Peirce College Placement Test Practice Resources
Math Review for Peirce College Placement Test
Peirce College has paired with the Khan Academy to provide free structured resources for you to
refresh your math skills before taking your math placement examination. It is recommended to practice
first and prepare to do your best on the placement exam. Go to the Khan Academy website
http://www.khanacademy.org and create a free account (your admissions rep can help you do this). Once
logged in you need to add yourself to the Placement Test Practice class:
 Click on your user name in the upper right corner and select “Profile”
 Select “Coaches” in the list of tabs (in the top third of the page, you should not need to scroll)
 Under option to “Add a Coach,” add yourself to “Peirce College Placement Test Practice Class”
using the class code: 7TJAJ4
This may appear differently on a phone or other mobile device, so look for a menu to expand for
options. The Khan Academy system will automatically generate pretests for you and then guide you
through practice problems and provide video lessons as needed. For support using the Khan Academy
resources go to https://khanacademy.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.
Recommended Navigation:
The “Mission” view might be confusing (each practice item will pop-up and open into full window).
Try clicking on the “Practice” or “Explore” options. Where are these? It is not obvious; the default is to
funnel you into mission view.
1. From the Home view, click on your Pre-algebra mission
2. Click the link to see all the Pre-algebra lessons listed (left and above the Pre-algebra title)
3. From here you can use Explore view to see an overview of topics and lesson listings, clicking on
a topic or lesson takes you to that specific location in the Practice view. Alternately, click the
Practice view and select the lesson you want or need to work.
Breakdown of Topics to Study and Additional Math Resources
Basic number sense, computation and rounding:
Understanding place value: This is the first topic for study in your Khan Academy Pre-algebra
resources.
*Basic Mathematics Rounding Whole numbers video: Basic Math Whole Number Rounding Video
(Hawkes Learning)
*Second video on rounding whole numbers: Second Hawkes Video on Rounding Whole Numbers
Where these helpful? Do you need more support? If yes, please go to the first topic in your Khan
Academy Pre-algebra lesson list and access the Basic Mathematics section of Hawkes TV and utilize the
other video resources for Chapter 1.
Fraction Arithmetic: Chapters 3 and 4 in the Basic Math section of Hawkes TV cover fractions. It is
recommended that fraction arithmetic be reviewed. The Khan Academy video series covers fractions in
detail as well, click on the Fractions section of your Khan Academy Pre-algebra practice course.
Percent basics (writing in percent, decimal equivalent, and fraction equivalent forms) and percent
computations:
This is under the Ratios, rates, proportions section of your Khan Academy Pre-algebra course.
*Basic Mathematics converting between decimal and percent forms: Basic Math Decimals and Fractions
video (Hawkes Learning)
*Second video on percent basics (assumes you know how to do percent to decimal and how to reduce
fractions, review these topics first if needed): Basic Math Fractions and Percents Video (Hawkes
learning)
*Setting up and Solving a Proportion: Basic Math Percent computations video (Hawkes Learning)
*Second video on percent computations (a little more advanced, good thought process if you are ready
for it!): Number Sense and estimation with percent computations (Hawkes Learning)
Algebraic approach to percent computations: Basic Math Percent Computations Algebraic Approach
(Hawkes Learning)
Where these helpful? Do you need more support? If yes, please go to the Ratios, rates, proportions
section of your Khan Academy Pre-algebra course Basic Mathematics section of Hawkes TV and utilize
the other video resources for Chapter 7 and the Pre Algebra section Chapter 6.
Order of Operations and Integer Computations: Do you recall the order with which to do
computations and how grouping symbols are used to tell the calculator (and you) what to do first? Often
people have a pneumonic device associated with this: PEMDAS, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”
or something similar. Start with the left and read across the problem, parentheses or any grouping
symbols are done first (if nested, work your most inside first), exponents are next, then multiply or
divided, and finally add or subtract as they appear left to right. Do you recall this? If not, then start with
the first section in your Khan Academy course, Arithmetic properties, order of operations is included in
under this topic heading.
Do you recall how to work with both positives and negatives (integers)? If not, please review Negative
numbers and coordinate plane section of your Khan Academy course, Chapter 9 in the Basic
Mathematics section of Hawkes TV, and for more you can also go to Chapter 2 in the Pre Algebra
section of Hawkes TV.
Other topics that may be useful include understanding how to solve basic equations, understanding
like terms and simplifying polynomial expressions, and scientific notation. These are covered in
Appendix I and II in the Basic Mathematics section of Hawkes TV and Chapters 2, 7, and 8 in the Pre
Algebra section.
Scientific Notation: This is under the Exponents, radicals, and scientific notation section in your Khan
Academy Course
*Most Hawkes Learning videos have closed caption (CC) in English and Spanish, you might need to
click to expand the video to full screen to see the option to turn on the CC option. Click the CC icon to
see options and click on English or Spanish, or turn CC off. The CC will remain on if you click back to
frame-sized video rather than full screen (some video quality is better in the smaller frame-size view).