Why You Should Take Math and English Courses as a High School Senior

It's your senior year in high school. You are looking forward to an easy year of classes before heading off to college. You've fulfilled the requirements for math and English, and since you found them challenging, you don't take any as a senior. Your future is all mapped out. You know how long it will take you to get your college degree, and you have a scholarship that will help pay the way. That summer, you take the placement exams for the college, and some of the questions are difficult, but you feel like you did ok. Then you meet with an advisor on campus to set up your schedule for the first semester. That is when your plans fall apart.

Most colleges and universities have entrance requirements not just for the institution itself but for individual classes, as well. Students who score below a certain ACT or SAT number are often required to take an additional placement test, and that test determines which courses students may sign up for, particularly in math. Students who don't reach this minimum number will need to take preparatory courses, and those can affect the college experience and the plans for afterward.

The number of courses needed is determined by the college or university's program as well as the student's score on the placement test. It is typical to have 3 preparatory courses for both math and English. Students who score slightly below the number required for the college-level course would have to take just one of those courses, but those with a larger discrepancy might have to take all three. These are courses for which each is another's prerequisite, meaning students cannot take more than one of the math classes at a time, for example.

Some science courses and even classes like business statistics may require a high math score on the placement exam. Students who have a lower score on the math portion will need to complete the prerequisites before enrolling in the other core courses.

Many colleges also have a requirement for scoring on the reading portion of a placement test. Low scorers will be placed in reading courses and often blocked from taking many core classes until the reading stem is completed. Psychology, sociology and history courses, for instance, require extensive and careful reading, so students may be required to attain a certain reading level as measured by the placement test before being allowed into these courses.

The impact of a poor score on the placement test can obviously be tremendous. A student who must take all the required preparatory courses in math, English and reading has added somewhere around 21 credits to the required number. Preparatory classes don't usually count toward gaining a degree, so these credits are above and beyond the usual 120 for a Bachelor's degree. This number means that ¾ of the student's freshman year in college is made up of classes that are pre-college level. Time also becomes an issue. Since students can't take 3 preparatory math classes simultaneously, for example, then the student probably can't take the college level math until the second semester of the sophomore year. If other courses have prerequisites, this timeline pushes back those classes, as well. In addition, sometimes scholarships or other financial aid won't cover the costs of developmental work.

Avoiding this problem may not be easy, but you can definitely reduce the chances of needing preparatory classes by planning for placement tests during your senior year in high school. The best way to get a good score is by staying current, especially with math. Taking a math course the senior year instead of a study hall, a fluff course or a work-study or furlough program helps keep your skills sharp. If you have enough credits, it can even be a course you have already taken or one that you would not otherwise get credit for. In the long run, it will be worth it to reduce the chances of needing preparatory classes in college.