FAQ Category: Services

Scores are valid for up to 3 years.

1. Viewing your score: You will be able to view your results as soon as you finish the assessment, and you can access the score report anytime from your ALEKS PPL Dashboard.
2. Uploading your score: The score for all proctored exams will automatically upload into our student record system and will be accessible by your advisor.

The placement result is your overall score on the assessment. This will be a number between 0-100. This represents the percentage of topics that ALEKS has determined you have mastered.

The score identifies which Math course you have placed in based on SFCC’s Cut Scores. If you have any questions regarding your course placement, please schedule an appointment with an advisor.

Institutional Cut Scores:

There is an online calculator built into the assessment for some questions. Testers can see it located to the far right of each math problem. At the beginning of the assessment, testers will go through a Tools Tutorial that shows users how to use the calculator. Some questions will not allow the use of the calculator. For these problems, you will see a line through the calculator icon. When the calculator is available for use, the line will disappear.

Testers may not use a calculator unless they have an approved accommodation with the SFCC Student Accessibility Services Office.

Once you have answered a question, you are unable to review it, based on the adaptive nature of the ALEKS assessment. Be sure to carefully check your work before submitting your response.

There will be a maximum of thirty questions. The exact number will vary based on your survey questions and the adaptive format of the assessment. It is likely you will be asked questions on material you are not familiar with. On these questions it is okay to select “I don’t know,” and move on to the next question. Answering “I don’t know” lets ALEKS know you are unsure how to solve a particular problem. There is no penalty to incorrectly answering a question. This just helps ALEKS with proper class placement.

The ALEKS placement assessment is timed. You will have 3 hours to complete the exam, however the national average for completing the assessment is 1 hour and 17 minutes. We encourage you to take your time. Do not schedule the exam when you have an appointment you must run off to.

ALEKS PPL exams are taken through the SFCC Testing Center. You may book your exam at any time on the TC Booking’s Page.

Accessibility services and features offered through ALEKS PPL can be seen here: https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/microsites/MKTSP-GAB02M0/accessibility.html

The Testing Center follows accommodations set and requested through Student Accessibility Services. Any person with a disability who would like to request an accommodation for testing can contact SFCC’s Accessibility Services office at 505-428-1711. Please request specific accommodations and modifications prior to any scheduled exams.

ALEKS PPL uses open-response questions for you to calculate and type in your answers. It also is unique in that it is a complete learning program. Following the initial assessment, the advanced AI system creates a customized Prep & Learning module so you can work to improve your math skills. ALEKS also allows Spanish speaking students to switch the test language to Spanish.

The ACCUPLACER exam we previously administered at SFCC was also an adaptive program. It was administered using twenty multiple-choice questions, and depending on your score, there could be other exams that would open. This exam does not allow for continued study to improve math skills, nor does it offer a Spanish language option.

ALEKS is an open-response test. When you first log into the exam, you will complete a brief survey that will help identify the topics your test will begin with. Then you will go through a short Tools Tutorial to show you how to enter your answers, use the calculator, and how to use the graphing tool. During the test you can click on the Help button at the top of the screen, at any time.

ALEKS is an adaptive, online program that encompasses 314 topics. The advanced AI can accurately sense a testing candidates’ proper placement in thirty or fewer questions, so the length of the Placement Assessment varies for everyone. It is designed to identify if you are prepared for a particular course. After you take the first placement assessment, you will have the opportunity to review and master additional topics to reassess and improve your placement using your customized Preparation and Learning module.

•Real numbers: including fractions, integers, and percentages

•Equations and inequalities: including linear equations, linear inequalities, systems of linear equations, and quadratic equations

•Linear and quadratic functions: including graphs and functions, linear functions, and parabolas, exponents and polynomials (integer exponents, polynomial arithmetic, factoring, and polynomial equations), rational expressions (rational equations and rational functions)

•Radical expressions: including higher roots and rational exponents

•Exponentials and logarithms: including function compositions and inverse functions, properties of logarithms, and logarithmic equations

•Geometry and trigonometry: including perimeter, area, and volume, coordinate geometry, trigonometric functions, and identities and equations.

The ALEKS PPL exam is taken at the SFCC Testing Center.

The assessment is free for SFCC students.

For non-students there is a $25 proctoring fee. Payments can be at the SFCC’s Cashier’s Office prior to the exam time.

Transfer students and online students who have taken ALEKS PPL at another institution may submit their ALEKS scores to the Registrar’s office at SFCC. Students will be placed into courses based on those scores, however, to access the ALEKS PPL Preparation and Learning module to improve scores, students will have to take the initial proctored assessment through SFCC. This is the only way for the student to start working within the SFCC ALEKS PPL cohorts.

Registrar’s Office: https://www.sfcc.edu/offices/registrar/

1. New students who have not already taken ALEKS PPL assessment are encouraged to take the exam prior to registering for first-semester classes.

2. Students who have not already taken the assessment and wish to enroll in a mathematics course at SFCC for the first time are required to take the ALEKS PPL mathematics placement assessment before registering in a math class.