<p>I am trying to take Reading B for the Spring semester, but it requires me to take Reading A first. The thing is, I already passed a higher level class, which is English A. I just wanted to take the lower classes to review the foundation. My friends are taking Reading B next semester, and I want to be with them. I am sure Reading A is going to be really easy for me, so I want to jump to Reading B right away. </p>
<p>Last semester, I took Speaking A and the teacher had to transfer me to Speaking B because the class was too easy for me. I asked the professor for Reading B and he said I need to test into his class or pass the requirement first. I just asked is it okay if I try Reading A first, and if that is too easy, can I ask the professor to transfer me into his class. Now I am waiting for his reply, and I am also going to ask the Reading A professor about this.</p>
<p>Is this possible? I mean, if my Speaking professor could do it, then it must be possible, right?</p>
<p>I think this is an issue that is going to be very specific to your school. If your school has a sub-forum here, you might try posting this there. Otherwise, it’s something you’d have to address with an adviser or professor.</p>
<p>I agree with comfortablycurt. You should ask a counselor/advisor (and get it in writing) if you don’t hear from the reading teachers soon (it’s probably vacation time, so sometimes teachers take a break from the emails, too)… and another suggestion is, if you took some type of assessment testing for placement into the reading classes, is it possible to just take that subtest again and possibly place higher or exempt in reading now that you have some classes under your belt? As comfortablycurt says, seek out information specific to your campus, and hopefully you will get the answer you need. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>I don’t know about your school, but mine actually doesn’t check if you’ve had the prerequisites or not for all non-stem classes. It’s kind of based on an honor system. Is there another Reading B Professor that doesn’t know you’re trying to take it before Reading A? (if not, the following probably won’t apply to you) </p>
<p>Depending on what kind of student you are, you might be able to “get away with it.” I was told by one of my advisors that I could take an upper-upper-level course and just not brag that I didn’t take the official prereq since the department doesn’t have anything flagged in the system. The Chair of that same department told me I could take any class I want but that it’s not guaranteed I’ll do well, and a few minutes later, she told me the prereqs were more like lenient guidelines. </p>
<p>The fact that you passed an even higher-level course than Reading B shows that you’d most likely be able to handle it, so I’d consider if you can maybe just take the test and place into it after all. Or just take it anyway and see where you’re at and improve on your own.</p>
<p>If the professor is giving you the chance to test into the class, why don’t you just do that? That seems like less work than starting in the lower class and getting transferred into the next one. If you’ve taken a higher level class already, then the test shouldn’t be too difficult.</p>
<p>harvestmoon, that is nice you had support for not taking the prereq. In all of our developmental classes at my school the teachers DO check for prereq violations because experience shows us that students can have a very hard time trying to place themselves into classes, so I guess it depends on the college, the policies, and the teachers. Thus, check to see how strict your school is, Whateverchan. If it’s like harvestmoon’s college, then it seems you could bypass the A and move directly to B.</p>
<p>My school uses mostly “advisory prerequisites” which differs from it’s rare “enforced prerequisites.” The advisory prerequisite is a suggestion, enforced you cannot register without having taken. Only a few departments use enforced prerequisites and I take advisory prerequisites as what they are, a suggestion. Do what you think, you know yourself better than anyone else knows you.</p>
<p>I think it also might vary by department and by subject, too. Reading and English might definitely be more lenient than, say, math because there isn’t as much sequential stuff. </p>
<p>In the case that I mentioned, it was with the French Department, and it was a matter of juggling between 2 different kinds of skills. My advisor and the Chair agreed that the two classes (prereq and next one up) were actually ones that required different skills, so they’d let me play around with it a bit. </p>
<p>Also, are you a freshman? I ask because if you aren’t, check this year’s version of the undergraduate catalogue. They change sometimes, and at least at my university, you’re allowed to use newer versions for prereqs and such. That’s what helped me out with my case, too. This year’s catalogue and last year’s catalogue listed different prereqs, and my case went from not taking the prereq to taking one of the prereqs concurrently, which is a whole different case.</p>
<p>I can’t take the test into his class simply because I already passed it and got into a higher level class. I am in my second year. Before our freshman year, we all need to take a test first, which I did and even passed the class I was placed into. This is the same test that he was talking about. I have to admit that I lied to the Reading B professor by saying that I tested into English 80, but the truth is I already passed English A, which is an even higher level class. I just didn’t want him to think I was screwing around with his class.</p>
<p>I don’t have an adviser. I could probably talk to a counselor about this, but I don’t know if they will be convinced. One of the Reading A responded to me that the system blocked me from Reading B because the test placed me into Reading A. She thought that was my test result, which is not true. I clarified it by saying that the test placed me into English 84 (another lie), but I wanted to take Reading B to have a stronger foundation. I am still waiting for their response.</p>
<p>If I talk to a counselor, would they let me get around this? What if they ask me why I want to take the class? Would they buy the excuse “I want to go back and review the foundation, and also because I want to take that class with my friends”?</p>
<p>Why are you working so hard (and lying) to get into this class? Don’t you feel like it’s a waste of time? If you’ve already taken the higher level class, you’ll likely be bored out of your mind in this class, and I highly doubt it will help you “review the foundation” in any significant way (unless you really struggled through your English class). If you just want to take the class with your friends… couldn’t you just hang out with your friends? It’s often a lot easier and more meaningful to just spend time with your friends outside of class. Taking the class with your friends won’t really let you spend any more time with them than you could otherwise, besides just sitting next to them in class.</p>
<p>This all just sounds like a waste of time and money, to me. If you really want to do this, then I would just go to someone (anyone who is involved with registering for classes, and even if you don’t have an assigned adviser, there has to be someone you can talk to about registering for classes) and just tell them what’s going on. Just say you feel like you need a review or whatever, and see what they say. All of this lying to get into a class that is below the level you’re at just to spend time with your friends sounds exhausting. But that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>I thought this would be about taking, say, Calc III with only Calc I. You’ll be fine. In fact, I doubt you’ll even benefit much from this class…</p>
<p>Hmmm maybe you can even file an appeal to not take the reading classes. If you are a sophomore, then yes, find a counselor to talk to. Have you kept any examples of work from all your other classes? Find out what the appeal process is at your school for assessment tests that place you in a certain level/class, but now you have evidence from your coursework that you should not be held to that reading class. It is possible to appeal placements at my school, and I’d wager it is possible at yours, too. It will take some leg work, appointments, etcetera, but it is worth it in the end if approved. Then it’s all done ‘right’ and gets entered into the system that you are not held to those reading classes anymore based on the work you have done. It’s another option to explore.</p>
<p>I also agree with the person who wrote that read/write are two different academic strands. If you read a lot in the writing class, that is more evidence to show if you appeal the placement… through your class syllabus, list of readings and your essays that you wrote if you analyzed your readings. Also have a list of the types of reading you did in all your other classes freshman year and this first semester of sophomore year.</p>
<p>I would talk to an advisor in the department and see if they can waive it. For my school, we are generally very strict with pre-reqs, but it you’ve proven that you tested to a higher level, you would get a waiver to take a lower level class in my school. It would make sense for that to apply to other places as well since you tested to a higher level? Lol</p>
<p>Well, I wouldn’t lie about scores anymore. Do you have a copy of your test result? (or does your school have it on file?) I’d go ahead and give them your actual score. And are you sure you can’t take it again? (is it linked to your student ID? Some tests can just be general. My uni’s foreign language placement test can be taken over and over again, for example. But if it’s linked to your ID, then I can see how it might just be a onetime deal) </p>
<p>If you initially tested into a class higher than Reading B, I don’t see any problem with taking it. It’s just even more money for the university. But if they have some kind of policy against that, then that’s something, too. And if they think your score was lower, they should really double-check their records or let you retake it if you don’t have a record. </p>
<p>I’d just be upfront and honest and tell them you’ve already taken a class above B but want to take it anyway for further review. I wouldn’t mention your friends, though. </p>
<p>Good luck! I hope it gets worked out. And Merry Christmas!</p>
<p>Well, you are sorta right that I shouldn’t have lied about my test score. I was just worried that I might be looked at with suspicion. I didn’t struggle with English, since it mostly focused on writing a lot more than reading and speaking. I am also interested in that class because it’s fun and it often has many international students. But yeah, I get what you’re saying.</p>
<p>You are only allowed to take the test twice, and I already used both tries. I am not sure if I still the old result, but I am sure they can always check my profile. I’ll definitely ask a counselor about this, surely they would interrogate me a little.</p>