Math Placement Assessment
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Contact Information
Email: [email protected]Phone: (626) 815-3849
Fax: (626) 815-3859
Location
Adams Modulars, Building 35The APU Core general education program recognizes quantitative reasoning as an essential tool for life in the twenty-first century. Quantitative reasoning is the ability to understand, analyze, and interpret data using mathematical and statistical ideas in order to draw sound conclusions and make well-informed decisions in real-world contexts. APU’s quantitative reasoning curriculum aims to empower students to be wise consumers and producers of quantitative information as they serve God faithfully in a complex world.
There are several pathways (PDF) for meeting the APU Core Quantitative Reasoning requirement. Some entering students will be able to demonstrate their quantitative reasoning proficiency with a standardized test score, but most students will develop their quantitative reasoning by taking one of five APU Core quantitative reasoning courses.
APU uses the ALEKS PPL system to determine initial math placement. Please take a moment to determine whether you are required to use ALEKS.
Students who need to use ALEKS are encouraged to take an initial assessment at home as soon as possible. After this, they will be able to review using their Prep and Learning Module and then retake the ALEKS assessment up to four times. ALEKS placement scores expire after 18 months, to ensure that they reflect students’ current preparation level. Students are generally expected to take their first math or statistics course sometime during their first year and should take it no later than their third semester unless instructed to do otherwise by their academic advisor.
What is ALEKS?
APU helps you to strengthen your mathematics skills even before you arrive on campus by providing a twelve-month subscription to ALEKS PPL (Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces—Placement, Preparation, Learning) software to all incoming students who have not already completed their math requirements. ALEKS assesses your current skill level, tailors an adaptive online learning experience to your personal strengths and weaknesses, and then allows you to take the assessment again (up to four times, if you desire) in order to determine the best math course placement for you. ALEKS is designed to set you up for success.
The ALEKS process consists of the following steps:
- Determine whether you are required to use ALEKS.
- Take your first ALEKS assessment at home as soon as possible.
- Choose and Use a Prep and Learning Module.
- Retake the ALEKS assessment up to four times to attempt to raise your score.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, just dive right in and take your initial ALEKS assessment as soon as you can! Then use the Prep and Learning Module to review and to learn new material.
An assessment typically takes 60-120 minutes. Students have up to two hours to complete an assessment. Finish and submit your work before two hours are up in order to receive an assessment score.
The ALEKS assessment covers a variety of topics from high school mathematics:
- 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)
- Exponentials and logarithms (including function compositions and inverse functions, properties of logarithms, and logarithmic equations)
- Geometry and trigonometry (including perimeter, area, volume, coordinate geometry, trigonometric functions, and identities and equations).
ALEKS questions are open-response (not multiple choice) and require you to work out solutions with a paper and pencil and then enter them into ALEKS. Before you begin an assessment, a tutorial will show you how to enter your answers.
Because ALEKS is adaptive, once you submit an answer, you cannot change it. Be sure to carefully check your answer before submitting your response.
ALEKS placement scores expire after 18 months, to ensure that they reflect students’ current preparation level. Students are generally expected to take their first math or statistics course during their first year and should do so no later than their third semester, unless their academic advisor instructs otherwise.
If you are a new student to APU, you do not have to pay for your initial ALEKS subscription; APU covers the full cost of ALEKS for new students. Returning students who have allowed their initial ALEKS placement result to expire without completing their first math course will need to purchase a new ALEKS subscription for $20 in order to repeat the placement process.
While working in your Prep and Learning Module, you will periodically complete a Knowledge Check assessment to make sure you have retained your mastery of the topics you have studied 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. Knowledge Checks do not count for placement purposes; their purpose is simply to make the Learning Mode as effective as possible.
For ALEKS technical support, call (714) 619-7090 or visit the following websites:
You may also contact the Academic Success Center at (626) 815-3886.
Do I Need to Use ALEKS? When?
Please fill out this short form to determine whether you are required to use ALEKS.
Students who need to use ALEKS are expected to begin using it as soon as possible after receiving their APU login information. Taking your first ALEKS assessment right away will leave you with plenty of time to study with your Prep and Learning Module to prepare for further attempts at the assessment and for your first math course.
You Need to Use ALEKS If:
- You haven't waived your Quantitative Reasoning requirement by meeting one of the criteria 1-10 below
OR
- You need to achieve the prerequisite score to take CHEM 151 General Chemistry I or MATH 165 Calculus I for your major.
You are encouraged to complete this short form to determine whether you need to use ALEKS.
Criteria for Waiving the APU Core Quantitative Reasoning Requirement
- SAT Math (640 or higher)
- ACT Math (27 or higher)
- CLEP College Algebra, Precalculus, or Calculus (50 or higher)
- IB Mathematics (5, 6, or 7)
- AP Calculus AB or BC (3, 4, or 5)
- AP Precalculus (3, 4, or 5)
- AP Statistics (3, 4, or 5)
- Transferred in college-level coursework fulfilling the Quantitative Reasoning requirement
- You will complete an Honors Humanities major
- You will earn a Bachelor of Music degree
Start Using ALEKS Now
Before taking an ALEKS assessment, be sure to determine whether you need to do so.
An assessment typically takes 60-120 minutes. Students have up to two hours to complete an assessment. Finish and submit your work before two hours are up in order to receive an assessment score.
All assessments will be recorded and reviewed using online proctoring software. Be sure not to use any external calculator, websites, AI, or other resources while taking the ALEKS assessment. An artificially inflated score will only place you into a math class for which you are not adequately prepared. Any use of unauthorized resources will qualify as an academic integrity violation.
The first time you take an ALEKS assessment, you will be guided to install Respondus LockDown Browser on your computer to facilitate the online proctoring. You will also need to use a computer with a webcam and a microphone, and you will need a photo ID. If you do not have these requirements for online proctoring, then you may schedule an in-person proctoring session through APU’s Testing Services or at a distance proctoring site.
Note: ALEKS scores expire 18 months from the date of the assessment.
New Students
(Freshman or Transfer)
Most students who use ALEKS are new to APU. A six-month subscription to ALEKS is provided free of charge to all new APU students.
ALEKS access for students who are NEW TO APU
If a returning student uses the above link to access ALEKS, any placement scores for that student will not count.
Returning Students
Because ALEKS scores expire after 18 months, returning students who need to take a math course but have not passed one within their first three semesters at APU will need to use ALEKS again to determine appropriate placement. Returning students are asked to pay the $20 fee for a new ALEKS subscription directly to McGraw-Hill.
Schedule an In-Person Proctoring Appointment for ALEKS
Students with access to a computer with a webcam and microphone are encouraged to take the ALEKS assessment at home using the built-in online proctoring. Alternatively, you may schedule an ALEKS proctoring appointment either through APU’s Testing Services or at a distance proctoring site closer to your home.
Schedule a Proctoring Appointment through Testing Services
You may schedule an ALEKS proctoring appointment through Testing Services using our online scheduling system. If you have questions about scheduling, you may call our office at (626) 815-3849. All exams must be scheduled 24 hours in advance. Testing Services proctors exams 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday year-round. There is no proctoring fee for students who take ALEKS through Testing Services.
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