ALEKS PPL score chart

What is an ALEKS PPL score?

ALEKS PPL (Placement, Preparation and Learning) is McGraw Hill’s math placement assessment for colleges. McGraw Hill says that “in 25 questions or less, PPL’s open-response Placement Assessment determines students’ knowledge across 314 topics and places them into courses from Basic Math to Calculus.” Dallas College describes its version as having “up to 30 questions” that “generally takes 60-90 minutes to complete.”

The University of South Carolina explains the number: the PPL score “is a number between 0 and 100 that represents the percentage of math topics you have mastered, based on an adaptive online assessment.” McGraw Hill’s product page gives no cutoffs. Each school publishes its own chart that turns the score into courses, so a score only means something next to a particular school’s chart.

ALEKS PPL score charts at three schools

These are copied from each school’s page as published on October 20, 2026. They are examples of how schools write their charts, not a standard. Use your own school’s chart for your placement.

Dallas College says ALEKS PPL “is not required, but students who wish to take any of the courses listed below without meeting the course prerequisites must take ALEKS PPL,” and that it “does not replace the TSI assessment.”

USC lists each course with one bracket value, which we read as the lowest score in that bracket. Its table also has a “C or Better in MATH” column of earlier courses for each one, left out here.

UL Lafayette’s page gives course numbers without titles and says “the listing below shows the highest level course you may register for based on your ALEKS PPL math score. You also have the option of registering for a lower level math course.”

How do ALEKS cutoffs differ between schools?

All three charts have a cutoff at 61 and start their top band at 76, which is where USC places into Calculus I and Dallas College into Calculus. Below that they part ways. A 46 lets you register for MATH 109 at UL Lafayette, sits in the 36 bracket (MATH 111) at USC, and is below every course on Dallas College’s list, which starts at 55.

The charts are also written differently. Dallas College lists ranges, and some of them end: Plane Trigonometry is listed for 55–65, so a 70 is not in its published range there. USC lists one bracket score per course. UL Lafayette writes “or higher” and lists the highest course you may take. The lookup reads each chart the way the school wrote it.

Can you retake ALEKS PPL, and what does the learning module do?

McGraw Hill describes PPL as coming “with 12 months’ access to a personalized learning module and up to five assessment attempts.” It also says that “on average, students who study for six hours in the learning module increase their placement by at least one course.” That figure is McGraw Hill’s. Schools set their own retake rules:

• Dallas College: the first Placement Assessment “is un-proctored and used only to assess where the student will begin and cannot be used for placement purposes.” Students get up to four more at a Dallas College Testing Center, and must “complete at least three hours in the Prep and Learning Module and wait 24 hours” before each one. A $20 fee covers the first assessment and up to four more attempts.
• University of South Carolina: you may retest right after your first attempt. After the second, “you will need to wait at least 3 hours and complete at least 3 hours of personalized learning modules before each additional attempt.” You can take it “up to 5 times within one year,” and “your highest score will be used for placement.”
• UL Lafayette: its placement chart page does not cover retakes. Its ALEKS PPL page and math department are the places to ask.

What is a good ALEKS PPL score?

The one that places you into the first math course your major requires. At USC, a 65 reaches Finite Mathematics (61 bracket) but not Calculus I (76), so it is enough for some majors and short for others. Find your major’s first required math course, then find that course on your school’s chart. USC says an advisor “may also consider your intended major or degree pathway, high school math background, AP scores (if applicable), or course prerequisites”, and UL Lafayette warns that “you do not want to skip over a required course.”

Is ALEKS PPL proctored, and does Silent Student take it?

It depends on the school. At Dallas College the counted attempts are taken at a Dallas College Testing Center, and “a valid government or Dallas College photo ID is required for all testing.” Your school’s page says how it runs its own.

Silent Student does not take ALEKS PPL placement, ALEKS knowledge checks or proctored work. A placement score decides which course you start in. A score that is higher than what you know puts you in a course you aren’t ready for, and a lower one costs you a semester. Take it yourself, and use the learning module if you want to place higher.

What this chart can’t tell you

• Only three schools. They are examples. Your school’s cutoffs may be different, and only its chart places you.
• Charts change. Schools update their cutoffs. These were copied on October 20, 2026; check the source link before you register.
• Placement is not the only route. Schools also place by earlier courses, AP scores or other tests, as the USC and Dallas College pages note.
• Not affiliated. Silent Student is not made by or affiliated with McGraw Hill, ALEKS Corporation or any school listed here.

ALEKS PPL score FAQ

Sources

All fetched and checked October 20, 2026.

• ALEKS Placement, Preparation, and Learning (McGraw Hill)
• Placement Testing: Advanced Math Placement (Dallas College)
• Understanding your ALEKS Placement Scores (University of South Carolina, Academic Advising)
• Placement by ALEKS PPL score (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Department of Mathematics)

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