This guide explains the basics of ALEKS assessments. It will show you how to access ALEKS PPL, complete your initial ALEKS assessment, and use your best assessment to select and enroll in your first UCSC math course.
What’s Special About ALEKS?
Math placement using ALEKS PPL is a multi-stage process, not an online exam! ALEKS PPL is an adaptive assessment and learning program that provides individualized learning in an open-response environment. Understanding the key differences between ALEKS and conventional ‘aptitude’ exams (e.g. the SAT and ACT) will help you to place into the course that best fits you.
ALEKS PPL covers a broad spectrum of mathematics, but you’ll be asked to solve no more than 30 problems in your placement assessments. ALEKS assessments are…
Free Response
You’ll enter your answers using your keyboard, a math symbols palette, and a graphing tool.
Unhurried
You have 48 hours to complete each assessment. You can logout and return as often as you want.
Adaptive
After each response, ALEKS refines its model of your knowledge and selects a new problem using that model.
Introduction to ALEKS PPL
Placement Guide