ALEKS PPL

Overview

ALEKS PPL (Placement, Preparation and Learning) is a web-based math assessment and learning system published by McGraw Hill. Colleges and universities in the United States use it to place incoming students into the right starting math course, and to help students refresh math skills before that course begins.

Who can take it

Students who have been admitted to a college that uses ALEKS PPL for math placement, typically incoming first-year students without other placement evidence.

Structure

ALEKS PPL has three parts: an adaptive Placement Assessment, an individualised Prep and Learning Module, and the option to reassess.

Because the Placement Assessment is open-response and adaptive, each question a student sees depends on whether the previous answer was correct.

What it covers

The assessment maps a student's knowledge across math topics ranging from basic math through to calculus, including topics needed for statistics courses, corequisite courses, and non-STEM math pathways.

Scoring and results

A completed Placement Assessment produces a placement result that colleges use to assign students to a starting math course, from basic math up to calculus. McGraw Hill states that, on average, students who spend six hours in the Prep and Learning Module raise their placement by at least one course level.

Recognition

ALEKS PPL results are used internally by the college that administers the assessment to decide math course placement; it is not a transferable score between institutions.

How to register

Students access ALEKS PPL through the college that requires it, usually via a link or account set up by the college's math department or advising office, rather than registering directly as an individual test taker.

Preparation tips

Because retaking the Placement Assessment is allowed (up to five attempts) and each retake is preceded by access to the Prep and Learning Module, spending time in the learning module between attempts is the main way to improve a placement result.