Spring 2027

Preparatory Algebra

Preparatory Algebra covers fundamental math skills like real numbers, polynomials, and linear equations. Students must pass a basic skills assessment; it does not count for degree credit.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Chaojie Yuan

One student mentioned that Yuan’s accent sometimes made it hard to follow his teaching, though they noted they eventually got used to it.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Perform arithmetic operations, such as addition, multiplication, exponentiation, and their inverses using various sets of numbers (including integers, fractions, decimals, and radicals).

  • Algebraically manipulate polynomial, rational, and radical expressions.

  • Solve various types of one-variable equations and inequalities.

  • Identify functions and determine their domain, range, and other properties.

  • Recognize the coordinate plane and relate two-variable equations to their graphs.

  • Solve linear systems of two-variable equations.

  • Evaluate real-world problems by applying linear and other equations.

  • Support solutions by using algebraic concepts in justifications.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Placement into MATH 96

  • Placement into MATH 96
MATH 96 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Placement into MATH 96

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

CHAOJIE YUAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 500

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Chaojie Yuan

Students described Chaojie Yuan as kind and dedicated, noting that he went out of his way to ensure everyone understood the course materials.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.47 GPA, 30.4% A/AB (n=92 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.96 GPA, 47.2% A/AB (n=684 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.59 GPA, 31.9% A/AB (n=72 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Chaojie Yuan

One student mentioned that Yuan’s accent sometimes made it hard to follow his teaching, though they noted they eventually got used to it.

Past student reviews · Chaojie Yuan

A student appreciated that Yuan granted multiple deadline extensions upon request and worked closely with them to support their learning.

Topics

  • Real numbers, linear equations and inequalities, exponents, polynomials, quadratic formula, systems of equations, graphing, and problem solving

Skills

  • Arithmetic operations on integers, fractions, decimals, and radicals
  • Manipulating polynomial, rational, and radical expressions
  • Solving one-variable equations and inequalities
  • Identifying functions and determining domain and range
  • Relating two-variable equations to coordinate plane graphs
  • Solving linear systems of two-variable equations
  • Applying linear and other equations to real-world problems
  • Justifying solutions using algebraic concepts

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 4 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

4 earlier forecasts · 0.20 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
MATH 96 · Spring 2027

Preparatory Algebra

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:600:024585",
    "course_id": "MATH 96",
    "course_uid": "course_d50f100f2b6a26994da36e3f",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "024585",
    "source_subject_id": "600",
    "title": "Preparatory Algebra",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "8db3634740625afe40c9155263ad77d4e955ad2d7e2c043c25b4f0389c4238bb",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}