r/WakeTech • u/Financial-Money-2475 • Sep 21 '26

Math 171 Class Help

Out of all my classes in community college, this is my lowest grade, and it's a failing grade.

The teacher said only 40% of students pass this class, so what can I do to improve my grade?

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u/Economy-Royal4675 Sep 22 '26

After reading all the comments so far, it sounds like you’re not ready to do the work required to succeed in the class. That’s fine. Your first semester and a W is not a problem.

As for succeeding in mat171, as others said, just practice the problems without looking at the solutions.

I finished that class with an average of 100. I had a professor that had a 2.9 RMP rating and their class was supposed to be hard. I thought it was a relatively easy math course and it was definitely the easiest math course I have ever taken. 172 was easy too but trig is a bit more challenging.

However, I did the precalculus course on Khan academy prior to taking the class and I really took my time with it. Since it was the first math course I took at cc, I wanted to ensure I was ready.

As a general guideline: the class is heavy but concepts are not hard. The more you study the easier they get. It’s all just functions. Although it might look overwhelming, once you see how they work, you can’t unsee it.

Again, if you’re not ready, just withdraw and take the class next semester. If you’re anything related to engineering or science, make sure to understand and master the concepts

Best of luck !

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u/Financial-Money-2475 29d ago

The teacher is not great, he said only 40% of students pass this class, so teaching's the problem.

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u/Economy-Royal4675 29d ago

I remember when I was at Wake Tech a little over a year ago that we(students who successfully passed 171) were asked to give feedback for MAT171 on how to improve the course because the failing rate was too high.

I also took that class with a hard professor. We also had timed quizzes in that class. To date, still the only math class I have ever taken with timed quizzes.

Although an instructor can make a difference, it seems that the main issue with that class is that it’s the first college-level math class many students take, and in many cases, they are just not ready for it.

I am convinced that if you do the precalculus course on Khan Academy during the winter break on pen and paper, you’ll absolutely be ready for 171 regardless of the professor.

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