So I just got a 76 on my ALEKS placement test and I'm honestly kind of emotional about it. I failed with a 42 back in January, retook it in March and got a 51, and I've been grinding for the past six weeks to finally hit the 75+ threshold my school requires for Calculus I. If you're in the same boat, I want to share what actually moved the needle for me.
The biggest thing was ditching YouTube videos and actually doing a proper ALEKS practice test first to figure out my weak spots. Turns out I was hemorrhaging points on rational expressions and systems of equations — topics I thought I knew but clearly didn't under pressure. I built my study guide around those gaps specifically, spending about 90 minutes a day, and it made a huge difference compared to my earlier attempts where I just reviewed everything randomly.
Anyone else have specific topics that surprised them? Also curious whether people found the official ALEKS prep modules worth it or if third-party resources worked better for you.