ALEKS: Frequently Asked Questions

The Placement Assessment is used to determine the mathematics course in which you will have the greatest success. Upon completion of the Placement Assessments, your scores are sent to your academic advisor. Your advisor will review your scores and help make appropriate recommendations for course registration.

All incoming students should take ALEKS PPL. If you can’t due to technology issues or a need for accommodations, contact askaleks@esu.edu.

Ideally, all incoming students will complete the assessment at least three days before they attend orientation. If that's not possible, the assessment must be completed by August 9.

No. ESU expects you to take the ALEKS PPL assessment without using outside resources (friends/family, internet searches, calculators…). Cheating on a placement assessment may result in you placing into a math class that will be too hard for you. There’s really no upside to cheating.

Use of ALEKS is included in your student fees.

No. There are no required plug-ins or applets required with your use of ALEKS PPL. As long as you have access to the internet and are using an updated browser, you should not experience difficulties in taking your Placement Assessment. For a list of preferred browsers, please review the ALEKS system requirements on their support site

ALEKS PPL is an online, adaptive system that covers a broad spectrum of mathematics topics. The length of the Placement Assessment will vary, but can be up to 30 questions. You will see some, but not all, of the math you have learned in high school. It is a Placement Assessment, not a preview of math courses at ESU. It is designed to identify if you are prepared for a particular course. After you take your first Placement Assessment, you will have the opportunity to review and master additional topics to reassess and improve your placement.

Topics covered:

• Real numbers (including fractions, integers, and percentages)
• Equations and inequalities (including linear equations, linear inequalities, systems of linear equations, and quadratic equations)
• Linear and quadratic functions (including graphs and functions, linear functions, and parabolas), exponents and polynomials (including integer exponents, polynomial arithmetic, factoring, and polynomial equations), rational expressions (including rational equations and rational functions
• Radical expressions (including higher roots and rational exponents)
• Exponential and logarithms (including function compositions and inverse functions, properties of logarithms, and logarithmic equations)
• Geometry and trigonometry (including perimeter, area, and volume, coordinate geometry, trigonometric functions, and identities and equations).

ALEKS will begin with a brief tutorial to make sure you are comfortable with the math palette tools before your Placement Assessment begins. The tutorial shows you how to enter different types of answers, how to use the ALEKS calculator, and how to graph. If you aren’t sure how to input an answer, or need help while you are taking the ALEKS Placement Assessment, select the Help button below the answer pallet tools. Going to the tutorial during your Placement Assessment will NOT impact your Placement Assessment results.

ALEKS is not a multiple-choice Placement Assessment. It is open-response and requires you to work out solutions with a paper and pencil, then enter them into ALEKS. Be sure to have scratch paper with you.

ALEKS will provide an on-screen calculator if you need one to complete a particular problem. Otherwise, you may not use a calculator.

You may only use a pen or pencil, paper, and the resources provided within ALEKS. You should not receive assistance from friends, family, other websites, textbooks, or any other resource not provided by ALEKS. Using outside resources will lead to improper placement and potentially course failure.

Because ALEKS is adaptive, once you submit an answer, you cannot change it. Be sure to carefully check your answer before submitting your response.

It is likely that you will be asked questions on material you have not yet learned. On such questions it is appropriate to answer, I don't know. On any question that you have familiarity with, however, it is important to do your best. I don't know is interpreted by ALEKS to mean that you do not know how to solve the topic, and this will be reflected in the Placement Assessment results. There is no penalty for incorrectly answering a question on the Placement Assessment, it only helps ALEKS understand what you know and don’t know.

No, you are free to complete the Placement Assessment at your own pace. The system will allow you to access your Placement Assessment for 24 hours. If you need to exit the Placement Assessment for any reason, you will be able to log back in and pick up where you left off.

You will have to restart the Placement Assessment.

The ALEKS PPL assessment will include about 30 open-ended questions. You will have 24 hours to complete the assessment. Most students spend 60 – 90 minutes on the assessment. We recommend finding a quiet place to take the assessment and giving yourself two hours to work on it.

You will need only scrap paper and a pencil or pen. The program has a built-in calculator for questions that need a calculator. You should not use a calculator other than the one provided by ALEKS. When no calculator is provided, you should answer the question without using a calculator.

Your placement result (overall score) is a number between 0 and 100. It represents the percentage of topics ALEKS has identified you have mastered. Use the table below to determine your course placement. Note that most courses don’t have an upper limit. Any student who meets the minimum threshold can take those courses. The courses with upper limits are designed for students who might benefit from extra support in their math classes.

• You will receive your score immediately upon completion of your Placement Assessment.
• Your ALEKS score can be viewed by re-entering ALEKS using the same access link for which you took the Placement Assessment.
• Your advisor and department chair will be able to access your score.

Your placement result is valid for your time at ESU

This is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the Prep and Learning Modules offered within ALEKS PPL. An individualized study plan will be created based on your performance on the Initial Placement Assessment. ALEKS will identify what you know and what you are ready to learn next so you can brush up on lost knowledge.

No, you must achieve the minimum placement result to take each corresponding class.

Check with your advisor or department chair or check the college catalog

Congratulations! Continue to use your Prep and Learning Module to improve your chances for success. The placement result required is the minimum preparation for your course. Take advantage of the individualized review and learning features in ALEKS to get a better grade in your class.

Yes, you may take up to 5 Placement Assessments. However, to make each attempt worthwhile, it is important that you spend time working in your ALEKS Prep and Learning Module between Placement Assessments so that you can improve your skills. You must wait 48 hours between placement assessments, and you must spend time working through the Prep and Learning Modules as indicated below.

• Between first and second attempt: spend 3 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules
• Between second and third attempt: spend 5 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules
• Between third and fourth attempt: spend 5 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules
• Between fourth and fifth attempt: spend 8 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules

You must wait 48 hours between Placement Assessments. There is generally no benefit to re-taking the Placement Assessment immediately after completing a prior attempt. You cannot improve your results by simply re-taking the Placement Assessment without spending time in the Prep and Learning Module to refresh material that you may have forgotten.

You will have six months of access to your Prep and Learning module. Access to the prep course will not begin until you select start on the top of your screen. DO NOT select into the Prep and Learning Module until you are ready to start working.

Access to a Prep and Learning Module is included along with the additional Placement Assessments.

You can retake the Placement assessment four additional times to improve your score. (The highest score will be used for math placement). Students are required to work in the Prep and Learning Modules for a specific amount of time prior to each Placement Assessment to increase success.

• Between first and second attempt: spend 3 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules
• Between second and third attempt: spend 5 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules
• Between third and fourth attempt: spend 5 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules
• Between fourth and fifth attempt: spend 8 hours working in the Prep and Learning Modules

Prep and Learning Module, you will periodically complete a Knowledge Check to make sure you have mastered the topics you gained in Learning Mode. If you do not show mastery during the Knowledge Check, the topics will be added back into your Learning Pie so you can review them again.

No. You must complete a new Placement Assessment to change your placement result. Select the placement tab in the upper right corner of the ALEKS page to start a new Placement Assessment.

No. You may only use one Prep and Learning Module. If you are unsure which module to select, use the module recommended by ALEKS or consult with your advisor.

Simply close the browser, or log out and log back in. ALEKS will resume the Placement Assessment exactly where you left off, with no loss of your previous answers.

ALEKS Customer Support

If you have a problem or issue, email askaleks@esu.edu