Early Mathematics Placement Tool Program (EMPT)
The UW Center for Placement Testing is pleased to introduce the EMPT, an exciting program designed to increase the math readiness of high school students planning to attend a post-secondary institution. The program ran from the 1980s until the early 2000s. We completed out pilot year during 2008-09 and are continuing to make the program freely available to all Wisconsin high schools. Benefits of the EMPT include:
● increasing students’ motivation to take an appropriate math course as seniors
● reducing remedial math for participants by 50% over non-participants
● increasing calculus readiness for participants by 10% over non-participants
Frequently Asked Questions about the EMPT
EMPT? What is it?
The Early Math Placement Tool is a joint program sponsored by the UW-System, the Wisconsin Technical College System and the Department of Public Instruction, in partnership with Wisconsin High Schools, to provide high school students with information on their preparation for college level mathematics. The EMPT is designed to help high school teachers, students, and parents determine what math class is best for a student to take in the senior year.
What makes the EMPT different?
The EMPT improves upon our earlier version in many important ways.
1. The EMPT is centrally funded by the State of Wisconsin, so it is free to all participating students and schools.
2. The EMPT offers teachers increased flexibility. Teachers may choose to offer either an on-line or a paper-and-pencil version of the test.
3. The EMPT provides improved student- and teacher-level feedback.
4. The content has been realigned with the UW mathematics placement test to provide a more accurate measure of how students would be placed at the university level.
How does it work?
The EMPT is a shortened version of the UW Mathematics Placement Test, using items retired from that instrument. It is 45 minutes long and can be taken on-line or reproduced and used in a paper and pencil format. Scoring on-line is automatic. Scoring the paper version can be done with a key or students can use an on-line answer template to enter just their answers so that scoring happens automatically. The secure form to be used only in a school setting; the non-secure form can be used by students at home.
What information does the student get?
The student will receive a placement level reflecting his/her math preparation compared to math classes at each UW and WTCS campus. In addition, the student has access to the Mathematics Requirements by Major, a website that identifies the math requirements for every major offered by Wisconsin public universities and technical colleges.
What information does the teacher get?
Teachers can request summary data by class or course to get a snapshot of group preparation.
Is the EMPT limited to high school juniors?
No. Any student can be given access to the EMPT by high school faculty. For example, this program might be of interest to high school seniors who are planning on attending a University of Wisconsin campus and would like to take a practice test before taking the actual math placement test, or to sophomores who are transferring in from a high school with a very different math curriculum.
How much does it cost?
The EMPT has been funded by the State so there is no charge to the schools and teachers participating in the program.
When is the program available?
After our successful pilot year, from 2008-09, we have continued to provide the program free of charge to all high school students and teachers in Wisconsin.
How do I sign up?
If you would like to participate, please visit our website at https://testing.exams.wisc.edu/empt/register.html. Or you can contact us at:
UW Center for Placement Testing
1025 W. Johnson St., #373
Madison, WI 53706
FAX: (608) 263-4291
Email: EMPT@exams.wisc.edu
What if the pdf file doesn’t print some mathematical symbols correctly and I want to administer the EMPT in a paper and pencil format?
To ensure all mathematical symbols and graphics are printed properly, please have the latest version of Adobe Reader installed. The software is free from Adobe and available at http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-READER. If you have the latest version of Adobe Reader and still have problems with certain symbols displaying properly, ask your IT folks if they may provide additional assistance. Otherwise, if you really run into a situation where you just can’t get the pdf to print correctly locally, contact empt@exams.wisc.edu and request a camera-ready copy of the form you intend to use. It will be sent by US mail.
Why didn’t I get my password when I registered?
Some school districts have put a very high security level on their spam filters that reject automatically generated e-mails. If that is the case in your district, please ask your IT folks to put empt@exams.wisc.edu on your whitelist of approved, legitimate e-mail addresses.
Link to Mathematics Requirements by Major