For further information on any of these questions, follow the references provided to other sections of this Guide.

What are the rules for taking an assessment in ALEKS?

[Sec. 8] You must have paper and pencil when taking an assessment in ALEKS. A basic calculator should be used only when you are instructed to do so. For Introductory Chemistry, a simple calculator is permitted. A basic calculator is part of ALEKS. No help whatsoever is permitted, not even to the extent of rephrasing a problem.

Cheating is not a danger, since each student is given different problem-types in different sequences. Even if, by chance, two students sitting next to one another were to get the same problem-type at the same time, the actual problems would almost certainly have different numerical values and require different answers.

During the assessment, you are not told if your answer is right or wrong. In the Learning Mode, however, you are always told if you made a mistake, and often what that mistake was. The assessment is not a test. Its main purpose is to determine what you are most ready to learn and help you make the best progress possible toward mastery.

How do I add concepts to my pie?

[Sec. 5.4] You fill in your pie and achieve mastery in the subject matter by working in the Learning Mode on concepts and skills that the assessment has determined you are most "ready to learn." When you master a concept in the Learning Mode by successfully solving an appropriate number of problems, you will see that your pie chart has been changed by the addition of that concept. The goal is to fill the pie in completely.

Why is it that I mastered all the concepts in the Learning Mode, but my assessment still says I have concepts to learn?

In the Learning Mode, you are always working on one concept at a time, whereas assessments are cumulative and evaluate you on everything in the given subject matter. It may be more difficult to show mastery of concepts you have recently worked on, when you are being quizzed on many different topics at the same time. For this reason, your assessment results may not exactly match what you had mastered in the Learning Mode. This is normal and simply means that you should keep working in the system. (Sometimes the opposite also occurs. That is, progress in the assessment turns out to be faster than in the Learning Mode.)

Why doesn't my pie chart show any concepts from a category if I haven't filled in that category yet?

[Sec. 5.3] You are completely "ready to learn" a set of concepts or skills when you have mastered all the prerequisite concepts or skills that they demand. To take an elementary example, in order to learn "addition of two-digit numbers with carry" you might have to first learn "addition of two-digit numbers without carry" and nothing else. Your pie chart will not offer you concepts to work on if you are not ideally ready to begin learning them, that is, they have prerequisites you have not yet mastered.

For this reason, your pie chart may show that you have only mastered 8 out of 10 concepts for a particular slice of the pie (a particular part of the curriculum), but the pie chart says you have no concepts available from that slice to work on. This means that the concepts you have left to master have prerequisites in other areas of the curriculum that you must master first. Keep working in the other slices, and eventually the concepts in that slice will "open up."

What is the difference between "Explain" and "Practice"?

When you begin working on a particular concept in the Learning Mode, you will be shown the name of the concept, a sample problem, and a choice between "Practice" and "Explain." If you think you know how to solve the problem, you can click "Practice." You will be given a chance to solve the same problem that was initially displayed. If you are not sure, you can click "Explain" to produce an explanation of how to solve the displayed sample problem.

At the bottom of the Explanation page you have the "Practice" button, and sometimes other options for more detailed explanations and help. The Explanation page may also contain a link or reference to a textbook used with the course. If you click the "Practice" button following an explanation, you are offered a different problem of the same type, not the one whose solution was explained. In order to master the concept and add it to your pie, you must successfully solve a certain number of "Practice" problems. If you wish to choose a new concept, you can click the "MyPie" button on the ALEKS menu bar.

You should not use your browser's "Back" and "Forward" buttons while logged on to ALEKS. Doing so will not help you make progress and may cause temporary software errors.

How can I best use the Learning Mode to help me learn?

[Sec. 5.4] In the Learning Mode, you should do your best to solve the problems that are offered to you. You should not lightly change topics or stop before the system tells you that you are done or suggests choosing another concept.

You should get to know the features of the Learning Mode, especially the explanations and the mathematical dictionary.ALEKSPedia. The Learning Mode will always tell you if your answer is correct or not. In many cases it will provide information on the kind of error you may have made. You should pay attention to this feedback and be sure to understand it.

Keep in mind that ALEKS is always giving you material that, in its estimation, you are ideally ready to learn. It does not offer material you have already mastered, except in the Review mode. To go back to concepts you have already worked on, click the "Review" button on the ALEKS menu bar.

How does ALEKS create practice problems?

ALEKS creates both Assessment and Practice problems by means of computer algorithms, based on the definition of a particular concept or skill to be mastered. Thus, a particular concept or problem-type may serve as the basis for a very large number of specific problems, each with different numerical values and sometimes (as in the case of applied problems) differing in other ways as well. With ALEKS, you cannot "learn the test" or "teach to the test."

What happens if I don't learn a concept (or I get tired of working on a concept)?

[Sec. 5.4] You must answer what the system judges to be an appropriate number of Practice problems correctly to add a concept to your pie. If you make mistakes, you must answer more. ALEKS will always tell you when you have mastered the concept. If you wish to stop working on a concept and choose another one, you can click on "MyPie." It is usually better to master the concept you are working on, unless the system tells you to switch. If you are clearly not making progress, ALEKS will suggest that you work on something else.

Why is ALEKS giving me a new assessment?

[Sec. 5.1] New assessments may be prompted automatically by ALEKS when you have spent sufficient time in the Learning Mode or when you have made adequate progress. Your instructor may also request an assessment for you personally, or for everyone in the course. In this case it may be stipulated that the assessment must be taken at school. (If you attempt to work at home when an assessment has been ordered to be done at school, ALEKS will deny access and tell you that you need to log on from school.)

Why do I need to take a Tutorial to use ALEKS?

[Sec. 4] The Tutorial is a brief interactive training program that teaches you to use the ALEKS input tools, or "Answer Editor." ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions. It almost always requires that answers be given in the form of numbers, mathematical expressions and geometrical and other constructions. ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions. It almost always requires that answers be given in the form of complete expressions. The Answer Editor is a flexible set of tools enabling you to provide such answers. Although the Answer Editor is easy to use, the Tutorial will make sure you are completely proficient with it before beginning the ALEKS system. The Tutorial guides you through every step of learning to use the Answer Editor.

What can I do if I make a mistake entering an answer?

If you make an error entering an answer with the Answer Editor, you should click on "Undo" to go back one step, or on "Clear" to start over. You can also use the "Backspace" key on your keyboard in the usual way.

NOTE. You cannot use "Undo" or the "Back" button on your browser to go back if you have submitted an answer by clicking on "Next." If you realize that the answer you submitted is incorrect, you should not be concerned; the system will most likely recognize this as a careless error based on your other answers and make allowances for it.

What are the icon buttons for?

The icon buttons are used to enter mathematical symbols and to create forms for mathematical expressions. In some cases the keyboard equivalents for icon buttons can be used. The icon buttons are used to enter symbols and to create forms.

Why doesn't anything appear when I type?

[Sec. 10] In order to type input in the Answer Editor, you must first click on a blue box. Each blue box in the input area corresponds to a mathematical expression. When you click on an icon button for a complex expression, it may place more than one blue box in the space, one for each part of the expression. Each blue box must be filled in for a complete expression. For instance, when you click on the "Exponent" icon button, you get two blue boxes. The big one is for entering the base, and a smaller one that is raised and to the right is used to enter the exponent.

How do I get help while using ALEKS?

[Sec. 5.5] You can get help using the Answer Editor by clicking the "Help" button on the ALEKS menu bar.

Can my instructor or friend help me (or can I use a calculator) in the Learning Mode?

[Sec. 8] Help and collaboration are allowed in the Learning Mode. Keep in mind, however, that if you get too much help, the system will start giving you problems that you are not prepared to solve. As a general rule, you can get help with one Practice problem, but you should solve the others yourself.

You need paper and pencil for the Learning Mode, just as you did for the assessment. ALEKS provides a calculator when appropriate; when the Calculator button is active, the use of the calculator is permitted (See Sec. 5.5).

Why are some of the words I see underlined?

[Sec. 5.5] Underlined words in the Learning Mode are links to the online mathematical dictionary and ALEKSPedia. You can click on any underlined word to see its definition. You can also access the Dictionary by clicking the "Dictionary" button on the ALEKS menu bar. The Dictionary is not available during assessment.

Note that the Dictionary is opened in a new window. When you are finished reading the definition, you can close or "Minimize" the window, and you will see the previous screen. Clicking "Back" on the browser won't work.

What is the "Ask a Friend" button for?

[Sec. 8] The "Ask a Friend" button sometimes appears when you are having difficulty with a particular concept. When you click on the button, the system suggests the name of a classmate who has mastered the concept and may be able to help you.

How can I change my Password?

[Sec. 5.5] You can change your Password by clicking the "Options" button on the ALEKS menu bar.

How can I review material I have already worked on?

[Sec. 5.5] You can click on the "Review" button to work on material you have already spent time on.

How can I see the reports from previous assessments?

[Sec. 5.5] To see any of your assessment reports, click on "Report" (on the ALEKS menu bar).

How can I choose a new topic to work on?

[Sec. 5.5] To see your current pie chart and choose a new concept in the Learning Mode, click on "MyPie" (on the ALEKS menu bar), move around on the pie, and choose a new concept in the Learning Mode.

How can I print something in ALEKS?

[Sec. 10] To print the contents of the screen, you can click on "Print" in the ALEKS menu bar. This produces a new, printable window (ALEKS output is not normally printable). Depending on your browser, you may also have to click the browser's "Print" button. When you are done, you can close the new window.

What should I do if it's taking too long for a new page to load (or if the program freezes)?

[Sec. 10] It shouldn't take more than a few seconds for ALEKS to respond when you click on any button. If you experience delay, freezing, or crashing, your first step is to click on the small "A" button in the upper right corner. If this doesn't work, you can click your browser's "Reload" or "Refresh" button. If this doesn't work, you can close your browser and restart it. In extreme cases, use Ctrl-Alt-Delete (Cmd-Opt-Esc on Macintosh). You will come back to the exact place you left off after you log back on to ALEKS.

How do I exit the ALEKS program?

To leave ALEKS, you can click the "Exit" button on the ALEKS menu bar or simply close your browser. ALEKS always remembers where you left off and brings you back to that place.

Why do I have to log on to ALEKS?

[Sec. 1] The fact that ALEKS is used over the Internet means that you can access it from your college or from home. As a registered user of ALEKS, you have an account on the server that contains a record of all the work you have done. Your instructor and administrators at your college have access to these records. They can monitor your progress and use of the system as well as carry out administrative functions. Web access also means that there is almost no maintenance or technical preparation required---no disks, CDs, peripherals, or backup procedures.

What if I have a question or problem using ALEKS?

If you have a question or problem using ALEKS that is not answered here, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has been provided with extensive information on the operation of ALEKS and should be able to answer almost any question you may have.

What if I forget my Login Name or Password?

If you forget your Login Name or Password, you can use the link on the ALEKS home page marked "Did you forget your password?" If you entered an email address at registration time and you remember your Login Name, the password will be sent to you by email. Otherwise, please contact your instructor.