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The paper evaluates ALEKS as a self-placement instrument combined with standard placement tests and prerequisite courses, using benchmark knowledge-space levels of 40% and 70% in ALEKS course Preparation for Calculus. Findings indicate partial effectiveness in supporting student success and improving use of university resources, supported by relevant statistics.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/ac-2012-5540-using-online-assessment-and-practice-to-achieve-better-retention-and-placement-in-precalculus-and-calculus/397246/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/ac-2012-5540-using-online-assessment-and-practice-to-achieve-better-retention-and-placement-in-precalculus-and-calculus/397246.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Oliver","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-09-26",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",11,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What problem does the paper address about student placement in mathematics courses?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The paper addresses the difficulty of placing students into the proper mathematics level, noting that current strategies and exams can lead to students being placed too easy or too difficult.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How was ALEKS 1 used at Boise State University?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Boise State began using ALEKS 1 in fall 2008 as an initial assignment in Precalculus and Calculus courses, alongside standard placement tests and prerequisite courses.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What benchmark levels were used to evaluate ALEKS in this study?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The study used benchmark levels of 40% and 70% of knowledge space in the ALEKS course Preparation for Calculus to measure effectiveness.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},397246,1790471248,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":145,"read_time":41,"preview_page_count":4},8796095461610,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","AC 2012-5540: USING ONLINE ASSESSMENT AND PRACTICE TO ACHIEVE BETTER RETENTION AND PLACEMENT IN PRECALCULUS AND CALCULUS  \nAlex Feldman, Boise State University  \nAlex Feldman is Associate Professor Emeritus of mathematics and computer science at Boise State Uni  \nversity. He received a M.A. and a Ph.D. in mathematics and a M.S. in computer science from the Uni  \nversity of Wisconsin, Madison. He is presently doing statistical studies on lower division courses in the  \nMathematics Department.  \nDr. Doug Bullock, Boise State University  \nDoug Bullock is Chair and Associate Professor of mathematics at Boise State University. His research  \ninterests are in low dimensional topology, representation theory, quantum topology, and STEM education  \nat the post-secondary level.  \nDr. Janet Callahan, Boise State University  \nJanet Callahan is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the College of Engineering at Boise State  \nUniversity and a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department. Callahan received  \nher Ph.D. in materials science, her M.S. in metallurgy, and [her B.S. in](her B.S. in) chemical engineering from the  \nUniversity of Connecticut. Her educational research interests include freshmen engineering programs,  \nmath success, K-12 STEM curriculum and accreditation, and retention and recruitment of STEM majors.  \nUsing Online Assessment and Practice to Achieve Better Retention and Placement in Precalculus and Calculus  \nAbstract  \nIn the fall of 2008 Boise State University began using an online assessment tool, ALEKS 1, as an initial assignment in Precalculus and Calculus courses. This paper reports on the effectiveness of the ALEKS assessment as a self-placement tool, used in conjunction with standard placement tests and prerequisite courses. The benchmark levels of 40% and 70% of knowledge space in the ALEKS course: Preparation for Calculus for Precalculus and Calculus courses were used. The paper looks at the effectiveness of the assessment with these benchmark levels as a first student assignment, both as a tool for student success, and as an instrument for making efficient use of the university's resources. Although there are no hard answers, and although much information is anecdotal, we introduce a statistic that is pertinent to these questions and show that it indicates partial effectiveness of the ALEKS assessment.  \nIntroduction  \nPlacing students into the proper mathematics course is challenging; across the United States colleges and universities employ a wide array of strategies. A study conducted at Merrimack College in Massachusetts by Rueda and Sokolowski2 provides a literature review, citing works by Cederberg3, Cohen, et al.4, Krawczyk and Toubassi5 and others. In looking over placement rubrics there does not appear to be consensus on any one particular strategy for placement. Many mathematics departments use a combination of ACT/SAT; others have developed home-grown tests that are used with reasonable success. Some use a combination of ACT/SAT, home-grown tests, and commercial placement exams (such as COMPASS) . When available, prerequisite courses are also used.  \nFor universities that enroll significant populations of students who have stopped out of school for a period of time, placement is particularly challenging. When there is a significant time lag between when a prerequisite course is taken and when then the next registration occurs, students may fail to retain adequate material from the prerequisite course. Placement exams can also be problematic. For example, COMPASS exams are designed to be taken without preparation, but often students do prepare for them, or take them several times, skewing the results. Also, the timing of a placement exam can result in improperly placed students. At Boise State it is not uncommon that newly enrolled freshmen took their ACT or SAT one time only, in their junior year of high school, because their scores at that time were sufficient for admission","cbCaiocQTf1J7oSh","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiocQTf1J7oSh","pdf",471899,12,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Placement challenges and strategies\n## Effects of under- or over-placement\n## Boise State University placement approach","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the paper address about student placement in mathematics courses?\",\"answer\":\"The paper addresses the difficulty of placing students into the proper mathematics level, noting that current strategies and exams can lead to students being placed too easy or too difficult.\"},{\"question\":\"How was ALEKS 1 used at Boise State University?\",\"answer\":\"Boise State began using ALEKS 1 in fall 2008 as an initial assignment in Precalculus and Calculus courses, alongside standard placement tests and prerequisite courses.\"},{\"question\":\"What benchmark levels were used to evaluate ALEKS in this study?\",\"answer\":\"The study used benchmark levels of 40% and 70% of knowledge space in the ALEKS course Preparation for Calculus to measure effectiveness.\"}]","AC 2012-5540 - Using Online Assessment and Practice to Achieve Better Retention and Placement in Precalculus and Calculus | PDF",1790460736]