The Precalculus Track varies among Connect schools, but consists of up to two courses that cover Precalculus (Functions) and Trigonometry. All of the Connect schools currently offer some version of these courses, and Massasoit also has a College Algebra course.

Spreadsheet comparing pre-calculus courses

Precalculus/Functions Course

There appears to be a great deal of agreement among the colleges with respect to this course. BCC and CCCC cover equation solving, inequalities, the Cartesian coordinate system, function notation and related topics, the algebra of functions, graphing, exponential and logarithmic functions, and conic sections. BSC’s Math 100 includes many of the same topics, but omits equation solving. MCC covers many of the above-mentioned topics in their College Algebra course, but omits “traditional” topics such as synthetic division and the factor and remainder theorems. This is a consequence of their mandating graphing calculator use in this course.

Students’ level of preparation varies from school to school. For example, students may take this course at BCC with a 72 on the Elementary Algebra portion of the CPT (Accuplacer); BSC business students take their classes if they achieve a 48 on the College Math test; CCCC requires an 82 on the Elementary Algebra test and a score of 40 – 62 on the College Math test. UMD has a unique prerequisite for their course: students must have a weighted score of at least 1320 when combining their CPT Elementary Algebra score with their Math SAT score.

Faculty members receive a textbook and listing of topics to be covered. Technology is integrated into the courses to varying degrees – some colleges require graphing calculators and others do note. Certainly the degree to which technology is integrated into a course will influence the focus of the course.