Am I the only one who struggles with Aleks?

[akeefe3133]

I'm working through Aleks Trigonometry to satisfy my Pre-calc requirement at TESC. I read the posts on here that state that people tested at 40% initially and passed 70% within a week or two; some pass on their first assessment. My first assessment was 2%; after a week I'm at 7%. Am I the only one who struggles through this? At this point I don't see myself ever hitting that 70% number. I'm thinking that maybe I should switch over to SL Pre-calc; I'd love to hear if anyone has started an Aleks subject with an assessment as low as mine and actually made it to 70%.

Thanks!

[dcan]

Have you done any of the other ALEKS courses before jumping into trig? You can get credit (if there are slots in your program, i.e. in gen eds or free electives) for ALEKS Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra. In fact, much of what you start out with in trig should be largely covered in College Algebra, so you may be hitting a hard wall with fundamentals the course assumes you already know.

I did Geometry and Beginning Algebra to warm up (before I knew they aren't accepted for credit), and then jumped straight into College Algebra and then Trig. With Trig I assessed I think around 24%, and it took about a month (35 hours or so I think) to get to 70%.

Also, remember the tricks with ALEKS:

1. The tests are not timed. Take as much time as you need with each question, triple-checking if necessary.

2. The questions are drawn from a limited pool of templates -- you probably noticed this by now. Print out or otherwise save off (print to PDF, etc) every explanation of a problem you encounter, and refer to them constantly during your test.

Because of the template questions, if I encountered a new type of question I would intentionally say "I don't know" at least once to save it off for future reference. For tough ones I would do that several times and analyze them to make sure I understood the general rules for how to solve the problem. Then when you encounter a problem that "sounds like" one you already have, just dust it off, review it, and apply it.

Does this teach you "math theory"? Not really. Does it get you to 70? Yes. I have some books at home on modern algebra and real analysis to read, after I finish all my undergrad and grad school. That's for fun later. ALEKS was to get my degree, not teach me theory.

[cookderosa]

Dcan is right. Seriously, you are not the only one, BUT you shouldn't start at 2%. I think you need to go down 1 level or you're going to be looking up one huge mountain. If I remember, there is a large algebra wedge in trig, you should go back down to the college algebra (also college credit btw) and work through those. After algebra try again. And also, like Dcan said, ALEKS has it's "way" of doing things, you need to get into the ALEKS groove first. You'll move faster if you move back first- just my two cents.

[jmichelle79]

You are not the only one. I'm working on pre-calc and I assessed at 53%, then, 54%, 57%, 57%, and today 59%. This didn't happen with the other ones that I had taken.
I agree with everyone else, a review on college algebra would probably help you.
Also, save or print out the explanations. This has been a life saver for me.
Good Luck!!

[ryoder]

I did the instantcert flashcards for stats and read stats for dummies before doing ALEKs and still did poorly on the initial assessment.
Take the time to learn the basics of statistics before using ALEKs and it will be much more doable. I had a whole lot of math in school and ALEKs stats was still difficult for me. You can always fall back on straighterline which might be easier for you.

[jmichelle79]

I did the instantcert flashcards for stats and read stats for dummies before doing ALEKs and still did poorly on the initial assessment.
Take the time to learn the basics of statistics before using ALEKs and it will be much more doable. I had a whole lot of math in school and ALEKs stats was still difficult for me. You can always fall back on straighterline which might be easier for you.

ryoder, this is my plan when I start Stats Aleks. Study for the ALEKS assessment. I was planning on using Khan, didn't think about flashcards. Thats a great idea, thanks.

[akeefe3133]

Thanks for all of your feedback. I think you're right, I have to review Algebra before I can move onto Trig. I have to stay focused; I'm only 12 credits away from my BSBA and I can't get off track. Thanks for the support!

[cookderosa]

ryoder, this is my plan when I start Stats Aleks. Study for the ALEKS assessment. I was planning on using Khan, didn't think about flashcards. Thats a great idea, thanks.

I mentioned a while back that I'm mentoring an 8th grader. He just started stats. His "homework" before he started was to watch all the stats and prob vids on Khan Academy. He did that, and had just finished beg. algebra. His initial stats assessment was 33%! So, in addition to the suggestions above, i'd suggest the free videos.

[IrishJohn]

Trust me, you're definitely not the only one who has struggled with ALEKS. I think I even started a thread a couple of years ago entitled "I Hate You ALEKS!", or something like that. It was a frustrating experience but looking back ALEKS was definitely the right way for me to go in finishing the math requirements. Math is not what I'd call my strong suit by any stretch of the imagination! Keep pluggin' away you'll get there eventually and dcan's advice is spot on.

[dcan]

FYI both Intermediate and College Algebra qualify for credit at TESC. Trig counts as MAT-129 so it fills your pre-cal. BUT do not fall for "College Algebra with Trig" -- it is good for 3 credits, but according to the PDF it is MAT-121, same as plain old College Algebra, so it gets you the same credit as College Algebra only slower.

http://degreeplanners.com/media/TESC_Equ...Course.pdf