced on the Grade 11 PSSA test.

3. Have passed, with a grade of C or higher, a college mathematics course that transfers to East. This mathematics course must be completed within five years of your entrance to East Stroudsburg University

4. Achieving a score of 3 or higher on an AP Mathematics course or a passing score (50^th percentile) on a General Education Mathematics CLEP exam.

5. Achieve a passing score on the Basic Mathematical Skills test that will be administered as part of Summer Orientation and which will be offered again at least twice each semester.

6. Take and pass MATH 090 Intermediate Algebra.

It is expected that a student will satisfy this requirement at an early stage their studies at ESU. For most students, if this requirement is not satisfied by the beginning of the third semester at ESU restrictions on future registrations may apply. For transfer students with 60 or more transfer credits, these restrictions will be applied in the second semester.

This requirement must be satisfied before enrolling in any mathematics courses numbered 100 or higher.

The Basic Mathematical Skills Competency Exam is offered to the participants of the Summer Orientation program and at various other dates. An up-to-date list of test dates is available at www.esu.edu/math and is also posted on the bulletin board outside of the Department of Mathematics, which is located in Stroud 408.Any student wishing to take the test on one of the open dates (not during Summer Orientation) should contact the Department of Mathematics (570-422-3447 or at mls@po-box.esu.edu) to reserve a seat. Students must bring some form of picture ID to these open test dates.

The test is a 32 question multiple-choice test of basic mathematical skills covering topics that address basic computational skills, quantitative reasoning and introductory algebra and elementary geometry. A score of 19 or higher is required to satisfy the competency requirement.

Two versions of the test are available. One requires the use of a scientific calculator (one that has keys for taking roots and computing powers), and one that does not allow for the use of a calculator. If a student wishes to take the calculator version of this test, it is the student's responsibility to bring a calculator.

A partial list of topics from which questions may be drawn includes:

Ø Basic Arithmetic

§ Signed Numbers

§ Fractions and Mixed Numbers

§ Decimal Numbers

§ Order of Operations

Ø Percents

Ø Ratios and Proportions

Ø Basic Probability

Ø Interpretation of Graphic Data

Ø Mean and Median of a Data Set

Ø Perimeter and Area of Simple Geometric Shapes

Ø Pythagorean Theorem

Ø Writing and Interpreting Simple Algebraic Expressions

Ø Solving Linear Equations

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Sample Questions

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