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The purpose of the math assessment is to help us and you determine your level of preparedness for mathematics and math-related courses at Stony Brook University. It is important that your score accurately reflect your level of preparedness and ability, because you will be most successful at the university if you take courses best suited to you.
In order to enroll in a mathematics course, or a course with a mathematics prerequisite, all new students must demonstrate the appropriate level of mathematics proficiency. This is done by taking a proctored mathematics exam or its equivalent (appropriate transfer credit, AP scores, etc.) New students must take the proctored exam prior to their scheduled orientation.
- The math assessment covers a number of skills taught in first-year mathematics courses at Stony Brook; you may wish to review the list of topics covered. Of course, you are expected to do only those topics which you know, so the assessment is broken into a number of parts.
- You are encouraged to practice for each part of the assessment prior to doing it by using the practice problems. Be aware that the graphics on a few of the practice problems use an older technology that does not function properly in modern browsers. This issue does not occur in the actual exam.
- If you want to review material in various Stony Brook courses to prepare for the assessment, you might want to look at the videos and other material.
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For New Students Taking the Placement Exam
Most freshmen and many transfers are required to take the math
assessment; see
here
for more information.
Non-matriculated Summer students, other visiting students, and graduate students should not take the placement exam. The registrar cannot record the score onto your record. If you are trying to demonstrate fulfillment of prerequsite material for a math course, contact upd@math.stonybrook.edu via email instead.
To sign up to take the math placement exam as a new student, select a date and time in your StartSBU portal. The sooner you do this, the better!
You should receive an email confirmation of your selection as well as an email reminder the day before. These emails will contain a link to allow you to join a Zoom session where a proctor will be waiting to let you into the meeting. Make sure you are using a device other than a phone. You should have your camera on and your photo ID with your name displayed in English ready to show your proctor. The proctor will instruct you how to access the exam and will check student photo IDs one by one.
The zoom session will last up to 2 hours total, although you may finish earlier than that. Should you have any questions during your placement exam, you should message your proctor immediately.
Note: You should not pay any attention to the "scores" that the placement exam might show. These are unrelated to your placement.If you missed your placement exam, you will receive an email telling you that you missed it and that you should schedule yourself for a new session. Keep in mind that availability of exam dates will become much more limited as time progresses.
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Current Stony Brook students may schedule a proctored exam by
contacting the campus testing center Monday through Friday between the
hours of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM. The testing center requires 48 hours
notice before the exam can be taken. The contact information for the
testing center is:
Testing Center
Frey Hall Room 109
(631) 632-2380
The online assessment requires a browser with javascript enabled. Most modern browsers are supported, but using a phone is not recommended.
Here are some frequently asked questions, complete with frequently given answers.
If you have difficulties, you can email us at assessment@math.stonybrook.edu.