Doing the Math - JHU Mathematics - Johns Hopkins University

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categories involve operations with rational numbers and abstract manipulation, and
are not well covered in the VSC.
There are two broad ways in which Accuplacer differs from the VSC and the questions
included in the HSA. These reflect the national debate in mathematics education.
1) Arithmetic
The Accuplacer is designed to be taken without a calculator (though it may offer a
calculator in situ on some problems). It assumes and requires a certain level of
arithmetic fluency. For example, the Accuplacer sample problem 4- (-6) =
-5
should not require a calculator; only the most basic arithmetic is involved. However,
the VSC and the HSA do not include any indication that students should be expected
to build upon and fully master the arithmetic skills they learned in elementary and
middle schools. Thus, students may have long forgotten how to perform elementary
calculations by hand. This sort of mastery is required for a traditional algebra class
emphasizing abstract manipulation. However, given that the VSC favors a more
applied approach depending on technology, it may be possible to perform well in a
VSC-based algebra class without full mastery of basic arithmetic.
2) Level of Abstraction
The problems on the Accuplacer are generally stated abstractly, and they emphasize
mastery of particular mathematical skills. This is in direct contrast to the approach of
the VSC for Algebra I/Data Analysis and the corresponding problems on the HSA,
where nearly every problem is situational. Generally, the level of mastery of a
particular mathematical skill required to solve an HSA problem is minimal.
The Accuplacer Categories for Elementary Algebra
The following discusses the alignment within each subsection of the Accuplacer
Elementary Algebra Test.
Operations with Integers and Rational Numbers
Much of the material here should be prerequisite. However, as discussed above,
some students may not be able to solve arithmetic problems without a calculator.
Explicit mention of skills manipulating rational numbers is made in the VSC only
under the “Additional Topics Would Include” section.
Operations with Algebraic Expressions
The Accuplacer requires facility with general (more than one variable) polynomials,
and that students be able to work with polynomials and other algebraic expressions
to solve problems. These skills are not explicitly included in the VSC. The only
directly applicable indicator is 1.1.3, which states: The student will apply addition,
Doing the Math 15