GE Course Advisement

Entering freshmen are required to take their GE B4 (Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning) course within their first year, unless they have already completed the GE B4 requirement (Math Placement Category I). (To be precise, all basic subjects [including GE B4] must be completed within the first 30 semester units counted toward the baccalaureate degree.) Depending on the major, either a specific GE B4 course will be required or there may be a choice of courses to select from. The following courses are listed in category GE B4:
• MATH 1090: Quantitative Reasoning with Statistics
• EDFN 1090: Introduction to Statistics and Data Interpretation
• MATH 1000: Quantitative Reasoning in Today’s World
• PHIL 1080: Quantitative Reasoning: Proof and Probability
These GE B4 courses fall into the category of Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning (see description below) and are primarily intended for non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) majors. For STEM-majors and a few other majors, courses required as part of their major will carry GE B4 credit (see the sections on Precalculus and Elementary Subject Matter programs below)

Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning
Most students in non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) majors should take either MATH 1000 or one of the statistics courses, MATH 1090 or EDFN 1090, to fulfill the GE Block B4 requirement.

• MATH 1000, Quantitative Reasoning in Today’s World. This is a practical course in which students learn skills that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Topics include proportional reasoning, probability, statistics, finance, and voting. These topics will feature a diverse host of skills ranging from reading an electric bill, to understanding blood alcohol content, to analyzing a mortgage for a home, to discovering misleading features in statistical studies, and analyzing apportionment for the US House of Representatives.
• MATH 1090 and EDFN 1090 are statistics courses. Students will learn about collecting and summarizing data (descriptive statistics) and also how to draw conclusions from data (inferential statistics). Readily connected to life outside of the classroom, these courses help students become critical consumers of statistics to understand, for example, election statistics and comparisons of drugs. EDFN 1090 has a focus on the health sciences and human services, while MATH 1090 has a more general focus.
• PHIL 1080: Quantitative Reasoning: Proof and Probability. Students will be introduced to deductive and inductive reasoning, proofs, models, set theory, probability and statistics.The overall aim of the course is to bring students to a level of mathematical aptitude so that, in having completed it, they can interpret, represent, communicate, and analyze quantitatively and rigorously.

Precalculus
Students in most STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) majors should take Precalculus, usually followed by Calculus or Applied Calculus. Depending on the major and Math Placement Category, this course sequence will begin either with ESM 1082, MATH 1081, MATH 1082, or MATH 1040. Any PreCalculus course will fulfill the GE Block B4 requirement for these majors. Life Science majors and Exercise Science majors should take MATH 1081 (or MATH 1082), followed by MATH 1085, Discrete Mathematical Models.
• MATH 1081 (Precalculus: Functions) is the first half of Precalculus.
• MATH 1082 (Precalculus: Functions, with lab) is equivalent to MATH 1081. It has exactly the same course content as MATH 1081, but also provides an integrated review of algebra skills needed in PreCalculus.
• MATH 1040 (Precalculus) combines the first and second halves of Precalculus into a single semester.
• ESM 1082 is the Early Start version of MATH 1082 with identical content, that is, it can be used in lieu of MATH 1081 for prerequsite and program requirements.

Elementary Subject Matter programs
Students in an Elementary Subject Matter credential program should take the sequence MATH 1100 (Foundations of the Real Number System for Elementary and Middle School Teachers), MATH 1150 (Elements of Algebra and Statistics for Elementary and Middle School Teachers), and MATH 2250 (Explorations in Geometry for Elementary and Middle School Teachers). Together, these classes help prepare future elementary school teachers to teach mathematics at that level. MATH 1150 fulfills the GE Block B4 requirement.

When students are admitted to Cal State LA, the university looks at a variety of measures to determine their Math Placement Category. These multiple measures include high school Math courses, high school grade point averages (GPA); and exam scores from the ACT, SAT, SAT Subject test, or the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). CSU places students into four categories in Math.

Math Placement Category I (GE Requirement completed): Students have already fulfilled the General Education requirement in Math. Most of the students in Math Placement Category I received a passing score on the relevant AP exam (Calculus AB, BC, or Statistics) and received credit for the corresponding college course. Math Placement Category I students are exempt from Early Start.

Math Placement Category II (Academic support course not needed with GE course): Students are ready to take the freshmen-level GE course in Math. Math Placement Category II students are exempt from Early Start.

Math Placement Category III (Academic support course required with GE course): Students will begin their college-level Math GE course in their first semester and will be placed into a co-requisite support course. Math Placement Category III students may elect to take Early Start.

Math Placement Category IV (Early Start required, and academic support course required with GE course): Students will begin their college-level Math GE in their first semester, and will be placed into a co-requisite support course. Math Placement Category IV students are required to take Early Start.

Students who are placed into Math Placement Category IV (Academic support course required with GE course) are required to participate in Early Start. The following courses are available:

ESM 1082 and ESM 0082 Early Start Precalculus: Functions (8 weeks)
ESM 1082 and ESM 0082 are for incoming freshmen who are in majors that require Precalculus or Calculus. This includes most STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) majors. The content of ESM 1082 is equivalent to MATH 1081, that is, a standard Precalculus Functions class (functions, exponential and logarithmic functions; polynomials and rational functions; systems of linear equations and matrices; sequences and series including arithmetic and geometric series). ESM 1082 can be used in place of MATH 1081 as a prerequiste or as program requirement. Students in ESM 1082 must also enroll in ESM 0082, a co-requisite course designed to provide students with additional math support.
Course Credit: This course meets the Early Start Math requirement. Passing ESM 1082 will confer 3 units of college credit and fulfill the GE Block B4 requirement. ESM 0082 does not carry college credit or count towards the degree.

ESM 1090 and ESM 0090 Early Start Quantitative Reasoning with Statistics (8 weeks)
ESM 1090 and ESM 0090 are for incoming freshmen whose major requires them to take a statistics course to meet GE B4. The content of ESM 1090 is identical to that of MATH 1090 or EDFN 1090. Students in ESM 1090 must also enroll in ESM 0090, a co-requisite course designed to provide students with additional math support.
Course Credit: This course meets the Early Start Math requirement. Passing ESM 1090 will confer 3 units of college credit and fulfill the GE Block B4 requirement. ESM 0090 does not carry college credit or count towards the degree.

ESM 1005 Early Start Quantitative Reasoning in Today's World (2 weeks, offered in two sessions)
ESM 1005 is for incoming freshmen who are are in non-STEM majors that do not require either Precalculus or Statistics. It is designed to refresh students’ knowledge of basic concepts covered in algebra. The course also addresses approaches to problem solving in mathematics, logic, truth values, sets and Venn diagrams, understanding and critical analysis of quantitative information in everyday life.
Course Credit: Passing ESM 1005 does not fulfill the GE Block B4 requirement. However, this course does meet the Early Start Math requirement. Students who complete ESM 1005 will have a head start on subject matter covered in their first-year math class, in particular MATH 1000. ESM 1005 confers 1 unit of baccalaureate credit that counts towards the degree.

You may be able to place into Calculus in Fall 2021 using ALEKS PPL over the summer.
ALEKS PPL is an online assessment, preparation and placement system that is free for Calculus-bound Cal State LA students.
You qualify for ALEKS PPL if

1. You are an incoming freshman, and
2. Your major requires calculus (Math 2110 or Math 2045), and
3. Academic support is not required (see the section on Math Placement Categories for more information)

If your major is in the college of engineering (ECST) you will get access to ALEKS PPL though the ECST STEP Program.
If your major is not in ECST, you should receive an email from the Mathematics Department containing information about registration in ALEKS PPL.
For other questions, contact the Mathematics Department.