This summer, the University will pilot a new math placement exam. First-year students majoring in biology, pharmacy interest, pre-business, and direct admits to the College of Business for fall 2011 will take the ALEKS math placement exam (ALEKS).
All other first-year students enrolling for summer or fall 2011 – including all international students and transfer students in certain majors – will take the current Math Placement Test (MPT). All new students enrolling for spring 2012 and beyond will take the ALEKS exam.
ALEKS is an artificial-intelligence math exam covering a broad range of algebra and pre-calculus material. The exam is adaptive so the first few questions will be drawn from a broad range of math topics. As the exam proceeds, a student’s answers will be used to give the system an idea of his or her knowledge, and it will gradually focus the questions in the student’s skill range.
Students can pay for an online tutorial through ALEKS and, since placement results are binding, some may opt to do the tutorial so they can retest and score high enough to place into their desired course.
Students will access the ALEKS exam through their Admissions Profile on ISIS. Students taking ALEKS are encouraged to take the exam as soon as possible after April 1, and must allow 2 hours for the exam.
More information on ALEKS and MPT can be found on the Orientation web site at http://orientation.uiowa.edu/.