How is my score calculated?

A: There are a number of topics on the ALEKS Placement Assessment. In a relatively short period of time (about 90 minutes to two hours for most students), ALEKS assesses the percentage of the student's current knowledge of topics from the placement tool (how many of the total topics the student has already mastered) by asking a small number of questions, usually 20-30.

ALEKS chooses each question based on a student's answers to all the previous questions. Each student, and therefore each set of assessment questions, is unique. It is impossible to predict the questions that will be asked. By the time a student has completed the assessment, ALEKS has developed a precise picture of his or her knowledge from basic math up through pre-calculus, and has identified which topics the student has and has not mastered. The poorest topics from a student’s assessment may be more heavily covered in the preparation and learning module.

More information can be found through the online ALEKS overview.