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 3 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, click here).

FAQ

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:

1. Transition to Quantitative Literacy/Statistics - this course is what's administered at most District 211. 214 & 220 high schools and would lead to placement into Harper's MTH101 - "Quantitative Literacy" and MTH165 - "Elementary Statistics" courses.

2. Transition to STEM - this course, coupled with satisfaction of the geometry requirement, would lead to placement into Harper's MTH103 - "College Algebra" course.

3. Transition to Technical Math - this course is very specialized and would lead to placement into Harper's MTH097 - "Basic Technical Mathematics".