ALEKS Intro to Statistics

[owner66]

There is recurring bad press on this forum concerning ALEKS Stats, but you obviously have overcome all objections. Could you please provide feedback concerning the following: 1) Do you consider yourself comfortable with math? 2) How long did it take you in hours to achieve your acceptable level which was? 3) Were you just punching a ticket, or were you actually interested in the subject for current or future use? 4) What made your achievement hard or easy for you? Thanks

I think this will help with why this course may get bad press.

In general, there are 2 parts to the Statistics math. The 1st part involves basic math such as summing numbers, calculating mean, median, mode. Also interpreting graphs, some basic probability and statistics etc. I thought it was gravy at this point. The second part is the statistics portion, which on the solving side is easy since involves algebraically solving equations and using the ALEKS stats calculator. You are hit with some key concepts and formulas early on. This is where I had trouble making progress since I did not take the time to learn the key concepts.

The problem I had was that having gone through all of the ALEKS algebra in 78 hrs (95,99,98), I became accustomed to plugging numbers into formulas and moving on. With the statistics portion of the statistics class, you HAVE TO take time to read through the explanations to understand the concept ALEKS is trying to teach before moving on to the next section. If you don't you will be struggling because in the explanations ALEKS may assume you know how to get a value that it uses in that example and does not explain how it arrived at that value. I got deep into the 2nd half and was floundering with only a basic understanding of the concepts. My saving grace was that I finally got to an assessment and TOOK MY TIME with it to make sure all of my answers were perfect. I got a 72 and that was that.

1. Comfortable with math: Having gone through the Algebra, there are no parts of Statistics that you can not solve once the equation is set up properly. It is all basic stuff and inequalities. The issue is that if you don't have a good understanding of the concepts, you may not know what it is you are solving for or what formula to use.
2. Time: My acceptable level was anything over a 70. It took 30 hrs total from initial assessment to final.
3. Interest: This is 2 sided. Academically I am interested to see what statistics is about. I have always heard people using terms like 'standard deviation', 'bell curve', probability etc and now I have a basic understanding of what those are. However, my goal is to get a degree. I already have a career, and that career does not involve using statistics. I say does not, but now that I have learned something about it I may find some uses. So sadly, yes, I was basically punching a ticket.
4. What made it difficult: ALEKS DOES fail in that the help for the advanced portions of the calculator is non existent, except where it happens to mention how to use it in the explanation of the problem itself. I had a very hard time and had to resort to creating formulas in Excel for many of the lower-level calculations. The higher end calculations are done using ALEKS calculator which is helpful here. Also, not taking time with the key concepts early on in the 2nd half really set me back. Oh, and the wife starting a new job, son getting the flu, daughter needing homework help, busy work schedule etc.
What made it easy: Being able to take the course at my own pace. I did not have to buy study materials, sit a class, or go to a testing center. The value can not be beat. I paid ($40) (had to create 2 student accts over Christmas since ACE closed) and got from Beginning Algebra through statistics in a month and 3 days.