I just took the ALEKS math placement test for college next year and I scored an 80%. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. But my the chart that Purdue gives says that it would place me in Applied Calculus 1 which is the second highest it says I can qualify for. Can someone tell me what the different levels of calculus are and their order from easiest to hardest?
The highest math class you can get into via Aleks alone is MA 161/165, which you’ll need if you’re in a physical science or engineering. I believe you placed in what’s equivalent to the old MA 220 or 221 (I forgot what it was) which was called calculus for the life sciences. This is for people in technology, biology, pharmacy, etc. I haven’t heard what the new class is like, but my friend in biology told me that their calc1/2 sequence was incredibly easy for her, while I feel like a lot of people struggled in the calc 1/2 that’s 161/165/162/166.
Also, 165 & 166 are thought of as harder calc 1 and 2 than 161 and 162. The first are 4 credits each, so there’s only 1 recitation. The latter are worth 5 credits with 2 recitations, so there is more smaller instruction opportunities.
Hope this helped!