Why does College of Natural Sciences make students take ALEKS instead of SAT II Math?

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

<p>I've already gotten a satisfactory grade on the SAT II Math II and I'm irritated that only the College of Natural Sciences does not accept it for placement, but instead is making their students take another math placement exam, ALEKS. Why is that?</p>

<p>On another note, what topics does the ALEKS cover (for those who have already taken it) and how difficult did you think it was? I'm assuming that it'll be around the same difficulty as the SAT II Math II, but I'm not exactly sure. </p>

<p>Any insight would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Where did you see that Aleks is required? Do you know if it’s required if a student already has college credit for the first semester of calculus?</p>

3

<p>I’d like to know as well I’ve never heard of that. I searched it on UT site and got nothing about math…</p>

<p>My best friend was in nat sci and she took the SAT subject test.</p>

<p>It makes no sense for natural sciences to require a different test and I cannot find anything about it on the page about testing for credit at UT.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mec/cbe/sat.html[/url]”>http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mec/cbe/sat.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>First I’ve heard of it, too.</p>

5

<p>I got an email from UT this morning:</p>

<p>Dear Longhorn:</p>

<p>As part of our new student orientation we require that all incoming students complete an on-line interest survey and a math assessment (ALEKS) before attending orientation at UT this summer. THE SAT Subject Test in Math is no longer used for math placement for College of Natural Sciences Students. </p>

<p>Please read the ALEKS FAQ before attempting the test as it was designed to answer any ALEKS questions you may have. If you have any issues completing the assessment, for assistance go to
[Email</a> Support](<a href=“http://support.aleks.com%5DEmail”>http://support.aleks.com) .</p>

<p>Your deadline to complete the interest survey and the math assessment is June 12th. You will not be able to register for your fall classes at Orientation until these have been submitted.</p>

<p>Please go to the following website for links to the survey and the math assessment.</p>

<p>[Incoming</a> Students](<a href=“http://web3.cns.utexas.edu/incoming-students/]Incoming”>http://web3.cns.utexas.edu/incoming-students/)</p>

<p>We look forward to seeing you at orientation.</p>

<p>hook 'em!
College of Natural Sciences Advising Staff</p>

6

<p>Aha.
It is new.</p>

<p>Well then I don’t know if anyone here can really give you advice because I guess this is the first year.</p>

<p>I have no clue what it is.</p>

7

<p>My son received this email today. From reading the faqs, it appears that even though he’s currently enrolled in calculus at the CC he’ll have to take the test.</p>

8

<p>Considering that I’ve taken AP Calculus at the high school, passed Calculus I and II concurrently at my state college, made a 770 on the SAT II Math II, I don’t think that it’s really fair.</p>

9

<p>^ Not to mention that you guys were given less than a week’s notice about this. It doesn’t look like a long test, though, and with your preparation, it should be a breeze.</p>

10

<p>Hopefully. I think it’s around 25 questions so it shouldn’t be too bad. Do you know what material it covers though?</p>

11

<p>Not really. I’m guessing is it must be precalc and calc, since the goal is to determine where you need to be placed in the calc sequence. The email (or links) indicated that you might actually get credit for your calc courses, but be placed into a lower level of math at UT.</p>

<p>I am guessing that this requirement must have come about because some students with calc credit weren’t actually prepared for the next level of math. I have heard that this does happen. Students with AP or CC calc credit can’t handle the next level of the course at university level and end up having to repeat the 1st level.</p>

12

<p>I took it last week after receiving the email from Natural Sciences.</p>

<p>It was a joke, seriously.
Just be prepared to dedicate at least an hour and a half. It was longer than I thought.</p>

13

<p>^Was it mostly precalc?</p>

14

<p>I’ve taken Calculus AB and BC, so I was expecting calculus questions.
There is NO calculus.</p>

<p>Here are the topics as stated in my assessment report:
Geometry & Trigonometry
Real Numbers
Equations & Inequalities
Linear & Quadratic Functions
Exponents & Polynomials
Rational Expressions
Radical Expressions
Exponentials & Logarithms</p>

15

<p>Wow, thanks so much!</p>

16

<p>I thought it would include calculus. Hmmm. It seams unusual that they would think this is better to use than an SAT subject test score. It sounds so similar. Maybe it is just cheaper for them to give than the SAT subject test in Math level 2.</p>

17

<p>How many questions were there? Were they multiple choice questions?</p>

18

<p>Don’t tell me I wasted two weeks prepping for SAT Math II just so have to take another test… Aish.</p>

19

<p>Thanks for the info, jrt. I got the email yesterday and a call from the TIP advisor today. Seems strange that the test doesn’t include Calc questions especially if we need to score 80% on ALEKS to register for calculus.</p>

20

<p>No problem, glad I could help.</p>

<p>Also, the exact number of questions is hard to say, because it varies. The ALEKS test builds the difficulty and number of questions based on your answers. If you start answering everything wrong, the questions become easier and your score is adjusted (lowered) accordingly. Therefore, no two tests are the same, but the same subject matter is covered.</p>

<p>For the type of students who use these forums, I really wouldn’t worry. I got a 96% without really trying all too hard.</p>