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ALEKS Placement, Preparation, and Learning (PPL) Math Placement Assessment
ALEKS PPL is McGraw Hill's adaptive, open-response math placement assessment used by colleges and universities as their math placement exam; it determines readiness and places students into courses from Basic Math through Calculus. It is a placement assessment, not a pass/fail certification exam.
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QuestionsUp to 25 adaptive, open-response questions (length adapts to the taker; not a fixed form)
Testing timeNo fixed time limit published; McGraw Hill states the entire assessment can be completed in 90 minutes (a completion estimate, not a stated limit — institutions may configure time limits)
ScoringNot a pass/fail exam: ALEKS PPL is a placement assessment — colleges and universities use the results as their math placement exam, and each institution sets its own course-placement cut scores (no universal passing score exists)
Exam feeUSD 19.95 for a 1-month individual subscription (3-month USD 49.95, 6-month USD 99.95, 12-month USD 179.95); institution-delivered placement access is licensed to schools separately
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Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- McGraw Hill
- Category
- Academic Placement & Readiness
- Current version
- Current specification; no public version label
- Where it applies
- United States — national
- Exam languages
- English
- Format
- Online, web-based adaptive assessment taken through an institution's ALEKS PPL account; integrity/proctoring is configured by each institution — unproctored, Respondus LockDown Browser/Monitor, ProctorU live remote proctoring, or in-person proctoring at a network of 125+ proctoring centers
- Remote testing
- Varies by jurisdiction
Exam structure
Adaptive, open-response assessment (answers are constructed/entered rather than multiple choice) drawn from a fixed curriculum of 314 math topics spanning whole numbers through Calculus I, including corequisites, Statistics, and non-STEM courses; included access provides up to five placement assessment attempts in total plus an individualized Prep and Learning Module usable for up to 12 months.
Where rules vary
Marketed to and deployed by U.S. colleges and universities for math placement ("bridge programs and boot camps across the country"); exam-level rules are uniform nationally, but fee, access, proctoring mode, retake spacing, and placement cut scores vary by institution rather than by jurisdiction. McGraw Hill operates internationally and ALEKS is used abroad, but no official country list for PPL placement is published.
Retake policy
Included access allows up to five placement assessment attempts in total (the initial assessment plus four additional) with 12 months of Prep and Learning Module access; cooling-off periods and module requirements between attempts are set by each institution, not by McGraw Hill