Aleks question and introdution

[JenninMN]

Hi! I'm new here. I discovered this site over Christmas break, and it has been invaluable already. I'm a homeschooling mom whose children are doing CLEPS. (And I sure wish I'd known about them back when. . .) My oldest son has 36 CLEP credits and is in his 4th semester at our local technical college. He's majoring in multi-media design production. We're hoping to transfer as much as possible to TESC under a communications degree. In fact, he has now applied and we're WAITING for his acceptance and credit evaluation. My daughter is 15 and impatient to get on with her life. She just took her first CLEP, Analyzing & Interpreting Literature, and passed. She's scheduled for Humanities next week.

Now for my Aleks question. I just signed her up for Beginning Algebra through Aleks. I understand that TESC will accept a 70% as credit. She's not sure exactly what college she wants to go to yet. We are working on 2 possible paths and trying not to close any doors just yet. Has anyone done Aleks for credit through TESC and transferred that credit to another college? I understand that it will be up to the end college, but I want to know if it's even possible.

Thank you all so much. You've already been so helpful, even though I wasn't an official member. I'll work on setting up a signature with my kid's CLEPs and scores like I see some people have.

Jennifer

[burbuja0512]

Hi and welcome!

I hope someone else chimes in soon, but my understanding was that TESC accepts intermediate algebra and above. Would love to hear from others on this one...

My DS is working on ALEKS int. Algebra, but has also started looking through the IC College Math flashcards. He thinks that he's going to attempt the College Math CLEP before he even finishes ALEKS. That's what I did.

The difference is that my math CLEP was the only math class I wanted/needed. He will advance and continue to go through ALEKS. I'm not sure that there is a benefit for him to do the math CLEP too, but doing a 6 credit test is very exciting to him. ALEKS is great, but you don't get that instant gratification that comes from a test!

[ryoder]

Its always up to the end college.
Thats just the way it is.

[JenninMN]

It looks like CLEP is the way to go. . .I have a 3-month free trial to Aleks, so we'll go ahead and use it. She scored a 44 on her practice CLEP. We'll try again when she has covered some more topics. I thought about trying Yourteacher.com's Clep Prep course, but I'd forgotten how expensive it is. :o

[Tasman]

for Aleks algebra you will find mathway and algebrator your best friends

[cookderosa]

It looks like CLEP is the way to go. . .I have a 3-month free trial to Aleks, so we'll go ahead and use it. She scored a 44 on her practice CLEP. We'll try again when she has covered some more topics. I thought about trying Yourteacher.com's Clep Prep course, but I'd forgotten how expensive it is. :o

you don't need prep courses. These are 100 level classes. Everything you need is online for free and at your library. You don't have to be a member here- this board forum is free.

As for ALEKS. My suggestion, is to call a few prospective colleges. What you ask is important. For instance, you have to ask an ADVISOR. You have to tell them her potential MAJOR. Then, you say that she is taking a college level math class that has been ACE EVALUATED for college credit. Finally, ask if you can send her ACE transcript for review. Even then, they'll probably still say maybe.

Not everyone takes ACE. (it's important to distinguish between ACE and ALEKS)

My suggestion is to use ALEKS anyway-but put her in Intermediate Algebra for her assessment. If she can hit over 15% then let her work that class instead. First, it's possible that she can use it. Second, it's only $20 per month, so even if you use it as her homeschool math, it's potential credit for the cost of a saxon book- pretty darn cheap. Lastly, put it on her transcript anyway, and have her try the CLEP College Math. CLEP College Math is more likely going to work for her and the material level is pretty similar. (some schools, like TESC will take both, which means 9 credits!)

[creative]

great information Jennifer! I am wondering how much Beginning Algebra and Intermediate Algebra overlap?? I am in Beginning Alg right now but TESC is not giving credit for it, so I need Intermediate. Should I try to cover all the topics in Beg Alg so I can assess higher for Intermediate? Any strategies would be appreciated. My motivation is wearing thin with Beg Alg because they are not giving credit for it at all. But if it helps to finish the topics in Beg Alg so I can get Intermediate done quicker, that would help motivate me Any thoughts?

[cookderosa]

great information Jennifer! I am wondering how much Beginning Algebra and Intermediate Algebra overlap?? I am in Beginning Alg right now but TESC is not giving credit for it, so I need Intermediate. Should I try to cover all the topics in Beg Alg so I can assess higher for Intermediate? Any strategies would be appreciated. My motivation is wearing thin with Beg Alg because they are not giving credit for it at all. But if it helps to finish the topics in Beg Alg so I can get Intermediate done quicker, that would help motivate me Any thoughts?

If you open up the ALEKS page, go into course products. You can click to open the folder for Beg Alg, and see the topics covered. Then, do the same for Inter Alg. I think you'll find a lot of overlap- but just be sure there isn't too much that drops off (foundation math) that you won't get in Inter that you might actually need. Does that make sense? My son did Beg Alg then Inter Alg each lasting 1 semester. I don't recall his initial assessment, it certainly wasn't so high that I felt like we wasted time in Beg. It was probably under 30%, but YMMV. I've seen people assess VERY HIGH in Inter after taking Beg, so it's really up to you. You could assess and see where you are.
(full disclosure- for myself, I'd skip anything non-essential - meaning I'd probably start at Inter Alg... but for my kids I tend to make them put in the face time even if there is repetition because I think it's good for them, like broccoli so he started at Beg Alg and is working every class to 80%, including the non-ACE ones)

[creative]

Thanks Jennifer, I will check and see where they overlap. I don't want to miss something in Beg Alg that I will need in Intermediate. I'll be glad when this math is over with.

[ryoder]

Don't forget to use mathway.com.