The brains behind UCSC's Math placement and preparation program is the adaptive learning system ALEKS PPL. ALEKS uses artificial intelligence to generate customized proficiency assessments and sets of practice problems targeting mathematical topics in which you show the greatest potential for rapid improvement.

ALEKS reduces test anxiety and maximizes learning efficiency by minimizing the distinction between learning and assessment. ALEKS gives immediate feedback on your work, offers detailed explanations on request, and spot checks your retention of key concepts, so that you can quickly fill in any missing pieces in your skill set and brush up on anything that's starting to fade.

ALEKS is an adaptive, online assessment and learning program that provides effective, individualized learning in an open-response environment. The ALEKS math placement system uses artificial intelligence and adaptive questioning to predict which mathematical topics the student currently understands, and what they are ready to learn. ALEKS stands for Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces (of course, there's a nerdy smart-aleck reference behind the acronym, too). Knowledge space theory was developed in the early 1980s by cognitive scientists and applied mathematicians at New York University and The Free University of Brussels for modeling and interpreting human learning and reasoning. Rather than organizing topics into a list (first this, then that, then the next thing), ALEKS uses sophisticated, densely interconnected [landscapes] to represent student knowledge and offers the student opportunities to expand the boundaries of that landscape on many fronts.

PPL stands for Placement, Preparation, and Learning. After their initial assessment, students are provided with access to an adaptive learning environment called a Prep and Learning Module. Based on the individual student’s assessment results, ALEKS guides students through content that they are ready for, building the foundation required to move onto more advanced content. ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to verify and solidify content mastery, a practice shown to help improve long term knowledge retention. Time spent working in your ALEKS Prep and Learning Module can increase the likelihood of success in your UCSC math courses and may enable you to enroll in a more advanced math course than you initially placed into. Read more about ALEKS here and here.