University of New England

Mathematics Placement Testing

The mathematics placement exam, created by the Mathematics Department at UNE, is a two-hour, multiple-choice, paper and pencil exam. It is designed to be completed without a calculator and calculator use is prohibited.

Students who require accommodations for placement testing should contact Susan Church, Director of Disability Services, at (207) 602-2815 at least two weeks prior to their placement testing date.  General inquiries regarding mathematics placement testing should be directed to Lori Wall, Developmental Mathematics Supervisor, at (207) 602-2794 or lwall@une.edu.

The majority of students take Exam A, which includes general mathematics (9 questions, operations with fractions, decimals, integers and percents), algebra (31 questions including some basic geometry), and precalculus topics (20 questions, advanced functions, trig and logs). Students who have taken calculus in high school are required to take Exam B, which includes precalculus and calculus concepts (21 questions for each section).  A strong foundation in general math and algebra is essential if a student expects to place into college level mathematics.

Students should be aware that every degree program has a mathematics requirement and that mathematics prerequisites exist for Biology*, Chemistry** and Physics**.

*Placement at L3 or above is required for entry into BIO 104 and BIO 100.
**Placement at L4 or above is required.  For students placing at L3, please note that LAC 022 is the mathematics prerequisite for Precalculus (MAT 180), Chemistry (CHEM 110), Intro Chem/Physics (CHEM 125), and Physics (PHY 110).

Students are strongly encouraged to prepare for the placement exam.

Exam Topics
Online reviews to help prepare for the exam  
Course Catalog

Placement Levels
Students are assigned one of six levels on the basis of their SAT/ACT Mathematics scores, their high school mathematics courses and grades, and their rated performance on the Mathematics Placement Exam. Courses with an LAC designation are offered through Learning Assistance Services and serve as prerequisites to higher level math course and some science courses. LAC courses count towards full time enrollment for the purposes of athletic eligibility and financial aid but do not satisfy core curriculum or graduation requirements and do not earn credit toward graduation. Grades for LAC courses are computed into the semester grade point average. It should be noted that LAC 020, Basic Mathematics and Algebra, is offered on a Pass/Fail basis only.  Listed below are the placement levels and corresponding mathematics courses.  Science courses with mathematics prerequisites are also listed.

L1  LAC 020 Basic Math and Algebra

L2  LAC 021 Introductory Algebra and Problem Solving

L3  LAC 022 Advanced Algebra and Problem Solving
      MAT 110 Quantitative Reasoning
      MAT 120 Statistics
      BIO 100 Biology  
      BIO 104 General Biology

L4  MAT 130 Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers
      MAT 150 Statistics for the Life Sciences
      MAT 180 Precalculus
      CHEM 110 General Chemistry
      CHEM 125 Intro Chem/Phys
      PHY 110 General Physics I
      Any course listed in L3

L5  MAT 190 Calculus I
      MAT 240 Geometry
      Any course listed in L3 or L4

L6  MAT 195 Calculus II
      MAT 220 Linear Algebra
      MAT 230 Foundations of Mathematics
      Any course listed in L3, L4 or L5