Student majoring in the following fields are required to take the ALEKS Placement Assessment:
- Biochemistry
- Business (Business Administration and concentrations, and Accounting)
- Chemistry
- Computer Science Degrees
- Economics
- Engineering
- Human Physiology
- Mathematics
- Physics
If you miss the June 1st deadline, just take the ALEKS Assessment as soon as possible. We cannot complete your schedule without these results, so the sooner you get this completed, the sooner we will be able to build your class schedule.
No, the June 1 deadline is for the initial assessment attempt in ALEKS. Students have through the first week of class to retake ALEKS in an attempt to improve their score and placement. Students should notify our office via email that they have retaken ALEKS at advise@gonzaga.edu.
ALEKS 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 30 questions. You will see some, but not all, of the math topics you have learned in high school. It is a placement assessment, not a preview of math courses at 91³Ô¹ÏÍø. It is designed to identify if you are prepared for a particular course. After you take your first assessment, you will have the opportunity to review and master additional topics to reassess and improve your score and knowledge.
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).
It is possible that you will be asked questions on material you have not yet learned. On such questions it is appropriate to answer, “I don't know”. On any question that you have familiarity with but may not be fully confident in answering, it is important to do your best. “I don't know” is interpreted by ALEKS to mean that you do not know how to solve the topic, and this will be reflected in the results. There is no penalty for incorrectly answering a question: it only helps ALEKS understand what you know and don’t know.
You will receive your score immediately upon completion of your assessment. Your ALEKS score can be viewed by re-entering ALEKS using the same access link you were sent to complete the assessment. Your scores are automatically added to your student profile, which is accessible by advisors in the Office of Academic Advising, who will place you in your first semester courses.
This is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the Prep and Learning Modules offered within ALEKS. An individualized study plan will be created based on your performance on the initial assessment. ALEKS will identify what you know and what you are ready to learn next so you can brush up on lost knowledge.