Placement tests the placement testing process

Table 1: Remedial mathematics courses: Brief overview of content

Course	N	Content
Computation/Arithmetic	15	Operations with whole numbers, decimals, and fractions. Applications, "Story" problems ( Signed numbers in some )
Basic/Developmental Math	54	As above, plus signed numbers, real numbers, and basic geometry. Word problems, "real life " applications.
Beginning/Elementary Algebra	63	As above (less time on computation) plus symbols, algebraic expressions, operations.
Intermediate Algebra	23	Comparable to secondary school first-year algebra. ( Sometimes high school grad. level)

Adapted from: " Developmental Mathematics Instruction: Results of a National Survey". Anita D. McDonald (1988). 79 institutions with 'exemplary' programs responded.
Most institutions offered two remedial courses: basic math and beginning algebra. McDonald also noted that the content of "Intermediate Algebra" was often included in a college-level course at many institutions, making it remedial for some but college-level for others.
The assignments resulting from placement tests may be mandatory, recommended, or just guidelines for a student to consider in their math course selection. Students may or may not have the option of appealing a placement or taking a retest at a later time with the aim of achieving a higher course placement. These variations can make it difficult to sort out the exact effects of course assignments on students' future success. In the next section, two studies which provide support for placement testing and remediation are reviewed in some detail. Course assignments for both of these situations were nominally mandatory but some flexibility in terms of appeals and retesting was allowed.