The Initial Assessment may take place at the outset of a student's use of ALEKS, immediately after Registration and the ALEKS Tutorial (Sec. 3.7). We strongly recommend that students take this Initial Assessment in a supervised computer lab setting, to ensure that they do not receive help or collaborate. In creating or editing a course account, the instructor can stipulate that the Initial Assessment be allowed only from school (Sec. 6.4.21).

The Initial Assessment in Financial Accounting is optional and can be skipped by the student, unless the instructor chooses to require it. Conversely, the Initial Assessment in Accounting Cycle is required, unless the instructor chooses to make it optional. These settings can be viewed/edited in the "Class Options" menu in ALEKS (Sec. 6.4.17). Students with prior knowledge of accounting may wish to take the Initial Assessment, so that they can move directly into material that is relevant to them.