Mathematics Test-Out Procedure

If you have a superior high school background or if you have college-level proficiency in certain subject areas, you may qualify for Credit by Examination (CBE). This means that you take an exam (roughly equivalent to the final exam in the class). If you pass, you will get credit for this course, and you will be able to move on to higher classes.

General information can be found at http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/cbe/index.php. Specific information for Mathematics can be found below.

Math Test-Out Examination Information:
Date: Friday before Fall & Spring classes start
Time: 12:00-2:00 p.m.
Location:  Carver 202

Fee: $100 (nonrefundable)

The fee for the exam will be placed on your university bill and is non-refundable, regardless of the outcome of the exam, unless enrollment in the exam is cancelled a minimum of 24 hours before the exam starts. If you do not report for the scheduled examination, you must initiate a new request and pay an additional examination fee to take a future examination.To sign up and take the exam, you need to take the following steps:

  • Complete the Mathematics Test-Out Application. The application must be received by the Department of Mathematics at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of the test out examination.
  • We do not provide study guides. Use the course textbook as a study guide. You may consult Course Page Links for further information on exam topics.
  • Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the two-hour exam.
  • Bring your student ID to the test.

Results are available by the Tuesday morning following the Friday test period.If you do pass the exam, a “T” credit will be reported to the Office of the Registrar at the end of the semester in which you took the exam. The “T” grade is equivalent to a “C” or better in the course. While “T” grades are not used to compute GPA, the credit does become part of the official academic record at ISU.

Mathematics Test-Out Examinations are administered for the following courses:

Course # Name Calculators allowed?
104 Introduction to Probability no
105 Introduction to Mathematical Ideas no
143 Preparation for Calculus no
140 College Algebra non-graphing
150 Discrete Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences entire exam
151 Calculus for Business and Social Sciences entire exam
165 Calculus I no
166 Calculus II no
207 Matrices and Linear Algebra no
265 Calculus III no
267 Elementary Differential Equations and Laplace Transforms entire exam