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Early Math Placement Tool
Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Technical College System, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
| DESCRIPTION OF EMPT LEVELS | |
|---|---|
| *Levels beginning with the letter D indicate that the student will likely need to take a developmental mathematics course, regardless of which campus they choose to attend. | |
| Level D1 | Students have a weakness in fundamental math skills and are greatly disadvantaged in all programs. They start the mathematics course sequence at the lowest level (i.e., developmental) and will pay for credits which do not count towards their degree. |
| Level D2 | Students have minimal fundamental math skills and are substantially disadvantaged in all programs. On many campuses, students at this level may need to start with a developmental course which does not carry degree credit but does have a course fee. |
| Level D3 | Students have moderately well-developed fundamental math skills and may be eligible for credit-bearing courses such as quantitative reasoning or for concurrent enrollment in developmental and credit-bearing courses. |
| *Levels beginning with the letter C indicate that the student is ready for credit bearing mathematics on any campus. | |
| Level C1 | Students have basic algebra skills and are ready for a credit-bearing college algebra course. Further strengthening of these algebra skills is required for most university programs. |
| Level C2 | Students have reasonably well-developed algebra skills, but will likely need to enhance those skills prior to taking calculus. |
| Level C3 | Students have strong algebra skills, but may need to further develop their trigonometry skills prior to taking calculus. |
| Level C4 | Students have the skills required for the calculus sequence. |
Your actual mathematics placement at the University of Wisconsin will be based on a placement test which is very similar to, although longer than, the Early Mathematics Placement Tool, and your high school mathematics courses. Your actual placement at a Wisconsin Technical College will be based on a national, standardized test and your high school mathematics courses. You will receive information about taking the actual placement test at the time of your admission. Your score on the actual placement test could be different than what is indicated by the EMPT-- higher if you continue to study mathematics perhaps lower if you do not. The purpose of the EMPT program is to give you an indication of where you are now so you can plan your next mathematics course appropriately. The choice you make is likely to be a significant one, since the majority of University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Technical College students take at least one mathematics course during their first year of college.
The Math Requirements by Major resource page has complete information on the mathematics courses you would need to take for the programs in which you are interested. Refer to the mathematics requirements and then to your mathematics skill level identified above. That should give you an idea of how much more mathematics preparation will be necessary to major in the fields you identified.
If you are interested in learning more about mathematics requirements for different field of college study, your guidance counselor or math teacher will be able to help you find the information. They can also help you plan your next course in mathematics so it is most beneficial to you.