Transitional Math
What is Transitional Math?
The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act (PWR Act) includes Transitional Math (TM), which is built around courses, standalone
or embedded, that increase college readiness for high school seniors. Their key feature
is the guaranteed placement a student receives upon successful completion at all Illinois
community colleges and accepting Illinois universities. Community colleges and high
schools work in partnership to create courses that incorporate the required competencies
and policies. These courses emphasize authentic learning experiences aligned with
careers as well as a student’s life and future coursework. The goal is to provide
high school seniors with a new experience that is motivating as well as valuable in
respect to the college placement achieved.
Scaling Transitional Math according to the PWR Act is a mass effort by multiple state
agencies and organizations in Illinois.
Who is eligible to benefit from Transitional Math?
Students that have completed three years of high school math, but are still in need
of satisfying a "college readiness" measure needed to enroll in a college-level math
course (for a list of Harper College's "college readiness" measures, visit College Ready at Harper).
Frequently asked questions
| What is needed to get entry into college-level math? |
You will need to provide an official transcript from your high school showing a grade
of “C” or better in two semesters of a designated Transitional Math course. No other
actions will be needed.
| What happens if the student receives a grade of “D” of "F' grade in the course? |
Students that do not earn a "C" or better both semesters will not be placed into college-level
math courses with transitional math course.
| How long is the course valid for placement into college-level math? |
The guaranteed placement will expire no less than 18 months from the date of the student’s
high-school graduation.
| Is this valid at any community college in Illinois? |
Yes, the course will meet the requirement for college-level math into all Illinois
community colleges.
| Is this valid for other universities? |
Please check with the individual university to see if it is valid for college level
placement into math.
| Are there different pathways for transitional math? |
Yes, there are three possible pathways, though not all options are available at all
high schools. The three pathways are:
- Transition to quantitative literacy/statistics: This course is what's administered at most District 211, 214 and 220 high schools
and would lead to placement into Harper's MTH101: Quantitative Literacy and MTH165: Elementary Statistics courses.
- Transition to STEM: This course, coupled with satisfaction of the geometry requirement, would lead to
placement into Harper's MTH103: College Algebra course.
- Transition to technical math: This course is very specialized and would lead to placement into Harper's MTH097: Basic Technical Mathematics.
