Elgin   Johnston   ISU   Mathematics,
Director   CEUME

• What   is   ALEKS
• Why   ALEKS?
• Students   and   ALEKS
• Teachers   and   ALEKS

• ALEKS:    Assessment   and   Learning   in
Knowledge   Spaces
• Assessment   and   Remediation
• Adapts   to   the   test   taker’s   responses
• Detailed   map   of   students   preparation
• Private   company

• Previous   placement   tool   dated,   ineffective
• “Test   run”   in   ISU   Calculus   I,   II   – Spr.
2008
• Successfully   used   at   a   number   of   colleges   and   universities   nationwide
• Information   on   student   preparation   in   a   number   of   areas
• Personalized   student   remediation   module
• Regent’s   institution    placement   tool

• As   well   as   an   overall   score,   also   delivers   assessment   of   student   in   several   sub ‐ areas:
• Trigonometry   and   geometry
• Logarithms   and   exponentials
• Polynomials
• Inequalities
• Linear   and   Quadratic   Functions
• Rational   Expressions
• Radical   Expressions
• Real   Numbers

• The   best   possible   mathematics   experience   for   students
• Proper   placement   in   the   first   mathematics   course   to   enhance   chances   of   success
• Decrease   abandonment   of   STEM   career   aspirations,   keep   students   in   school
• Higher   quality   classes   with   better   prepared   students

• Longitudinal   study   to   identify   student/instructional   factors   linked   to   student   success
• Restructuring   of   our   precalculus sequence

• New   Iowa   State   students   attend   orientation   the   Summer   before   entering   in   the   Fall   – students   schedule   classes   at   this   time
• Mathematics   placement   will   be   determined   by   the   ALEKS   score
• Recommend   the   ALEKS   assessment   be   completed   at   least   three   weeks   prior   to   orientation
• One   reassessment   (if   wanted)   is   allowed

• Funded   out   of   the   ISU   Matriculation   fee
• Second   attempt   is   also   underwritten   by   fee
• University   Legal   Office   and    ISU   Institutional
Office   worked   with   ALEKS   to   insure   confidentiality   of   student   records   and   smooth    transmission   of   placement   exam   scores

• Assessment   usually   takes   1 ‐ 2   hours
• Thorough   pre ‐ assessment   tutorial   on   how   to   enter   responses
• No   stand   alone   calculator,   but   ALEKS   makes   online   calculator   available   for   some   problems
• Online   and   phone   help   available   from   ISU
Mathematics   Department   and   ALEKS

• Simplify    4 √ (28)   +  √ (63)
• Solve   (4+y)(5y+3)=0
• Simplify    8 4/3
• A   right   triangle   has   hypotenuse   19   and   angle   of   68 o .
Find   the   length   of   the   side   opposite   the   angle

• A   rectangle   has   perimeter   60   and   length   4   times   its   width.
What   is   its   area?
• Graph   the   solution   to   the   inequality    system
3x+4< ‐ 8         or       4x+3> ‐ 1
• Write    as   a   single   logarithm
2log(x) ‐ 4log(xy)+log3
• If   sin(t)   =4/7,    and   0<t<   Pi/2,   then   what   is       cos(t)?

• Sketch   and   angle   of   measure   7Pi/6
• A   tank   has   700L   of   water   originally.
Water   is   added   at   25   L/min.
What   is   the   amount   W   of   water   in   the   tank   after   T   minutes.
Graph   the   result.
• Graph   the   parabola   y =   2x 2 ‐ 6x
• Below   is   the   graph   of   y=x^3.
Translate   it   to   the   graph   of   y =   (x+2) 3 +   3

• FAQ   page
• Placement   information
• Help   sources
• Placement   beyond   Calculus   I

• ISU   Summer   courses,   tailored   to   incoming   students
• ALEKS   remediation   module   (6   weeks  ‐ $30.00)
• Course   at   a   nearby   school

• Each   remediation   module   tailored   to   address   the   individual   student’s   needs
• Frequent   retesting   as   student   proceeds,   testing   both   recently   learned   and   previously   mastered   topics

• Tell   your   students   about   the   ALEKS   assessment   and   what   it   means   to   the   start   of   their   college   careers
• Try   the   online   ALEKS   free   trial   to   get   an   idea   of   what   the   ALEKS   experience   is   like   and   what   kind   of   questions   are   asked
• Encourage   your   students   who   will   attend   a
Regents   Institution   to   complete   the   ALEKS   assessment   early

• Have   computers   at   your   school   available   for   students   to   use   for   the   assessment
• ALEKS   is   available   online   independent   of   ISU.
Students   can   take   an   assessment   at   any   time.
End   of   junior   year?
• Strongly   encourage   your   students   to   take   a   mathematics   course   EVERY   year   during   high   school.

• Statistical   study   under   way   fine ‐ tuning   our   recommendations   and   investigate   the    significance   of   sub ‐ scores
• Fall   2012   – University   wide   implementation
ALEKS   taken   by   all   incoming   students
• Mandatory,   enforced   placement   decisions

ALEKS ABC DFX Total
< 65 52 (52%) 48 (48%) 100
65 – 69 68 (69%) 31 (31%) 99
70 – 74 57 (72%) 22 (28%) 79
> 74 209 (81%) 50 (19%) 259
Overall 386 (72%) 151 (28%) 537
20

• Students   in   Math   165   with   higher   ALEKS   scores   tend   to   have   higher   proportions   of
ABC’s   and   lower   proportions   of   DFX’s
21

• ISU   Math   ALEKS   page: http://www.math.iastate.edu/Undergrad/ALEKS.
html
• ALEKS   Page   (for   free   demo): http://www.aleks.com/highered/math