Purpose

At UCLA Engineering, we have established a series of Diagnostic Assessments that provide an opportunity for our incoming students to check their proficiency of topics covered in classes taken at their previous institution that are needed in our engineering courses. 

Results from a Diagnostic Assessments, will enable a student to identify areas they may need to strengthen their proficiency in before taking courses at UCLA Engineering.  Questions in each Diagnostic Assessment map to specific chapters in our zyBooks Online Course Refresher textbook that provides content, practice questions, projects and labs in that area for students to review and prepare themselves for their first-year classes.

Testimony from previous eTransfer students:

“I was lost in my CS 32 course.  I ended up dropping the class and auditing CS 31; a class I already took at my previous institution.  We spent two lectures on a topic that we spent 20 minutes on at my previous institution.” ~Computer Science Transfer Student in 2018.

“My ECE 102 course was difficult because I took Math 33 A & B a year ago. I had to spend time brushing up on my differential equations before being able to apply it on problem sets in class.  I seem to spend all my weekends and breaks between terms trying to relearn concepts that are necessary for the classes I am taking.” ~Electrical Engineering Transfer Student in 2020.

“I took my coding class nearly 2 years ago and haven’t coded since.  I forgot a lot of content and had a hard time coding.’  ~Computer Science Transfer Student in 2020. 

Assessments are now open and will be available through the summer

The Diagnostic Assessment tests are available for students who have previously taken and received credit for the equivalent UCLA courses below.  Please check assist.org for articulation agreements for equivalent courses.

Diagnostic tests are available in the following subjects:

• • • UCLA’s Math 33A (Linear Algebra)** – all students should take this assessment if you have taken this class
    • Math 33B (Differential Equations)** – all students should take this assessment if you have taken this class
    • CS 31 (C++)* – to test your proficiency; particularly if you need to take CS 32
    • CS 32* – to test your proficiency; particularly if you need to take CS 33

**Math concepts in differential equations and linear algebra will be used in your upper-division engineering courses to solve engineering problems rather than equations.  Students will want to brush-up on these concepts before starting courses.

*UCLA’s CS 31, 32, and 33 courses are rigorous courses.  Faculty who teach this course have helped us to create the Diagnostic Assessment to help students understand if they are prepared to take CS 32 or 33 at UCLA.

THESE ASSESSMENTS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO AWARD YOU CREDIT. They are for gaining an understanding of your core proficiency to allow you time to address any gaps in learning and preparation needed prior to taking courses at UCLA Engineering.

There is no fee for taking the tests.  We recommend all incoming eTransfer students take Math Assessments and any other assessment for a class you took at your previous institution.

Participant fee: $0 (Open and free to all incoming eTransfer students)

For students needing to take CS 32 or CS 33, we encourage you to take the Diagnostic Assessments before June 15, 2026.  If you have already received credit for the course and need to take additional CS courses, we can reach out to our CS 31 and 32 Summer Session instructors to see if you can audit their courses.  For information on requesting to audit CS 31 or CS 32, please see information below.

Accessing your results

How do I get my results?

The Diagnostic Assessments were created in Google Forms.  Once you hit ‘submit’, you will receive an email with a copy of the questions and your answers.  This will enable you to see the questions you got incorrect.  Please make a copy of this for your record so you know what areas you need to work on to strengthen your proficiency.  Please do NOT pay attention to your score as this activity is meant to identify the areas you are weak in to provide you time to strengthen your proficiency in that area over the summer.  It is NOT to provide you a grade for your assessment.

For example, receiving a 14 out of 15 means that there is one area you are NOT proficient in and you should brush-up in that area to ensure you understand the material.

Interpreting your results

What do I do once I receive my scores?

Once you receive your results, you will then need to decide, if it is needed, how to spend the summer brushing up on content from these courses.

Based on the results from the assessments, students have elected to:

Self-study using our zyBooks Course Refresher online textbook
We have provided a mapping between the specific questions on the Diagnostic Assessment and the content in our zyBook Course Refresher text book that you can review.  The zyBooks license is $98 and will provide you access to all course content for Math 33A, Math 33B, CS 31, and CS 32. You will have access to the book from the time of purchase until January 15, 2027.  For information on how to purchase your zyBooks license, please scroll to the section below on the zyBooks Course Refresher online text book. 

Audit a summer session course if you are weak in more than 1/3 the course content
Students who took a Diagnostic Assessment in CS 31 or CS 32 with results that show weakness in 1/3 course content or more might consider auditing a UCLA Summer Session A offering.  Please note that a request does not guaranty that you will be able to audit the course. We will inform you if the instructor decides to invite you to audit their course.

If you are interested in auditing CS 31 or 32 over the summer, please fill out the Course Refresher interest form no later than Monday, June 15, 2026.  Those requesting to audit a course must have:

• Already completed the course and received credit. 
• Taken the relevant CS 31 or CS 32 Diagnostic Assessment and was unable to answer 1/3 of the questions or more, and
• Provide an electronic copy of your transcript showing that you received credit and when you took the course.. 

Unfortunately, auditing courses is not available for dual-enrollment students that are starting UCLA in the Fall after graduating from high school this past Spring.

Diagnostic Assessment Test Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a zyBooks Course Refresher online textbook?

UCLA Engineering has put together an online course textbook that provides content on course modules and includes practice problems, challenge questions, and practice labs to help students to strengthen their proficiency in areas of weakness that were identified through our Diagnostic Assessments.  The zyBook includes content on topics from each course.  Each module was created around the course outcomes for each corresponding course.  Work in the zyBook is self-paced and students can choose the modules they would like to brush-up on.

Our zyBook includes content for the following courses:

Math 33A (Linear Algebra)
Math 33B (Differential Equations)
UCLA’s CS 31 (C++),
UCLA’s CS 32,

zyBooks Chapters by Subject: 

Disclaimer: You will NOT receive course credit for completing the zyBook Course Refresher.  These are for students who have already received credit for these classes. Participating in Course Refresher is not a requirement, is completely optional, and does NOT guarantee you performance in subsequent courses at UCLA.  The resource is meant to provide students with some measure of their readiness to continue their learning at UCLA Engineering.

What is zyBooks?

Focus on the fun of learning instead of performance. 

zyBooks is pioneering a new kind of learning content, created specifically for the modern web. A zyBook is web-native interactive content that helps students learn challenging topics, with auto-grading to provide immediate feedback on proficiency.  Students will have access to content from the zyBooks text book while working on practice problems, challenge questions, and labs.  As students work, they will receive feedback and guidance on their progress to ensure they are learning concepts.

For more information on zyBooks, please visit this website: zybooks.com

Identifying the zyBook modules you should work on based on the questions you got wrong on the Diagnostic Assessment

The Diagnostic Assessment questions to zyBooks chapter mapping can be viewed by clicking the link for the appropriate course below.

• CS 31 & CS 32
• Math 33A & 33B

Once you click the link, here are some instructions on how to use the mapping: Once you open the document you will see a table.  In the 1st column you will see the UCLA course. In the 2nd column, you will find the question number from the Diagnostic Assessment. Find the course and question you got incorrect on the results from your Diagnostic Assessments. Locate that course and question from column 1 and 2 below. The 3rd column provides you the topic and zyBooks chapter you can work on to strengthen your proficiency.

If you elect NOT to use the zyBook, the information in this table can help you to identify the topic(s) to study over the summer to improve your proficiency before classes start in the Fall.

Purchasing your zyBook License

zyBook license fee: $98 and available from point of purchase until January 15, 2027.

Purchasing your zyBooks license – Please fill out our zyBooks Course Refresher interest form to access instructions on how to purchase your zyBooks Course Refresher license.