Math Placement

It is recommended that all incoming students take the placement test, since regardless of major, all students must take at least one math course. However, the placement test is of critical importance for all STEM majors and Exercise Science majors (with exceptions for those who have sufficient math credits when coming in to YSU).

The specific score you need and how each level would change your path is something important to discuss with your advisor as it will be specific to your case and your major. The table below shows each placement level, and the class each level would place you into.

Because of the nature of the ALEKS assessment, there are no reliable practice tests available, and it is not possible to create one. The best practice a student can do for preparation to retest is working in the ALEKS practice modules.

The test questions adapt based on a student’s answers to the current question, so there is no way to predict what material will be on the test. For example, say a student is on the first question, and say the question happens to be about fractions. Future questions will vary depending on whether the student answers the question correctly or incorrectly.

The score of your assessment is determined by the content that you get correct, not the number of questions you get correct. So for example, it is possible for someone who gets 8 questions correct to have a higher score than someone who gets 12 questions correct, if the 8 questions cover material that is of higher difficulty than the 12 questions the other student got correct.

Each ALEKS account allows a student up to 3 attempts at the math placement test. If the student needs to exceed the allotted number of attempts, there are options we can look into at that time on a case-by-case basis.

The exact date will vary depending on which semester the student is planning to start their math class, but generally the deadline to test for a particular semester will be (1) week prior to the start of that semester. For a student hoping to start their math in a Fall semester, this will generally be in mid-to-late August each year. For a student hoping to start their math in a Spring semester, this will generally be before winter break, so early December of each year.

If a student has not reached their goal score by the start of the semester, they will start in whatever math class they have placed into. If the student has not reached the minimum requirement to place into a math class, then they will not be able to take a math class, and this may result in a delay in their major coursework. We will work with the student during the semester to work on reaching their goal before the start of the next semester.

If a student has not brought in the appropriate AP or transfer credit, or the required math ACT/SAT score, then no, there is no other way to get into their math course other than working in ALEKS. The earliest math class for any STEM or Exercise Science major is MATH 1510C, College Algebra. We do not offer a class that leads into this class.