MATH PLACEMENT
MATH PLACEMENT EXAM
Oglethorpe requires that all new students majoring in Mathematics, Engineering, Chemistry, or Physics take the Math Placement Exam. The test, through Aleks PPL, is free for enrolled students and is taken fully online.
Students who plan to major in one of these areas of study will be sent instructions on how to access the Math Placement Exam before their summer MAP day and should plan to complete the exam in advance of their registered date. The email is titled, “Action Needed: Math Placement Exam.”
Students may not forward the Placement Exam email. If you haven’t received the email and believe you meet the criteria, please contact [email protected] for assistance.
Math Placement Exam Instructions:
Step 1: Set up your OASIS and OU Email. About two weeks after you submit your enrollment deposit, you will be sent OASIS and OU Email set up instructions. You MUST set up your accounts before you can access the Math Placement Exam. If you do not have access to your OU Email, please contact Ethan Hawkland.
Step 2: Create your ALEKS account:
- Enter the 10-character class code provided in the email titled, “Action Needed: Math Placement Exam.” If you cannot find this email, please contact Katie Clark.
- Use your Oglethorpe Email Address & Oglethorpe ID to create your account. These are required to have access to the Math Placement Exam.
- Take note of your login name.
Step 3: Complete the ALEKS Tools Tutorial by following the prompts on the screen.
Step 4: Review the Oglethorpe University Honor Code. Students should not consult any outside sources for help (friends/family, internet searches, textbooks, notes, etc.)
Step 5: Prepare for the Placement Assessment.
- It’s important to remember that the Math Placement Exam is to determine the appropriate math class to ensure you are academically successful at Oglethorpe. You do not need to study before the initial assessment but will be provided with the tools to review before making any additional attempts.
- You will have two hours to complete your Math Placement Exam from the moment you click “Get Started.”
Step 6: Review your results.
- After you complete the assessment, you will know whether you have satisfied your math placement requirements. There is a 48-hour cooldown period before you’re eligible to complete the placement exam again.
- If you’d like to take the placement exam again, you must complete 5 hours of learning modules before you’ll be able to complete another assessment.
FAQs
The placement exam is designed to identify if you are prepared for Calculus I, or if Precalculus is a better starting point for your existing math knowledge. Topics covered include real numbers, equations and inequalities, linear and quadratic functions, exponents and polynomials, radical expressions, exponentials and logarithms, geometry and trigonometry.
If you enrolled in the past two weeks, your OU email or ID may not be created yet. Otherwise, they should be listed within Oasis and in the Math Placement Exam invitation email. Please contact Admissions if you have never accessed your email, or IT at [email protected] if you’re locked out.
It is only available for currently enrolled students, as it requires a student email and ID.
A computer, scratch paper, writing utensil, and your Oglethorpe email/ID. ALEKS will begin with a brief tutorial to make sure you are comfortable with the math palette tools before your Placement Assessment begins.
To be eligible for testing accommodations, you must provide appropriate documentation from a licensed or certified professional with expertise in the specific disability. We will accept, IEP, 504, or letter from a treating provider. Please submit this documentation to Accessibility Services. The documentation needs to state a diagnosis and recommended accommodations. You should wait until you hear back from a member of our accessibility staff to schedule your exam! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Accessibility Services.
Where: Any quiet place – your bedroom, a library, at school, etc., should be fine.
When: Follow the steps above and take it anytime!
The goal of the exam is to evaluate how comfortable you are with mathematical material you will encounter in college. Reviewing and studying too much for this exam may result in placing beyond the mathematics course that is the right fit for you. With that in mind, the test touches on subjects you may have covered in your high school curriculum in Coordinate Algebra, Algebra II/Advanced Algebra, Pre-Calculus, and Trigonometry.
All Biology majors must take Stem 101 Modeling and Problem Solving Across STEM and BIO 111 Biostatistics, which are not exemptible courses. While other majors may have a mathematical component, those listed are the only majors that require MAT 125 Precalculus (the topic of the placement exam) as a prerequisite. If you think you may want to minor in one of the fields listed, let Admissions know.
If you encounter technical difficulties that shut you out of the exam, please alert the admissions office and we can bypass the 48-hour cool-down.
There is a required minimum score of 76 to demonstrate you are prepared for Calculus I. Those whose highest score is in the 0-75 range will be placed in Precalculus; no exceptions will be permitted.
