Math Placement Exam

ALL incoming Trinity students are REQUIRED to take the Mathematics Placement Exam, regardless of plan to take math courses or intended major. The exam must be completed by ALL incoming students before the first day of classes.

Placement in appropriate math courses and determination of quantitative literacy, one of Trinity’s foundational requirements that all students must fulfill.

Students will be evaluated on the necessary mathematical skills used in numerical relationships, algebraic relationships, and logical relationships. The exam consists of three parts, where each part has 25 multiple choice questions with a 30 minute time limit.

Please contact Mrs. Kaitlyn Gingras, [email protected], with any questions or issues on the Math Placement Exam.

​Students will need to submit the accommodation application and supporting materials to the Student Accessibility Resource Center. Students who are in the process of requesting academic accommodations should NOT begin the exam until they have heard from the Student Accessibility Resource Center. For questions relating to accommodations, please contact [email protected].

Trinity College awards college credit for calculus if a student has sufficiently high AP, IB (International Baccalaureate), or Oxford A-level exam scores in calculus. For AP Calculus, scores of 4 or 5 are sufficiently high to receive credit. (For IB or Oxford A-levels, please consult the registrar for more details.)

For students who have a strong background in calculus but who do not have sufficient scores on the above exams, the Mathematics Department offers an optional Calculus Placement Exam. Successful completion of this exam DOES NOT result in college credit, but will allow a student to place out of one or both (depending on exam scores) of Calculus I or II.

The Calculus Placement Exam will be administered on campus by prior arrangement. To arrange to take the Calculus Placement Exam, contact Ryan Pellico ([email protected]).

You have placed in Math 131 – Calculus I.

You are also eligible to take any 100-level Math class 101-126, or 128.

You are NOT eligible to take Math 127 – Functions, Graphs and Modeling.

You have placed on the border between Math 131 – Calculus I and Math 127 – Functions, Graphs and Modeling. Please use prior math background to make the best decision.

You are also eligible to take any 100-level Math class 101-128.

You are eligible to take any 100-level Math course 101-128.

If interested in a STEM major, strongly suggest Math 127 – Functions, Graphs and Modeling.

You may be required to take QLIT 101 or 103 before continuing on with a Math course. You will be contacted by Mrs. Gingras, Director of the Quantitative Center with further information regarding the QLIT Requirement.

Upon completion of the Quantitative Literacy Requirement, you may take any 100-level Math course 101-128. If interested in a STEM major, strongly suggest Math 127 – Functions, Graphs and Modeling.

• Foundational requirement all students must fulfill.
• A skill and knowledge requirement.
• Can be satisfied by successfully completing the Mathematics Placement Exam.
• Some students will be required to take QLIT 101 or QLIT 103 to satisfy the requirement.
  • Must be completed at Trinity before any Numerical and Symbolic Reasoning courses.
  • Must be completed during the first year at Trinity.
  • Must be completed before studying abroad.

• A course requirement.
• Can be satisfied by successfully completing a course from an approved list of courses, mostly Math.
• Can be satisfied by transfer credit.
• Cannot be satisfied by AP credit.