Math Placement Assessment

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Math Placement Assessments at Southern Oregon University

Southern Oregon University uses the ALEKS math placement system to help insure that you will be successful in your first college math class. Below you will find information on the ALEKS Placement, Preparation, and Learning (PPL) system and how we use it to place you in the right math class.

Please feel free to visit to following pages for additional questions:

Understanding Math Placement Levels (Includes Transfer Students)

Information about the ALEKS Testing System (Technical Information)

Frequently Asked Questions!

Why should I take the Math Placement Assessment?

We do not want you to waste your time or money taking a class for which you are under or over qualified. Placement scores are used to determine the most appropriate math courses for you as you move forward with your college coursework. After taking a Placement Assessment, you should meet with their advisor who will advise you on the best math class according your placement score and your major.

This is a “Placement Assessment,” not a test. The difference is that a Placement Assessment is designed to determine what you know and what you need to work on. At the end of the ALEKS PPL Assessment, you will have a much better sense of your strengths and weaknesses in math. You will then have a chance to brush on topics that you may have forgotten.

Be honest. It is important that you take the Placement Assessment seriously and give it your honest effort so your score truly reflects yourt current level of knowledge and math preparedness. There is no benefit to cheating on the Placement Assessment – the only result will be that you will enroll in a class that is too difficult, or not challenging enough, potentially costing extra time and money. While taking the Placement Assessment, do not consult any outside sources for help (friends/family, internet searches, textbooks, notes etc...). We want an accurate measure of your current mathematical knowledge state.

What is the Math Placement Assessment?

SOU may require you to take an ALEKS Placement, Preparation and Learning (ALEKS PPL) Assessment to determine your readiness for mathematics courses. ALEKS PPL is a web-based program that uses artificial intelligence to map your strengths and weaknesses. The Placement Assessment has up to thirty questions and generally takes 60-90 minutes to complete. After the Placement Assessment, an individualized Prep and Learning Module is available to help you refresh your knowledge on forgotten topics. Your will then have the opportunity to retake the assessment and improve your placement score.
ALEKS consists of three parts:

An Initial Placement Assessment which you can take for practice
The Prep and Learning Module, an individualized, self-paced online review
Access to four additional Placement Assessments

SOU encourages you to spend time in the Prep and Learning Module, even if you achieved your desired score, because time spent in ALEKS will ultimately lead to better preparation and improved grades.

What is on the Math Placement Assessment?

What does Math Placement Assessment cover?

ALEKS PPL is an online, adaptive system that covers a broad spectrum of mathematics topics. The length of the Placement Assessment will vary, but can be up to thirty questions. You will see some, but not all, of the math you have learned in high school. It is a Placement Assessment, not a preview of math courses SOU. It is designed to identify if you are prepared for a particular course. After you take your first Placement Assessment, you will have the opportunity to review and master additional topics to reassess and improve your placement.

Topics covered:

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 (including integer exponents, polynomial arithmetic, factoring, and polynomial equations), rational expressions (including 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).

How can I prepare?

Preparing for the Assessment

Students should take the time to review material for the assessment, but only the material which they have had a previous exposure to. For example, students who have never taken a course on Precalculus should not try to test at a level above the course. There are many different resources to use to review for the assessment, depending on the student's academic goal.

If students are aiming to place into introductory collegiate math courses, they should study some of the following resources:

SAT Math Review or ACT Math Review

For students who have a desire to place into more advanced courses, they can consider reviewing the following material:

College Algebra and Precalculus Review - Written Examples and Notes

Khan Academy Algebra, Trigonometry and Precalculus

Once I am ready, how do I schedule it?

Scheduling the Exam

On-Campus Options (Ashland and Medford)

Are you interested in taking the Math Placement Exam? Schedule your exam here!

To schedule your math placement assessment, you can either sign up online or by talking to a tutor. When you sign up, please add your name, student ID number, and contact information to the description box. You can also sign up by calling the Math & Science Lab (541-552-8496), calling the Writing Center (541-552-8415), emailing us at tutoring@sou.edu, or visiting the Tutoring Center.

Additional Math Placement Assessment opportunities are available at the RCC/SOU Higher Education Center in Medford. If you would like to schedule a Math Placement Assessment in Medford, please call 541-552-8150.

Off-Campus Options

Students may also take them at a testing center local to them, such as a community college or university testing center, or even a public library which offers proctored testing. Please be aware that these options may have an additional cost, and may not include a physical proctor. In the event there is not an individual on-site to proctor your exam, or you cannot physically make it to a testing location, you may consider the following resources.

ALEKS Proctoring Resources (partnered with ALEKS):

Ensuring academic integrity is important for successful math placement, so we are working hard to deliver easy and affordable proctoring solutions. ALEKS has partnered with professional online proctoring companies and a network of physical locations to provide you with reliable and flexible options to ensure the integrity of our program. For institutions interested in online proctoring options, ProctorU and Respondus offer flexible proctoring solutions ranging from authentication to live proctors. We also have a network of 125+ proctoring centers available for off-campus/remote proctoring.

Looking for a physical location to proctor a student’s assessment? We have created a network of testing centers around the country available to proctor ALEKS PPL assessments. Testing arrangements are made institution to institution. If you'd like to make arrangements for a student, please email the main testing center contact listed. The designated centers fees will apply.

For a list of testing centers offering PPL proctoring services, click here.

ProctorU - https://www.proctoru.com/

McGraw-Hill Education has partnered with ProctorU to provide institutions with a trusted method for evaluating their students' math knowledge with the assurance that the correct student is actually doing the work. ProctorU’s live proctoring service combines technology and a human element to ensure the integrity of online exams through a three-step approach. The service is available 24/7/365, so students are now able to take their ALEKS PPL Placement Assessment anytime their schedule allows from anywhere (home, office, library, etc). The convenience of never having to drive to a campus or a test center is important for students with busy schedules. The service allows students to take their exams from nearly anywhere in a secured environment.

How to set up ProctorU:

If you have an account with ProctorU, simply log in, and select "Schedule New Session". Set the "Institution" option to Southern Oregon University, select the appropriate term, and the math placement exam.

If you are new to ProctorU, follow these steps:

1. Create an account with ProctorU - https://go.proctoru.com/registrations

2. Select the "Test-Taker" Option

3. Create account by entering desired information

4. Check for Windows 10 S-Mode Compatibility (prompt is automatic)

5. Select "Test Your Equipment" to ensure machine compatibility

6. Select "Schedule New Session", and Set the "Institution" option to Southern Oregon University, select the appropriate term, and the math placement exam.

7. Pay for the exam proctoring.

Software Requirements

There are no required plug-ins or applets required with your use of ALEKS PPL. As long as you have access to the internet and are using an updated browser, you should not experience difficulties in taking your Placement Assessment. For a list of preferred browsers, please review the ALEKS system requirements on their support site: http://www.aleks.com/support/system_requirements

On Your Math Placement Day!

On Your Placement Assessment Day

When you come in for your placement assessment, you can either check in with a tutor in the Writing Center or in the Math & Science Lab. You must provide your SOU student ID at the time of your assessment. Scratch paper and pencils are provided. ALEKS will provide an on-screen calculator if you need one to complete a particular problem. Otherwise, you may not use a calculator. Though the assessment has a time limit of 2.5 hours, if you are using proctoring services outside of SOU, such as ProctorU, we encourage setting a two-hour time limit to minimize personal costs.

Not sure where the Hannon Library is? Use this campus map to help!

Setting up your ALEKS account!

Please follow these steps when actually getting ready for the placement assessment

1. Sign into your InsideSOU Account

2. Under "Online Services" (right side of screen, long box), select "ALEKS"

3. Agree to the Terms of Use

4. Select "SOU Math Placement ..."

5. Read through the ALEKS introduction, introductory survey, and tools tutorial.

6. Begin your exam. First exam is unproctored, and used for practice. If you would like to have this exam be proctored, you must be at an approved proctoring site, and have the proctor enter the necessary code.