Assessment and LEearning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system with a catalog of math courses. Many colleges use ALEKS as the curriculum for math classes, but did you know you can use it independently?
ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn’t know in a course. ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics she is most ready to learn. As a student works through a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that topics learned are also retained. ALEKS courses are very complete in their topic coverage and ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions.
How exactly does ALEKS work? When you first enroll, you’ll take an initial assessment. It isn’t proctored or timed, but that one doesn’t count for credit. You’ll then begin working lessons in the course in learning mode – you can bounce around anywhere you like, they keep track of it in your “pie chart” and sections open/close as you learn.
Once you pass the assessment with 70% or better, you have to take an additional special “ACE Knowledge Check” which is timed (3 hours) and requires a special lockdown browser. The ACE knowledge check isn’t proctored, but the lockdown browser doesn’t allow you to have other apps running or switch windows during the test. Once you can get a 70% or better on the ACE knowledge check, you can add the course to your Credly account. If you don’t pass, it sends you back to learning mode and you repeat the process until you can pass.
The cost for ALEKS is $20 per month, and students can work as quickly or slowly as they need. A 1 year subscription is currently $180. Even if your student is working on a higher math, they can go back and pick up all the lower maths very quickly. I’ve known students who were in high school calculus that completed the entire ALEKS college credit catalog in 1 month ($20).
To squeeze the most bang for your buck out of ALEKS, a good strategy is to use your favorite homeschool math curriculum, and when you’re confident that your student knows it, simply register for ALEKS at that time. They’ll progress through the course quickly. Please note, many ALEKS courses are not for college credit, use their “course products” tab and look for those marked “ACE Credit Courses.” If your teen accidentally works on a course that isn’t for college credit, ALEKS can’t move your progress over, so they will have to start back at the beginning.
ALEKS “College Credit” Course List
(3 cr. each)
- College Algebra
- Trigonometry
- College Algebra with Trigonometry
- Precalculus
- Introduction to Statistics
- Business Statistics
- Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
Because of duplication and overlap, ACE has provided rules to avoid college credit duplication. Most colleges will follow these guidelines, which limit the number of courses you can use for college credit.
ACE considers the following combinations to be duplication of credit and will recommend against your student getting college credit for both, however, it is up to the college to decide, so there is no harm in finishing both courses and if you can still award high school credit for both.
- College Algebra and College Algebra with Trigonometry are duplicates.
- College Algebra and Precalculus are duplicates.
- College Algebra with Trigonometry and Trigonometry are duplicates.
- Trigonometry and Precalculus are duplicates.
- College Algebra with Trigonometry and Precalculus are duplicates.
- Introduction to Statistics and Business Statistics are duplicates.
- Introduction to Statistics and Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences are duplicates.
- Business Statistics and Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences are duplicates.
Optimal Bundle
For best practices, these 3 courses, taken in order, will likely work for 9 college credits at any college that accepts ALEKS for college credit.
College Algebra + Trigonometry + Any 1 Statistics Course = 9 non duplicating credits.
Course Version Dates
Courses are sometimes revised, removed, or edited when new versions are created.
| Title | Start Date | End Date | Total Recommended Credits |
| Introduction to Statistics | 09/01/2024 | 08/31/2027 | 3 |
| Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | 09/01/2024 | 08/31/2027 | 3 |
| Business Statistics | 09/01/2024 | 08/31/2027 | 3 |
| Trigonometry | 09/01/2024 | 08/31/2027 | 3 |
| PreCalculus | 09/01/2024 | 08/31/2027 | 4 |
| College Algebra with Trigonometry | 09/01/2024 | 08/31/2027 | 3 |
| College Algebra | 09/01/2024 | 08/31/2027 | 3 |
Are Aleks credits accepted by universities that don’t accept Sophia?
Chloe, It is unlikely since Sophia and ALEKS are the same kind of credit: ACE Evaluated. You can review the different types of credit on our master list here: https://homeschoolingforcollegecredit.org/30-ways-to-earn-college-credit-2/