ALEKS Precalculus

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include an alignment guide outlining the TEKS, ELPS, and concepts covered, with a rationale for learning paths across grade levels (vertical alignment) and within the same grade level (horizontal alignment) as designed in the materials.

The ALEKS Precalculus "Standards Correlation" document, accessible through "Class Administration, Class Summary, View Correlation," lists the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) alongside aligned course content. The "PreCalculus Standards Report" and "PreCalculus Course Syllabus" provide structured alignment between state standards and concepts covered. No evidence of the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) inclusion is present. While students may toggle to Spanish, the program lacks explicit alignment to the ELPS. The "How ALEKS Works" video and the ALEKS Reference Guide describe how ALEKS Precalculus builds on prior knowledge through adaptive sequencing, supporting a rationale for vertical alignment across grade levels. However, there is no documentation explaining how topics are connected or ordered to demonstrate horizontal alignment within the ALEKS Precalculus course.

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include an implementation guide with usage recommendations and strategies for effective educator use, such as just-in-time supports, advanced learning, or as a course.

The "Getting Started with Your ALEKS Implementation" PDF serves as a structured implementation guide. It includes sections such as "Introducing ALEKS to Your Students," "Initial Assessment," "Learning Mode," and "Reports," guiding teachers through initial setup and usage. The "ALEKS Recommendations and Implementation" video outlines how the program can be adapted for intervention, enrichment, extension, or as a full course. These options support teacher decision-making in different instructional settings. The Insights tool highlights student learning behaviors such as Failed Topics and Procrastination. Teachers can use this data to deliver just-in-time supports. Additionally, the ALEKS Reference Guide and its 70-plus training resources detail strategies for customizing instruction and using reports to improve student outcomes. The ALEKS Reference Guide encompasses a range of topics to support implementation, including The ALEKS Blend, Personalized Modules, and ALEKS Reports. This guidance helps educators identify students' levels of mastery throughout the course and recommend topics for optimal learning. The materials explain how personalized modules enable educators to make adjustments based on student needs through prerequisite assignments or a series of just-in-time assignments. The section titled "The ALEKS Student Experience" explains how the materials are adapted to meet student needs in various contexts: "ALEKS will identify and celebrate what a student already knows coming into the course and create a personalized learning path so they can efficiently focus on what they are most ready to learn next." The Training & Resources materials provide on-demand resources, including videos and reading materials, to support implementation. The "Reports" section includes Progress Reports, which explain how to view and read reports for entire classes as well as individual students. Progress Reports show how well a student is doing in class and on assessments. The video titled "Quick Tables Report" explains how to use student data to determine the next steps regarding topics to assign to individual students as they progress through their learning paths. The "Administrator Resources" section includes "What to Look for in an ALEKS Classroom." This resource is divided into weeks based on the program start date. The material gives examples of possible instructional groupings, teacher actions, student actions, and classroom arrangements based on the implementation of ALEKS.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include a TEKS correlation guide with recommended skill entry points based on diagnostic assessment results.

The "Standards Correlation" guide is accessible via "Class Administration, Class Summary, View Correlation." It lists all ALEKS Precalculus topics aligned to each TEKS, satisfying the requirement for a correlation document. The "Precalculus Standards Report" can be accessed from the teacher homepage by clicking "Reports, Standards." It outlines the TEKS coverage and supports identification of aligned concepts. The Pie Report and Ready to Learn tab are available in Student View after the diagnostic assessment is completed. Teachers access Student View via "Class Administration, Class Tools." After the initial 20–25 question diagnostic, students are guided to the ALEKS Pie, where the Pie Details and Ready to Learn tabs provide targeted skill entry points based on assessment results.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include protocols with corresponding guidance for unit and lesson internalization.

The materials provide protocols and guidance for unit and lesson internalization in the "Texas ALEKS 6–12 Topic Internalization Protocol" document. The document provides step-by-step guidance for educators to internalize the topics and lessons, along with directions on how to access the ALEKS Pie Reports and anticipate student misconceptions and responses.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance for instructional leaders to support educators with implementing the materials as designed.

The "Features of the District and School Administrator Accounts" documents provide resources for instructional leaders to monitor implementation through reports on usage, progress, and activity time, fulfilling the requirement for leadership-facing resources. While documents such as "Getting Started with Your ALEKS Implementation" and "What to Look for in an ALEKS Classroom" offer general timelines and observational look-fors, they do not include actionable guidance or coaching strategies to help leaders support educators beyond monitoring.

Evaluation for 1.2a
If designed to be static, materials include detailed lesson plans with learning objectives, teacher and student materials, lesson components with suggested timeframes, and assessment resources aligned with the TEKS and ELPS.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 1.2b
If designed to be adaptive, materials include detailed lesson overviews with learning objectives, lesson components with suggested timeframes, and assessment resources aligned with the TEKS and ELPS.

The Time and Topic Report and Learning Sequence Log present TEKS-aligned objectives and track student progress through daily performance and question-level detail. The "ALEKS Recommendations and Implementation" video provides suggested pacing (5–9 topics/hour) and describes how teachers can monitor progress through the Progress Report, fulfilling the requirement for time allocations tied to adaptive instruction. The Assignments tab on the teacher dashboard enables teachers to create TEKS-aligned assessments, including custom quizzes, tests, and goal-based tasks such as Pie Goals and Time Goals. However, there is no structured documentation or overview explicitly connecting lesson goals or assessments to the ELPS.

Evaluation for 1.2c
Materials contain support for families in Spanish and English for each unit, with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student(s).

The ALEKS Resources for TX Padlet includes the "Encourage Your Child's Math Learning At Home" letter and the "Parents' Guide to Student Reports," available in both English and Spanish. These resources offer families strategies to reinforce new learning, monitor student progress, and seek support as needed. The "Encourage Your Child's Math Learning At Home" letter provides families with their student's login, summarizes the terminology used within the ALEKS Precalculus program, and outlines the recommended amount of time their student should spend using the program each week. These resources are available in Spanish and English. The "Parents' Guide to Student Reports" provides guidance to families on how to track their child's progress and understand what their child has been working on within the ALEKS Precalculus platform. The resource provides families with a thorough explanation of the Pie Report, demonstrating that each pie slice corresponds to specific topics in their child's learning pathway. While the darker portion of each slice represents mastered topics, the lighter portion represents topics that are still being learned. The "ALEKS for Parents" video demonstrates how to access the student Pie Chart, understand what has been mastered and what remains to be learned, and monitor daily progress through the platform. The video also shows how students can access learning supports while working through the program. Additionally, the "Parents' Guide to Student Reports" explains how to interpret various reports, including the Learning Sequence Log, Time and Topic Report, and Progress History Report. These resources are available to educators under the "Training and Resources" section of the teacher dashboard.

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the types of instructional assessments.

The materials include a definition for Knowledge Checks, which are assessments used to determine which topics a student has mastered and which remain unmastered (see "What is a Knowledge Check?" in the "ALEKS Teacher Resources"). The intended purpose of various types of instructional assessments is outlined in multiple locations, such as the ALEKS Reference Guide and Insights tool. For example, Scheduled Knowledge Checks reassess mastery, Pie Progress Goals track participation, and Homework, Quizzes, and Tests are used for practice, evaluation, and exposure to concepts. The ALEKS Insights feature defines and explains the purpose of diagnostic-style assessments, such as Failed Topics, Decreased Learning, and Procrastination. Additionally, the video "How ALEKS Works" provides further context on how the AI utilizes instructional assessments to tailor student learning pathways based on performance data.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

ALEKS Precalculus includes guidance to ensure the consistent administration of instructional assessments through the use of Modules, as described in the "Creating a Module" section of the ALEKS Reference Guide. This feature allows teachers to assign the same start/due dates, mastery percentages, and post-module Knowledge Checks to all students. The materials include guidance to ensure the accurate administration of instructional assessments through Question Pooling. This feature allows for randomized versions of quizzes, tests, and homework, so that each student receives a unique yet equivalent assessment (Reference Guide, p. 15). Materials include guidance to ensure the consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments, which describes the use of periodic Knowledge Checks that reassess mastery using mixed-format questions to minimize predictability and reinforce the validity of student learning evaluation (Reference Guide, p. 5; "Creating Assignments" video).

Evaluation for 2.1c
Digital assessments include printable versions and accommodations, including text-to-speech, content and language supports, and calculators, that educators can enable or disable to support individual students.

ALEKS Precalculus includes printable versions of assignments such as homework, quizzes, and tests. Educators can print these by generating a PDF of the selected item from the Assignments tab. The digital assessments provide a student-controlled bilingual toggle and virtual calculator, both accessible in the on-screen toolbar during homework, quizzes, and tests. These features can only be enabled or disabled globally by educators in the Class Options menu under Class Administration and cannot be adjusted for individual students. The digital assessments do not provide text-to-speech functionality that educators can enable or disable to support individual students. While a screen reader mode is available during class creation, activating it disables 127 topics and key instructional features, rendering it ineffective as an individual accommodation tool.

Evaluation for 2.1d
Materials include diagnostic assessments with TEKS-aligned tasks or questions, including interactive item types with varying complexity levels.

ALEKS Precalculus includes TEKS-aligned tasks or questions with more than two levels of complexity. For example, TEKS 4.F asks students to apply trigonometric functions in real-world problems using the formula d = rt. TEKS 2.F requires students to graph various nonlinear functions, including parabolas and exponentials. Additionally, TEKS 1.E tasks students with applying identities using the unit circle, demonstrating advanced reasoning. Diagnostic assessments include more than two unique interactive item types. These include open-response tasks (e.g., writing explanations for trigonometric applications), graphing tasks (e.g., plotting parabolas, cubics, and rationals), and digital manipulations (e.g., sketching angles around the unit circle in TEKS 1.E). Teachers can create diagnostic assessments aligned to specific TEKS by selecting "+ New" from the Assignments tab, switching to "View by Standards," and previewing or selecting questions grouped by complexity level. Teachers can also create custom interactive item types using the My Questions tool on the teacher dashboard.

Evaluation for 2.1e
Materials include a variety of formative assessments with TEKS-aligned tasks or questions, including interactive item types with varying complexity levels.

ALEKS Precalculus includes formative assessments such as Scheduled Knowledge Checks, Pie Progress Goals, Topic Goals, quizzes, and homework, all of which are TEKS-aligned and accessible through the "Assignments" tab. Formative assessments offer more than two levels of complexity, including recall, application, and extended reasoning. For example, assessments addressing TEKS 4.F present real-world application problems involving trigonometric functions, while assessments addressing TEKS 2.F and 1.E provide tasks that involve graphing and interpreting the unit circle. The materials incorporate a variety of interactive item types, such as open response, graphing on a coordinate plane, and sketching angles on the unit circle using digital tools, as seen in TEKS 2.F, 4.F, and 1.E.

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments include scoring information and guidance for interpreting student performance, including rationale for each correct and incorrect response.

Instructional assessments include scoring information and guidance for interpreting student performance through the ALEKS Pie Report, which shows mastery, readiness, and remaining topics to support grouping and targeted instruction. Materials include a rationale for each correct answer when students submit a test and select the Review button, which displays the correct response along with an explanation of the steps to solve the problem. The platform does not provide a rationale for incorrect responses.

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of included tasks and activities to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

ALEKS Precalculus provides guidance, including the "Progress Monitoring Guide" and the "ALEKS Overview" video, on how to use data from Knowledge Checks and the ALEKS Pie Report to identify student performance trends and assign targeted tasks based on those trends. The materials include step-by-step instructions in the "Create a Subclass" and ALEKS Pie Report documents, which guide the creation of subclasses within the platform to differentiate instruction based on identified student trends.

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for teachers to track student progress and growth, and tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

ALEKS Precalculus includes tools for teachers to track student progress and growth, such as the ALEKS Pie Report and the Learning Sequence Log within the Time and Topic Report, which provide real-time data on mastery, learning trends, and granular metrics like time spent and student responses. The materials include tools for students to track their own progress and growth, including the Pie Progress History Report, which visually displays mastered content, remaining topics, and progress history with timestamps. This allows students to self-monitor learning and pace.

Evaluation for 2.2d
If designed to be static, materials provide prompts and guidance to support educators in conducting frequent checks for understanding at key points throughout each lesson or activity.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 2.2e
If designed to be adaptive, materials provide frequent checks for understanding at key points throughout each lesson or activity.

The ALEKS Reference Guide confirms that ALEKS includes automatically triggered Knowledge Checks that assess student mastery at key points throughout the course. These assessments are individualized and adjust the student's Pie Chart to reflect progress. Teachers can assign a Scheduled Knowledge Check through the Assignments drop-down menu in the Class tab, providing additional opportunities to check understanding throughout the lesson.

Evaluation for 3.1a
Materials include explicit educator guidance for lessons or activities scaffolded for students who have not yet reached proficiency in prerequisite or grade-level concepts and skills.

ALEKS Precalculus includes explicit educator guidance in the Instructor Reference Guide, the "Creating a Sub-Class in Open Learning" video, and "How ALEKS Works" for scaffolding instruction for students who are not yet proficient in prerequisite or grade-level skills. Teachers can assign prerequisite topics using the "Prior Grade Level Prerequisite" folder, customize assignments through sub-class creation, and adjust content settings for examples, explanations, and feedback. Progress Reports and Insights Reports help identify students who are struggling and inform targeted intervention strategies.

Evaluation for 3.1b
Materials include explicit educator guidance for language supports, including pre-teaching and embedded supports for developing academic vocabulary and unfamiliar references in text.

ALEKS Precalculus includes embedded supports for developing academic vocabulary, such as hyperlinked terms in the student interface that lead directly to a digital dictionary and definitions ("Getting Started with ALEKS" video at 5:48). The materials provide explicit educator guidance for unfamiliar references, such as composite, in text through the Explanation and Example features, which clarify new terms and concepts as students progress through their individual learning paths. Materials do not include explicit educator guidance for pre-teaching supports related to academic vocabulary or unfamiliar text references.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include explicit educator guidance for enrichment and extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level and above grade-level content and skills.

ALEKS Precalculus includes explicit educator guidance for extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in above-grade-level content and skills. The video "How ALEKS Works" explains that the system pulls from the "Topics Not Aligned to these Standards" folder to extend learning beyond precalculus. Teachers can assign advanced topics, such as "Limits and Continuity," through the Assignments tab to extend learning beyond grade level for students who have mastered grade-level content. The materials do not include explicit educator guidance for enrichment and extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level content and skills.

Evaluation for 3.1d
Digital materials include accommodations, including text-to-speech, content and language supports, and calculators that educators can enable or disable to support individual students.

A bilingual toggle, online dictionary, and a virtual calculator are available during homework, quizzes, and assessments; however, these tools cannot be enabled or disabled by educators for individual students. The program offers a screen reader that can be activated during class creation; however, enabling it disables key features, including the calculator, bilingual toggle, videos, and dictionary, rendering it ineffective as a text-to-speech accommodation for individual students.

Evaluation for 3.1e
Materials include educator guidance on offering options and supports for students to demonstrate understanding of mathematical concepts in various ways, such as perform, express, and represent.

The materials include a Class Forum option that allows educators and students to "facilitate discussion among students and with the instructor." Educators and students can "post a new thread, answer questions, add comments, and upload attachments" to allow students to demonstrate, express, and represent their understanding of the concepts they are learning through writing and adding attachments.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Materials include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance for educators to build knowledge by activating prior knowledge, anchoring big ideas, and highlighting and connecting key patterns, features, and relationships through multiple means of representation.

The ALEKS Notebook Guide provides educators with prompts and guidance to help students build knowledge by activating prior knowledge, anchoring big ideas, and highlighting and connecting key patterns, features, and relationships through multiple means of representation. The sentence starters and helpful tips provide explicit guidance for educators, including examples for each type of activity that can be completed in the student's individual notebook. The reflection prompts help students activate their background knowledge before beginning a new topic, while the visual aids, mini-lessons, and learning log sections enable students to anchor big ideas and connect them to key patterns and relationships.

Evaluation for 3.2b
If designed to be static, materials include educator guidance for effective lesson delivery and facilitation using various instructional approaches.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials include multi-tiered intervention methods for various types of practice and structures and educator guidance to support effective implementation.

The materials include multi-tiered intervention methods for various types of practice seen in the "12 Tips for Distance Learning for Teachers" video, which includes guided instruction through ALEKS learning activities, scaffolded support following incorrect responses, and independent practice using individualized printed worksheets. The materials include multi-tiered intervention methods for various structures, such as whole-group instruction, small-group sub-classes using the ALEKS Pie Report, and individualized student assignments based on performance data. Educator guidance to support effective implementation is provided through resources such as the ALEKS Reference Guide and instructional videos such as "12 Tips for Distance Learning for Teachers" and the ALEKS Pie Report.

Evaluation for 3.2d
Materials include enrichment and extension methods that support various forms of engagement, and guidance to support educators in effective implementation.

ALEKS Precalculus includes enrichment and extension methods that support various forms of engagement, such as assigning additional content from "Limits and Continuity" or from the "Topics Not Aligned to these Standards" folder through sub-classes and custom assignments. The materials do not include guidance to support educators in the effective implementation of enrichment and extension methods. While videos and documents explain how to create sub-classes, they do not provide direction on what content to assign or how to structure the enrichment for effective use.

Evaluation for 3.2e
Materials include prompts and guidance to support educators in providing timely feedback during lesson delivery.

ALEKS Precalculus does not include prompts to support educators in providing timely feedback during lesson delivery. Although the ALEKS Insights feature offers reports, such as Failed Topics and Decreased Learning, these are generated after lesson completion and do not provide support for feedback during active instruction. The Pie Report helps guide educators in providing timely feedback during lesson delivery by tracking student progress in real-time. The report identifies the skills where students require support and those where they have achieved mastery. The live dashboard, which guides teachers in monitoring student work, displays student responses, pace, and accuracy as they complete tasks. As educators identify who is struggling or excelling, they can step in and give immediate feedback to the student.

Evaluation for 3.3a
If designed to be static, materials include educator guidance on providing and incorporating linguistic accommodations for all levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed to be static.

Evaluation for 3.3b
If designed to be adaptive, materials include embedded linguistic accommodations for all levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

ALEKS Precalculus includes embedded linguistic accommodations for all levels of language proficiency as defined by the ELPS. The Spanish toggle feature translates full lesson content, including questions, explanations, and academic terms, into Spanish. In the lesson "Using trigonometry to find a length in a word problem with one right triangle," students encounter translated terms such as pregunta, explicación, and sombra, which support students at the pre-production and beginner levels. Academic language is scaffolded across multiple proficiency levels within the same lesson. Visual aids and translated vocabulary support early proficiency levels, while intermediate to advanced-high students encounter academic terms such as height, round, and horizon. These features help students build academic language through consistent exposure and contextual reinforcement. Some reviewers noted that the toggle feature occasionally displayed a different issue rather than resolving the existing one; however, these inconsistencies were limited, and the overall structure of the program provides embedded accommodations aligned with expectations for all language proficiency levels.

Evaluation for 3.3c
Materials include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

The materials do not include implementation guidance to support educators in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

Evaluation for 3.3d
Materials include embedded guidance to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary, increasing comprehension, building background knowledge, and making cross-linguistic connections through oral and written discourse.

ALEKS Precalculus embeds guidance to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary, comprehension, and cross-linguistic connections through oral discourse in the EB Guidebook. For example, within the guide, teachers can find speaking strategies, such as Risk-Free Practice and Academic Conversation Protocols, which enable students to develop academic language through oral discourse by practicing with their peers. Additionally, when students "rehearse with a buddy" and discover that "errors are learning opportunities," students increase comprehension and make cross-linguistic connections. When using the reading strategy "Vocabulary Pre-Teaching" located within the EB Guide, teachers support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary and increasing comprehension through written discourse. Students "create vocabulary cards" and use total physical response activities to learn and remember the vocabulary and comprehension of content vocabulary in context. By providing writing frames and templates, teachers help students make cross-linguistic connections, as students have templates for different writing styles, enabling them to compare their non-English language structure with that provided in an academic context. The materials do not include embedded guidance to support emergent bilingual students in building background knowledge through oral and written discourse.

Evaluation for 3.3e
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

Evaluation for 4.1a
Practice opportunities throughout learning pathways (including instructional assessments) require students to demonstrate depth of understanding aligned to the TEKS.

Practice opportunities within the learning pathways require students to demonstrate depth of understanding aligned to the TEKS, such as in TEKS 1.A, "Apply mathematics to problems arising in everyday life," where students solve compound interest problems and compare the use of natural and common logarithms. Embedded "light bulb" explanations, such as Another Way, support conceptual understanding by illustrating that different logarithmic approaches yield equivalent solutions. Instructional assessments throughout learning pathways require students to demonstrate depth of understanding aligned to the TEKS, for example, TEKS 5.N, "Generate and solve trigonometric equations," which progresses from basic graphing of trigonometric functions to more complex strategies involving identities, factoring, and scalar transformations, demonstrating layered and varied approaches to problem solving. Additional TEKS-aligned assignments, such as those in TEKS 4.F and 3.G, provide 15–18 different problem types requiring students to demonstrate depth of understanding by evaluating and graphing sinusoidal functions, solving triangles in real-world contexts, and connecting the locus definition of conic sections to their standard and general equations.

Evaluation for 4.1b
Questions and tasks, including enrichment and extension materials, increase in rigor and complexity, leading to grade-level and above grade-level proficiency in the mathematics TEKS.

Questions and tasks in ALEKS Precalculus increase in rigor and complexity, leading to grade-level and above-grade-level proficiency in the mathematics TEKS. For example, TEKS 2.E includes items that progress from describing inverses of discrete and linear functions to graphing and algebraically determining inverses of quadratic, square root, and rational functions, supporting conceptual development across multiple representations. The materials support advanced rigor through topics such as matrices, vectors, and conic sections. Additionally, "Topics not aligned to these standards" include 14 items related to limits, such as "Finding a limit by using special trigonometric limits," a skill typically taught in AP Calculus BC, demonstrating that students may progress beyond the Precalculus TEKS when mastery is demonstrated. While the platform supports increasingly rigorous TEKS-aligned practice and allows teacher selection of item types by complexity, enrichment or extension materials that deepen or extend student learning beyond standard pathways were not found.

Evaluation for 4.2a
Materials demonstrate coherence across concepts horizontally within the grade level by connecting patterns, big ideas, and relationships.

ALEKS Precalculus includes accurate, grade-appropriate tasks that reinforce prior knowledge, such as connecting domain analysis to vertical asymptotes or using the unit circle to understand periodicity.The materials demonstrate coherence by connecting students' prior procedural knowledge to current grade-level concepts through notebook activities such as Write Out Solutions and Error Analysis. These tasks prompt students to revisit familiar strategies, explain their reasoning, and apply known procedures to new problem types.The materials also support concept-to-concept coherence through Learning Logs that encourage students to summarize current topics and connect them to previously studied mathematical ideas.

Evaluation for 4.2b
Materials demonstrate coherence vertically across concepts and grade bands, including connections from grades 3–12, by connecting patterns, big ideas, and relationships.

Precalculus materials found in the Precalculus Reference Guide include adaptive tasks that reinforce foundational concepts, such as operations with real numbers, through review assignments that connect back to middle school and Algebra I content. Lessons, such as "Finding the final amount in a word problem on continuous compound interest," build on the exponential function standards from Algebra I and Algebra II, making explicit connections across courses through embedded instructional features. The materials demonstrate vertical coherence by extending transformation concepts introduced in Algebra I to a broader range of functions in Precalculus. In the lesson "Transforming the graph of a quadratic, cubic, square root, or absolute value function," students analyze how shifting, reflecting, and stretching apply across multiple function types, reinforcing connections across grade bands.

Evaluation for 4.2c
Materials demonstrate coherence across lessons or activities by connecting students’ prior knowledge of concepts and procedures to the mathematical concepts to be learned in the current grade level and future grade levels.

The materials connect prior knowledge of concepts and procedures to current grade-level learning through the ALEKS adaptive algorithm, which selects tasks based on student mastery, as explained in the "How ALEKS Works" video under the Math Curriculum Training page. Teachers can create assignments that review algebra and geometry concepts from earlier courses using tools such as the ALEKS "New Assignment" menu and customized content editor, supporting procedural readiness for current Precalculus topics. Materials do not intentionally connect concepts or procedures to future grade levels. As noted in the "How ALEKS Works" training video, the platform is designed to advance students only when they are ready, rather than preparing them for future concepts that are not yet within their demonstrated skill set.

Evaluation for 4.3a
Materials provide spaced retrieval opportunities with previously learned skills and concepts across learning pathways.

Materials facilitate spaced retrieval of previously learned skills across learning pathways by allowing teachers to assign prerequisite assignments, such as reviewing algebra and geometry concepts before progressing to the Precalculus TEKS, as shown in the Assignments tab under the "+ new" button and described in the Reference Guide. Spaced retrieval of previously learned concepts is available through the "Ready to Learn" dropdown menu, where students select earlier topics, such as decimals or exponents, for targeted review, as demonstrated in the "Student Experience in ALEKS" video at timestamp 6:40. Spaced retrieval is reinforced through periodic adaptive assessments that revisit past concepts based on student mastery, as described in the "How ALEKS Works" video at timestamp 3:00, which states that the program "periodically assesses Sam to make sure that he is retaining the material he learns."

Evaluation for 4.3b
Materials provide interleaved practice opportunities with previously learned skills and concepts across learning pathways.

The materials provide interleaved practice with previously learned skills as evidenced by the integration of graphing tasks across over 100 lessons spanning six "Big Topics in ALEKS." Teachers can locate these by selecting "Assignments, + New, View by Standards", and exploring standards that revisit prior mathematical procedures. Interleaved practice with previously learned concepts is supported through the "Knowledge by Slice" report, which displays the number and type of subtopics a student must master to fully comprehend a concept (located under "Class, Reports, Knowledge by Slice"). Students engage in repeated and mixed review of previously learned skills and concepts through features such as Knowledge Checks, Pie Progress Goals, and Topic Goals, all of which are available on the Learning Page and outlined in the "ALEKS Pie and Timeline" section of the Reference Guide.

Evaluation for 5.1a
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate mathematical concepts and complex, real-world situations.

The materials include questions and tasks that require students to interpret and analyze mathematical concepts and complex, real-world situations. For example, students analyze transformations of functions in various contexts and apply these to graphs and create new functions from parent functions. Digital tasks such as "Word Problem involving composition of two functions" and "Find the time given an exponential function with base e that models a real-world situation," found in "Assignments, New, Homework, View by Standards, Functions," require students to interpret relationships, analyze structure, and evaluate inputs to solve problems.

Evaluation for 5.1b
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to create concrete models and representations of mathematical situations.

ALEKS Precalculus includes tasks that require students to create representations of mathematical situations, such as drawing graphs or writing vectors to model forces, for example. For example, in the lesson "Writing a Vector to Represent a Force Pushing or Pulling an Object," students model direction and magnitude using vector representations. In the "Applications of Exponential Functions" lesson within the Exponential and Logarithmic Functions topic, students generate exponential models and use them to make predictions. While visual and numeric representations are present, no evidence was found of tasks asking students to create concrete models, such as 3D objects or physical manipulatives.

Evaluation for 5.1c
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to apply conceptual understanding to new problem situations and contexts.

Students apply conceptual understanding to new contexts through real-world problem-solving lessons, such as "Solving a Word Problem Using the Law of Cosines" and "Solving a Word Problem Using the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines." These are located by navigating to "Assignments, +New, Homework, View by Standards, 4.H" on the teacher dashboard. Real-world examples with solving options and visual supports are consistently available under the Assignments section.

Evaluation for 5.2a
Materials provide tasks that are designed to build student automaticity and fluency necessary to complete grade-level mathematical tasks.

The materials provide tasks that are designed to build student automaticity necessary to complete grade-level mathematical tasks. In Learning Mode, students are presented with the topic they are most Ready to Learn and must demonstrate consistent accuracy before advancing, promoting automaticity. In addition, QuickTables enables timed practice on foundational operations, such as multiplication and division, with teacher-customizable settings and reports, including Scheduled Assessments, to track student growth. The materials provide tasks that are designed to build student fluency necessary to complete grade-level mathematical tasks. The ALEKS Pie Report tracks fluency development in strands such as "Algebra and Geometry Review," while tools like Time, Topic, and Pie Progress Goals require students to complete a targeted number of topics weekly. Assignments created through the View by Standards feature offer clustered practice items under each TEKS to ensure fluency through repeated exposure with varied complexity.

Evaluation for 5.2b
Materials provide opportunities for students to practice the application of efficient, flexible, and accurate mathematical procedures throughout learning pathways.

The materials provide opportunities to apply efficient and accurate procedures, such as in the task "Solving a Word Problem Using the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines," where the Explanation tool models a streamlined, correct method for solving triangle-based applications. Learning pathways use Knowledge Check data to create personalized progressions that support fluency through repeated, scaffolded practice on TEKS-aligned topics, including those involving periodicity on the unit circle and trigonometric reasoning. The materials do not provide opportunities for flexible procedure application; explanations typically present a single, preferred solution method without prompting students to compare strategies or choose among multiple approaches.

Evaluation for 5.2c
Materials provide opportunities for students to evaluate mathematical representations, models, strategies, and solutions for efficiency, flexibility, and accuracy throughout learning pathways.

The materials do not provide opportunities for students to evaluate mathematical representations, models, strategies, and solutions in terms of efficiency, flexibility, and accuracy.

Evaluation for 5.2d
Materials contain guidance to support students in selecting the most efficient approaches when solving mathematics problems.

The materials do not include guidance to support students in selecting the most efficient approaches; for example, in the lesson "Solving a Word Problem Using the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines," the Explanation tool provides only one method to solve the problem without comparing alternatives or prompting students to consider efficiency.

Evaluation for 5.3a
Materials explicitly state how the conceptual and procedural emphasis of the TEKS are addressed.

The materials do not explicitly state how the conceptual and procedural emphases of the TEKS are addressed.

Evaluation for 5.3b
Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to use concrete models, pictorial representations, and abstract models as required by the TEKS.

ALEKS Precalculus's Digital materials consistently include pictorial representations, such as labeled diagrams and interactive visuals. For example, in the lesson "Solving a Word Problem Using the Law of Sines," students use a diagram of a plane and two ships with marked angles and distances to apply the law of sines. Abstract models are embedded throughout learning pathways. For example, in "Graphs of Sine and Cosine Functions," students write equations from graphs and build sinusoidal models from real-world scenarios, demonstrating application of symbolic and algorithmic representations. Concrete models are not present in the materials reviewed. Students are not given opportunities to manipulate or construct physical or tactile models as part of the digital lessons.

Evaluation for 5.3c
Materials include supports for students in connecting, creating, defining, and explaining concrete and representational models to abstract (symbolic/numeric/algorithmic) concepts, as required by the TEKS.

The materials include support for students in connecting representational models to abstract mathematical concepts. For example, in the lesson "Solving a Word Problem Using the Law of Sines," students use a labeled diagram to identify given values and apply the Law of Sines, bridging visual and symbolic understanding. The materials provide students with opportunities to create abstract models from representational contexts. In lessons such as "Graphs of Sine and Cosine Functions" and "Developing a Sinusoidal Model for a Real-World Situation," students interpret graphs and real-world scenarios to write equations modeling the relationships. The materials do not include supports for students in creating, defining, or explaining concrete models, nor do they contain supports for students in defining or explaining representational models. No tactile or manipulable models are present, and visual models are pre-constructed with values and relationships already labeled.

Evaluation for 5.4a
Materials provide opportunities for students to develop academic mathematical language using visuals, manipulatives, or other language development strategies.

The materials include visuals that support the development of academic mathematical language. For example, in the lesson "Finding the Vertex, Focus, Directrix, and Axis of Symmetry of a Parabola," labeled diagrams accompany explanations of each term. The materials offer interactive visuals to strengthen vocabulary understanding. In "Translating the Graph of an Exponential Function," students manipulate digital graphs, and the "Explanation" section provides symbolic representations with labeled graphical displays.

Evaluation for 5.4b
Materials include embedded educator guidance to scaffold, support, and extend students’ use of academic mathematical vocabulary in context when communicating with peers and educators.

The Emerging Bilingual Guidebook includes a section titled "Develop Routines for Mathematical Discourse," which provides classroom implementation tips to guide teachers in scaffolding, supporting, and extending students' use of academic mathematical vocabulary. It explains that teachers should intentionally model the use of vocabulary and language structures because it will help "students not only internalize key math concepts but also develop the language functions necessary to describe, compare, analyze, and defend their thinking." It suggests that teachers use sentence stems, collaborative learning structures, and math discussion protocols in conjunction with visual supports, such as diagrams and word banks, to scaffold participation. The ALEKS Notebook Guide provides embedded educator supports to scaffold, reinforce, and extend students' use of academic mathematical vocabulary in context when communicating with peers and educators. The guide encompasses a range of strategies aimed at fostering meaningful mathematical discourse. For example, sentence starters integrated throughout the strategies provide students with opportunities to articulate their thinking both orally and in writing. The error analysis strategy helps students identify where errors occurred in their work or their peers', explain why those errors happened, evaluate more efficient approaches, and work through the problems to find correct solutions. The visual aids strategy encourages students to represent concepts through graphs, charts, diagrams, and flowcharts, thereby enhancing understanding and retention, particularly for abstract ideas. Reflection prompts allow students to process their learning after lessons or Knowledge Checks by identifying what made sense, what was challenging, and what strategies they will try next.

Evaluation for 5.4c
Materials include embedded guidance to support student application of appropriate mathematical language and academic vocabulary in discourse.

The materials do not include embedded guidance to support student application of appropriate mathematical language and academic vocabulary in discourse.

Evaluation for 5.4d
Materials include embedded guidance to facilitate mathematical conversations allowing students to hear, refine, and use math language with peers.

The ALEKS Notebook Teacher's Guide includes embedded guidance to facilitate mathematical conversations, allowing students to hear, refine, and use math language with peers, such as Reflection Prompts and sentence stems.

Evaluation for 5.4e
Materials include embedded guidance to anticipate a variety of student answers including exemplar responses to questions and tasks, including guidance to support and/or redirect inaccurate student responses.

The materials include embedded guidance to support and redirect students who provide inaccurate responses. The Explanation feature, available within each lesson, provides a detailed walkthrough of the correct answer and frequently includes additional visualizations or alternative methods to deepen understanding. For example, in the lesson "Choosing an Exponential Model to Make a Prediction," students can access a more detailed graphical explanation using the More button. In "Graphing a Logarithmic Function and Finding its Domain and Range," additional explanations help clarify conceptual understanding, and incorrect responses trigger immediate system feedback such as "Try Again. Your Answer is Incorrect". The materials do not include embedded guidance to anticipate a variety of student answers, including exemplar responses to questions and tasks. The materials demonstrate no evidence of teacher-facing supports that offer anticipated correct or incorrect student responses, common misconceptions, or sample student work. The platform's explanation tools focus on correct procedures after the answers are submitted rather than equipping educators to prepare for a range of student thinking in advance.

Evaluation for 5.5a
TEKS process standards are integrated appropriately into the materials.

The materials allow educators to assign content aligned to the TEKS process standards. When creating assignments, teachers can select the View by Standards option to filter and assign items based on specific TEKS, ensuring the targeted integration of process skills. The materials support progress monitoring of the TEKS process standards through tools such as the Standards Report and a TEKS Correlation Padlet. The Standards Report tracks student mastery of assigned process standards, and the Padlet outlines which ALEKS topics address each TEKS.

Evaluation for 5.5b
Materials include a description of how process standards are incorporated and connected throughout the learning pathways.

The materials do not provide a description of how TEKS process standards are incorporated throughout the learning pathways. Although the Standards Report and Content Editor allow educators to view which topics align with specific standards, the materials do not include a narrative or instructional guidance on how these standards are embedded within the sequence of instruction. Materials do not describe how process standards are connected throughout the learning pathways. While lessons are grouped by the TEKS in the Class Syllabus and Content Editor, the platform does not explain how the skills are reinforced or linked across units to promote continuity in skill development.

Evaluation for 5.5c
Materials include an overview of the TEKS process standards incorporated into each lesson.

The materials include a "TEKS Correlation" document, located on the ALEKS Resources for TX Padlet, that aligns each process standard to specific ALEKS topics. This enables educators to pinpoint which topics align with each process standard. Although the materials do not provide an explicit overview embedded within each lesson, and the distinction between topics and lessons is not clearly defined in the documentation, the correlation document allows educators to infer how process standards are incorporated across the content.

Evaluation for 6.1a
Materials provide opportunities for students to think mathematically, persevere through solving problems, and to make sense of mathematics.

The materials require students to persist in solving problems through the five-bar system, which is visible in any student lesson after completing the initial Knowledge Check via "Student View, Start My Path." Students receive repeated opportunities to attempt problems in homework assignments, as shown in "Assignments, Homework, Start," where they are prompted to try the same type of question again before moving forward. Additionally, Knowledge Checks require students to answer problems correctly to progress and provide explanatory feedback after errors. The Learning Page and Explanation pages of topics in the Student View materials support mathematical thinking and sense-making by including clear explanations at the start of each topic and throughout the topic. These Learning Page explanations break down problem-solving steps, highlight key vocabulary with links to the Dictionary, which provides definitions and examples, incorporate visual models, and use lightbulb icons that offer alternative methods of solving or additional information to deepen understanding. The program directs students to the Explanation page after they have attempted to answer a question multiple times without success.

Evaluation for 6.1b
Materials support students in understanding, explaining, and justifying that there can be multiple ways to solve problems and complete tasks.

The materials offer alternate solution paths through the "Another Explanation" feature, allowing students to understand that there may be more than one method for solving a problem in the Knowledge Check lesson "Finding an Angle Measure Given a Triangle and Parallel Lines." The Explanation panel includes vocabulary supports and additional context to help students understand the reasoning behind the provided solution. The ALEKS Notebook provides questions to support students in explaining and justifying that there can be multiple ways to solve problems and complete tasks, such as "Were there other methods you could have used? What is the most efficient way to solve this problem? Why?"

Evaluation for 6.1c
Materials are designed to require students to make sense of mathematics through multiple opportunities for students to do, write about, and discuss math with peers and/or educators.

The materials provide multiple opportunities for students to do mathematics, such as identifying and comparing periodic behavior in the lesson "Using the Unit Circle to Understand that Sine and Cosine are Periodic." However, these opportunities are individual and not with peers or teachers. Students make sense of mathematics through varied problem formats in the lesson "Determining if Graphs Have Symmetry With Respect to the X-axis, Y-axis, Origin," where each graph may have different combinations of symmetries; however, the platform does not require students to interact with peers or teachers. The materials do not require students to write about or discuss mathematics with peers or educators.

Evaluation for 6.2a
Materials support educators in guiding students to share and reflect on their problem-solving approaches, including explanations, arguments, justifications, and multiple points of entry.

The materials include embedded teacher guidance and structured student tasks that support students in sharing problem-solving approaches through explanations, justifications, and logical arguments. The platform includes prompts for error analysis and reflection, encouraging students to evaluate their own reasoning and compare it with other solution strategies. These tasks enable students to reconsider misconceptions and deepen their conceptual understanding. Students are given opportunities to enter problems from different conceptual pathways, and educators are supported in highlighting multiple methods and guiding students to articulate which approach they used and why. Teacher-facing resources provide tools to facilitate mathematical discussions and student reflection, supporting learners in refining their problem-solving processes and identifying key steps in their reasoning.

Evaluation for 6.2b
Materials include prompts and guidance to support educators in providing explanatory feedback based on student responses and anticipated misconceptions.

The materials include guidance to support educators in providing explanatory feedback based on student responses, which can be found in the Insights Notification System, described in the FAQs section under the Green House tab. The Insights email educators automatically receive provides educators with guidance on student performance data, suggesting methods to provide targeted feedback. The materials do not provide prompts or guidance related to anticipated misconceptions, nor do they offer embedded instructional prompts to support educator responses.