Freshmen math students who may have been placed in the wrong course level have been sent e-mails informing them of test results taken on a new placement test. Several hundred students who had significant disparity in their scores were sent letters forcibly moving them back a level, but the rest of the students were allowed to choose what they wanted to do based on their results from the diagnostic test. Students who may have been placed in the wrong level due to the new online placement testing method were given a ten-question multiple choice diagnostic test last week to determine if they are in the correct class level. “The tests were different for each class and covered material they should know before they walk in the door,” said Dan Shapiro, vice chair for Lower Division Studies. The 6,000 tests were graded on Thursday, and a computer program then sent an e-mail to each student giving their score and a recommendation explaining whether they should remain in their class or move back a level.Many freshmen were believed to have been placed in the wrong math level after their placement score and level didn’t match up to their ACT scores and high school math units. The biggest problem with the tests, said Shapiro, is that freshmen didn’t understand that placement testing was to their advantage. “There is nothing to win if you get a high score,” Shapiro said. The test is meant to be a recommendation only, and a higher score doesn’t give any extra credit, since most students have to complete a certain number of hours of math, regardless of what level they begin in. Freshman Chad McKinney was under the mistaken impression that “we don’t get credit now for math, because they don’t know who is really taking the test since we’re taking it at home.” Shapiro doesn’t think that many students will change levels, even if they are recommended to after taking the diagnostic test. “The courses are very easy in the first two weeks, and they don’t want to move unless they’re failing. Almost any student who tries can succeed at math, though, they just have to work at it. It all depends on what kind of student they are- the recommendations are only based on statistics,” Shapiro said. His hope is that students who fall behind will use the Math-Stat Learning Center to their advantage to help them understand difficult concepts. Shapiro said although the math department was initially against the online testing method, “we realize that online testing is now the reality.” He believes that it has been beneficial in terms of speeding up the placement process, although there are several ways in which it could be improved. He believes each question should be chosen out of a bank of possible questions so that every student is taking a different version of the test, and also that the placement level should be determined by the placement test score along with the student’s ACT score, class rank and units of high school math. He also said that the tests need to be recalibrated, so that the scores translate more efficiently to the correct math level. A group of faculty from the a Office of Admissions, the Department of Math and the Office of the Registrar is currently working on trying to improve the online tests before freshmen take it for winter and spring quarter placement, although Shapiro said that it will probably take a few years to get the testing back on track.