This guide outlines the curriculum for a ninth-year mathematics course for students not prepared to cope with the usual first-year algebra course. It is intended to provide personal relevance for these students by including supplementary units on probability and statistics, slide rule use, flow charting and use of calculators, consumer mathematics, informal geometry and mathematical reasoning. The major goal of the course is to develop mathematics skills and competencies which will ensure student success in algebra. The unit topics for this purpose are: graphing; number bases; set of integers; rational numbers; metric geometry; and ratio, proportion, and percent. (JP)