Mathematical Sciences Testing Center

Summer hours (effective Monday 5/19/2025 - Friday 8/22/2025)

No appointment needed. Walk in only.  

Check the times of closures above before walking-in for your placement test. 

The testing center is sometimes reserved for exams. 

Notes:

• The test time limit is 2.5 hours. Please arrive early enough to finish the test and leave the center before the end of the testing time window. Students who arrive within 1 hour of closing will not be permitted to start the placement test. Regardless of if you are finished, your test needs to be submitted when the testing center closes. Please plan accordingly. 

To take the placement test remotely, you would need to meet one of the following:

• Enrolled in a Mason Online Program
• Live 50 miles or more away from campus

If you qualify to take the online placement test, please email mtc@gmu.edu.

The placement test is required for:

• Math 105, Math 108, Math 113, Math 123, and Math 125

Students will need to pass the placement test before enrolling in the course.

If students have trouble with adding a math course or feel that they meet the prereqs through college credit, please submit a Course override request.

Students having difficulty registering for non-Math courses (such as CS 112) will need to contact the department that offers the course.

• Whole Numbers, Fractions, and Decimals
• Percents, Proportions, and Geometry
• Signed Numbers, Linear Equations and Inequalities
• Lines and Systems of Linear Equations
• Relations and Functions
• Integer Exponents and Factoring
• Quadratic and Polynomial Functions
• Rational Expressions and Functions
• Radicals and Rational Exponents
• Exponentials and Logarithms
• Trigonometry

The hours when you can take the final comprehensive check is listed above.  

After you pass the final, please submit a course override request for the class you are trying to enroll in.

If you have questions about the Online Algebra Tutorial Program, please send an e-mail to Brent Gorbutt at bgorbutt@gmu.edu.

• The test time limit is 2.5 hours but on average students complete the test within 1-1.5 hours.
• The test contains 30 questions and is adaptive.
• The purpose of the Math Placement Test is to determine if you are prepared to take a particular course. You cannot use it to get credit or a waiver for any course.
• After your first attempt, you can practice at home using the same account that you used for your test. The placement test software is adaptive and will provide you with all the practice necessary before your next attempt.
• The score on the placement test will be valid for three consecutive semesters, including the summer.
• You may not use your own calculator but the system will provide one when needed.
• Have your Mason ID ready to be checked before your test. Your photo can not be faded.  If you don't have your Mason ID, you can use any government ID that has your photo.
• By taking the test, you agree to the University Honor Code Policy.  Any student, who takes the online placement test outside Exploratory 4107 or without the presence of a proctor, will lose one of the attempts and will be sent to the Academic Integrity Office for an Honor Code violation.
• Students who wish to retake the test are advised to wait at least one week so that they can sufficiently study the appropriate material.
• If you will need academic accommodations for the Math Placement Test, please contact Disability Services at ods@gmu.edu or 703-993-2474.

Placement Test Remediation (after your first attempt): 

Notes: 

• Click on the link above to access the placement test practice only after you have taken your first attempt.
• If this is your first time clicking on that link, you need to be in Exploratory 4107 ready to take your first attempt. All Placement Test attempts are password protected and must be taken in a proctored environment. 
• The remediation after the first attempt is not password-protected. You can practice un-proctored outside the testing center. 

The required "active hours in the prep and learning modules" before each attempt are:

- 5 hours before the second attempt;

- 10 hours before the third attempt;

- 15 hours before the fourth attempt.

Please be advised that these are the minimum required number of hours of remediation between attempts. If your scores are low, we strongly advise increasing the number of hours that you spend in remediation. Spending time on remediation does not guarantee that you will improve your test scores, but there is a correlation between more time spent in remediation and higher test scores. 

You can change your Prep and Learning Module:

If you have FULLY completed your assigned ALEKS Prep and Learning module and would like to practice a higher level module with more topics before your next attempt, please call ALEKS support at 800-258-2374.

Note that:

• You can only move to the next module after fully completing your currently assigned module.
• You cannot skip modules.
• You are not able to revert back: once you are moved to a higher module, you will not be able to access your previous module questions.