Pros and Cons of ALEKS 2024 (2024)

FAQs

What are the disadvantages of ALEKS? ›

The cost factor becomes a barrier for both students and institutions. Unrealistic Questions and Bugs: A number of users have voiced frustration regarding the unrealistic questions presented by ALEKS, which do not align with what professors typically ask on tests.

So, the first time a student fills in the pie to 100% completion, an automatic Knowledge Check will be triggered to check the student's knowledge of the course contents. After the Knowledge Check, the student will be able to work again through the material where extra work was needed.

Please keep in mind that ALEKS scores are not grades like on a class exam. A score of 30 or higher reflects that a student is adequately prepared for college-level mathematics. Higher level scores representative an adequate preparedness for higher level courses.

The blue triangle in both the class and individual level reports denotes when students have spent time in an ALEKS assessment. Purpose: Instructors can view detailed, daily activity for the class for up to a two week period; individual student data can be viewed for up to 6 months.

Put simply, the site breeds frustration. It's essentially up to a coin toss if any tool or function will work as it's supposed to; some are smooth and easy, others are completely unusable. ALEKS feels like it's in the beta stages of its development rather than a finished product…

It's an interactive book that knows exactly where kids are and what they're struggling with, and that's great. Decades of education research show that when kids work within their zone of proximal development, they're far more likely to succeed, and ALEKS keeps them there at all times.

ALEKS uses various methods to detect cheating, such as tracking the time spent on each question, monitoring mouse movements, and analyzing answer patterns. If ALEKS detects any irregularity, such as rapid completion of the exam or identical answer patterns to other students, they may flag the test for review.

ALEKS scores cannot be interpreted in the same way as exam grades. An ALEKS Assessment Score of 30 or higher indicates adequate preparation for most general education mathematics or statistics courses.

Scores are not percentages. They are converted into benchmarks to place students into an appropriate math class based on their skill level, so don't panic if you see a score of 35, which is our average.

A low ALEKS score does NOT mean that you are bad at math! It simply means that you were probably not prepared well enough in high school for this level of math. You do have the option to retake the ALEKS test. But, if you choose not to, or if your score is still not above at 39, then you will be enrolled in MATH 139X.

Is ALEKS test hard? ›

Is the ALEKS placement test hard? The ALEKS placement test is hard because it's adaptive. In other words, the more questions you answer correctly, the harder the questions become. Therefore, you'll always be pushed to the limits of your knowledge.

ALEKS scores of 30 or higher reflect adequate preparation for college-level math. ALEKS scores cannot be interpreted in the same way as exam grades.

Work in ALEKS regularly.

You could end up spending twice as much time in learning than if you spread out your learning into shorter and more frequent sessions. If at all possible, schedule 20-45 minutes with ALEKS every day.

Allows instructors to view average learning rates, including topics learned per hour. Tracks progress across multiple teachers and/or years. Easily see exactly what students are doing while working in ALEKS. Tracks time spent on task and progress made in the class.

You can track time spent in your ALEKS student account by day, the topics attempted during that time, and the topics mastered that were also added to the ALEKS Pie.

Is the ALEKS placement test hard? The ALEKS placement test is hard because it's adaptive. In other words, the more questions you answer correctly, the harder the questions become. Therefore, you'll always be pushed to the limits of your knowledge.

You will have the option to take remediation modules if you are unhappy with your first score. You will then be able to take a second proctored attempt. The highest proctored score will be used for placement.

What if I don't do well on the test? All students will have one opportunity to retake the exam during the summer, and additional opportunities during the school year. Before retaking the exam you will need to spend eight hours in an ALEKS learning module.