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Math Placement Exam

General Exam Information

The Math Placement Exam (MPE) is administered each year to allow students to qualify for a variety of courses which require mathematical competency in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. To take these courses, students must complete and pass all four sections of the MPE.

Students who fail their first attempt at the MPE will be given their results and can choose to either sign up for a second attempt at the MPE or take and pass MATH-150 (Algebra and Trigonometry). Students who cannot pass all four sections of the MPE on a second attempt must take and pass MATH-150 (Algebra and Trigonometry) in order to take advanced math courses.

The MPE is overseen by the MPE Coordinator, who is in charge of writing, administering, and grading the MPE (but not scheduling; for scheduling please see the “signing up” section below). Ricardo Gonzalez is the current MPE Coordinator.

Scheduled MPE sessions

For Academic Year 2021-2022, we plan to administer the MPE on the following dates:

  • Session 22-1 : Monday, November 1st, 2021, 3:30-6pm (on campus, Higgins Hall Auditorium)
  • Session 22-2 : Monday, November 8th, 2021, 3:30-6pm (on campus, Higgins Hall Auditorium)
  • Session 22-3 : Thursday, February 3rd, 2022, 5-7:30pm (on campus, Higgins Hall Auditorium)
  • Session 22-4 : Thursday, February 24th, 2022, 5-7:30pm (on campus, Higgins Hall Auditorium)
  • Session 22-5 : Friday, June 24th, 2022, 9:00-11:30am (on campus, Pratt Manhattan 407)
  • Session 22-6 : Wednesday, August 24th, 2022, 12:00-2:30pm (on campus, Pratt Manhattan 407)

These dates are subject to change; please check back for updated MPE dates and times.

Students may utilize any of these dates to make either their first attempt (all four sections) or second attempt (at those sections failed on the first attempt). Please make sure that you sign up for the exam date(s) of your choice.

Please be aware that these are the only MPE sessions we intend to offer during the 2021-2022 academic year. Students who want to take advantage of the ability to make two attempts at the exam should make appropriate plans, as there will be no second attempts offered after the final scheduled exam session.

Signing up for the MPE

Students who need to take the MPE should request to take the exam as follows:

  • Undergraduate Architecture students should contact UG Architecture Administrative Clerk Latoya Johnson.
  • Construction Management students should contact CM Assistant to the Chair Philip Ramus.
  • All other students (including those in the Schools of Art and Design) should contact Math & Science Assistant to the Chair Jacob Nuxoll.

Please make all initial inquiries about signing up for and scheduling your MPE session through the appropriate person listed above. Follow-up inquiries, including questions about second attempts at the MPE, should be made to Math & Science Assistant to the Chair Jacob Nuxoll.

Every attempt will be made to match students to a date and time that is compatible with their schedule, and there will be at least six (6) sessions during the 2021-2022 academic year. However, we cannot make customized exam sessions for particular students, so we ask that students be as flexible as possible about when they are available to take the exam.

MPE format and topics

The MPE is composed of four separate sections given during a single 2.5-hour session:

  1. Arithmetic (recommended completion time = 30 minutes)
  2. Algebra (recommended completion time = 45 minutes)
  3. Geometry (recommended completion time = 45 minutes)
  4. Trigonometry (recommended completion time = 30 minutes)

Each section of the MPE consists of a series of problems that students must solve. To demonstrate that they understand how to solve each problem, the student must provide not only a correct answer but also the calculations and other work required to solve the problem. Students who provide correct answers but incorrect or incomplete work will not be awarded full credit.

In order to pass the MPE, you must past all four sections with a score of 65% or higher. If you fail one or more sections, you may take a second attempt MPE in order to pass those sections.

MPE rules and administration

For Academic Year 2021-2022, the MPE is going to be predominantly administered in person and on paper.

Students who truly cannot take the exam in person must appeal to Math & Science Acting Chair Cindie Kehlet to be granted permission to take the MPE remotely. Remote versions of the MPE will administered on Miro. At the beginning of the exam session, students will be sent a Miro board designed to allow them to provide all work during the MPE using a combination of the pen and text tools and/or photos of their written work.

At the beginning of the exam session, the MPE Coordinator will check your Pratt ID to assure that you are the person listed on the exam roster. Throughout the exam, you can ask the MPE Coordinator to help you with any questions or technical issues you are experiencing.

The following rules are in effect during each MPE session:

  • Students must take the exam during a single 2.5-hour exam session. Students may use this time to complete the four parts of the exam in any order.
  • Students are not allowed to use any form of outside assistance, including but not limited to:
    • Help from other people, direct or indirect; and
    • The use of the internet.
  • Students may use a calculator during the exam, but must show all work that led up to final calculations. Only scientific calculators are allowed: graphing and/or computer algebra system (CAS) calculators are not allowed.
  • Students must show all work on the exam to earn full credit.
  • Students taking the exam remotely must leave their camera on, and their faces must be visible on the screen

If you require accommodations for testing but have not yet registered with the Learning/Access Center (L/AC), please reach out to them at lac@pratt.edu.  Students who have L/AC letters that entitle them to accommodations during the MPE should contact the MPE Coordinator well in advance of their scheduled MPE session, providing their L/AC letter. We will provide all accommodations listed in L/AC letters to students who provide their L/AC letter at least one week before the scheduled exam.

MPE Grading

Students will be assigned an MPE score based on their documentation of a complete solution to the problem. This documentation must show all steps needed to arrive at an answer, and partial credit will be awarded for each of these steps that is presented correctly. Full credit will not be awarded for only listing the correct final answer. Please see this rubric for details on how you will be graded on each MPE problem.

Student answers that closely resemble those of other students — suggesting collaboration during the exam — will cause both students to be reported for an Academic Integrity violation.

Students who fail the exam will receive access to a PDF version of their graded exam, allowing them to study what they did wrong before making a second attempt on the MPE.

Practice MPE

Students may use the following materials to practice for the MPE:

It is recommended that you self-administer all four sections of the practice MPE before looking at the answers.

If you have any questions about how to solve any of these practice questions, please contact MPE Coordinator Ricardo Gonzalez.

While these practice exam sections have been provided to allow students to get a sense of what topics will be covered on the MPE, please note that:

  • Each practice section can only represent a subsample of the concepts that will be covered for each topic. Students should review all major concepts in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry before taking the MPE.
  • The actual number of questions in each section may differ in the MPE that you take.
  • To pass the exam, you must be able to solve each problem showing your calculations and other work required to solve that problem. Passing credit is not awarded for simply listing the correct answer.

Frequently Asked Questions about the MPE

Who needs to take the MPE?

Students must pass the MPE prior to registering for:

  • MSCI-300 (Calculus) – required of all Construction Management students, post-CORE elective for other students
  • ARCH-231 (Statics and Strength of Materials) – required of all undergraduate Architecture students

If I have questions about the MPE, who should I contact?

All inquiries regarding the format, administration, and grading of the MPE should be made to the MPE Coordinator Ricardo Gonzalez.

All inquiries regarding MPE scheduling or scores reporting to the Registrar should be made to Math & Science Assistant to the Chair Jacob Nuxoll.

Do I need to be on campus to take the MPE?

YES, although exceptions will be made for students with demonstrated need to take the exam remotely. Please make an appeal to Math & Science Acting Chair Cindie Kehlet to be granted permission to take the MPE remotely.

I am taking the MPE remotely and I have never used Canvas before. How do I access the MPE on Canvas?

Please use this tutorial to guide you through the process of accessing the MPE via Canvas.

If I fail my first attempt at the MPE, what are my options?

If you fail any of the four sections of the MPE on your first attempt, you have two choices:

  1. Make a second attempt at the sections of the MPE that you failed on the first attempt; or
  2. Sign up for and pass MATH-150 (Algebra and Trigonometry).

If you fail any sections of the MPE you will be notified by the MPE Coordinator Ricardo Gonzalez, who will also send you an annotated version of your work that you can use to diagnose where you need to study.

If you wish to make a second attempt at the MPE after failing one or more sections of your first MPE, please contact Math & Science Assistant to the Chair Jacob Nuxoll.

I may need accommodations on the MPE; how do I assure that I receive these accommodations?

If you require accommodations for testing but have not yet registered with the Learning/Access Center (L/AC), please reach out to them at lac@pratt.edu. The L/AC makes all determinations for testing accommodations. We will honor all accommodations required in your L/AC letter. If you already have an L/AC letter that specifies testing accommodations, please send it to Math & Science Assistant to the Chair Jacob Nuxoll so that we can make arrangements for you to take the MPE with the support of L/AC staff.

Are there any ways to be exempted from taking the MPE?

Students who have already taken MATH-150 or its equivalent at another higher education institution do not have to take the MPE.

Students who have taken the Advanced Placement (AP) exam for either of the Calculus levels (AB or BC) and scored a 4 or higher do not need to take the MPE. Students who have taken any of the High-Level International Bacculaureate (IB) mathematics exams and scored a 5 or higher do not need to take the MPE. All AP and IB scores used to test out of the MPE must be reported to the Registrar’s Office in order to be considered.