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FAQs for Math

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The University of Oklahoma covers the cost of taking the Math Placement Assessment (ALEKS) online. For additional information, contact the OU Assessment Center at ucac@ou.edu.

The math assessment is through Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), which is a web-based assessment and learning system that uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn’t know to assist in math course placement.

The requirement of the Math Placement Assessment will be determined by multiple factors, such as intended major(s) and how the transferring math course has been equated to math courses at OU.

For additional information regarding if a Math Placement Assessment is needed, contact the OU Assessment Center at ucac@ou.edu.

In order to retake the Math Placement Assessment, you must complete ten hours of the learning modules you will have unlocked after your first test attempt. You will use the same shortened URL that sent you to the testing page to log in with your OU credentials. Please note: there is a 24 hour cooldown period between assessments. 

If you are an incoming or transfer student and you plan to enroll in a math course at OU, then you may be required take the ALEKS Math Placement Assessment. Requirement will be determined by multiple factors, such as: intended major(s) and how the transferring math course(s) have been equated to math courses at OU. 

Incoming freshmen who did not receive a math offer or want to place in a higher math course than offered, will take the ALEKS Math Placement Assessment.

Transfer students who have not taken a prior college-level math course will take the ALEKS Math Placement Assessment. 

You can find out here What to Expect with ALEKS.

For additional information regarding math assessment requirement, contact the OU Assessment Center at ucac@ou.edu

After you complete the assessment, you will gain access to a learning module system that is appropriate for your current level. This online system will provide study content and practice to help you refresh your skills and become more familliar with mathematic concepts. Using the modules consistently will help you prepare for your first OU math course and may allow you to place into a more advanced course.

You may want to review the topics from your most recent mathematics course, particularly college or high school algebra, precalculus, and trigonometry.

This is not a pass or fail assessment, so you cannot fail it.  Your score indicates the mathematics course where you have the best chance for success. If you wish to reassess, you may do so after a spending a minimum of ten hours studying in the ALEKS learning modules.

No. You should take the assessment and take the mathematics course indicated by your score. It could be the case that you have already mastered the skills taught at the lowest level course, so you would be more successful in a different math course.

No, you cannot return to questions you have already answered.  Each answer determines the upcoming questions. 

If you do not know how to answer a question, you should select “I don’t know”. This is better than guessing an answer since the system will then take you to the next appropriate set of questions. You will not be able to go back to previous questions.

Students will take assessments virtually via the downloaded desktop version of Zoom, and may make an appointment at the following link: https://iadvise.ou.edu/assess Please contact ucac@ou.edu for any questions regarding assessment.

 

A student's Math Offer is valid for enrollment in the fall semester of their freshman year only. 

Essentially, this lawsuit refers to a student’s specific situation and not the practice of remote proctoring—in its many forms—as a whole. Many factors led to the ruling that discontinued the practice of an environment scan in student’s homes at Cleveland State, though they were very different than the policies we have in place here at the Assessment Center at OU. In this case, the student was both required to be home by health guidelines on campus, and to take the exam in a public online conferencing room with multiple students, and failure to comply with their guidelines resulted in a failing grade.

The Assessment Center’s Zoom conference is structured so that each student who takes an exam will have a private breakout room with an Assessment Center proctor that no other student will have access to. Furthermore, we do not require students to assess from their homes. Rather, we only ask for “a quiet testing environment” which could be a room at the library, quiet corner of a coffee shop, or anywhere else with a solid internet connection and reasonable privacy. Lastly, if a student is not able to complete their assessment during a testing session, they do not receive a failing grade. Instead, the exam is voided, and they are permitted to retake it at a later date without penalty.

As always, student comfort is among our top priorities, so please do not hesitate to reach out to ucac@ou.edu with any questions or concerns.