Using Advising and Enrollment Data to Inform a First-Year Math Placement Program (original) (raw)
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Results of a Placement System for the First College Mathematics Course
Georgia journal of science, 2020
The success or lack of success in the first college mathematics course that students attempt has a significant impact on students' future academic progress. Lack of success in mathematics and English can (a) lead to a student changing his or her major, (b) delay the student's progress toward graduation, and (c) decrease the likelihood that the student will be retained at the college the next year. Due to the importance of student success in the first college mathematics course, many colleges and universities have turned to mathematics placement systems to help ensure that students in STEM majors are likely to succeed in their first mathematics course. The results of these placement systems, however, are largely unknown. This study analyzed the results of a mathematics placement system using five years of data, which were obtained from 10,484 students enrolled in six mathematics courses. The placement system places students in level 1, 2, 3, and 4 courses based on nationally normed standardized tests in mathematics as well as high school GPAs. The success rates (grade A, B, or C) for students placed in levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 59.06%, 88.57%, 86.13%, and 88.28% respectively. In addition, the DFW (grade D, F, or W) rates for College Algebra and Calculus I are at or below the DFW rates from national data.
Society For Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2011
Body Background / Context: A large proportion of the high school graduates who attend a postsecondary institution take at least one basic skills/developmental/remedial course in either mathematics or English (Parsad & Lewis, 2003). A report from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (2000), which surveyed almost half of the community colleges in the state, found that, on average, 49 percent of students are directed to these basic skills courses. There is considerable debate on the effects and benefits of remediation in community colleges. Proponents argue that it enables poorly prepared high school students to attain the necessary preparation to succeed in college (Boylan, Bliss, & Bonham, 1994; 1997; Lazarick, 1997). On the other hand critics argue that the benefits of remediation are not clear given there is no evidence that remediated students passed college-level courses or attained degrees at higher rates than non-remediated students (Calcagno, 2007; Calcagno & Long, 2008; Martorell & McFarlin, 2007). In addition, there is evidence that students who were placed in remediation but who took college credit courses passed these courses (Armstrong, 1999). Finally, a major criticism is that, relative to its potential benefits, remediation is too costly for the students and for the state (James, Morrow & Perry, 2002). Every year more than 50 percent of the students from the LACCD are placed into basic skills mathematics. This is costly for the individuals and for the state. At the individual level, students need to take these courses before they can enroll in degree or transfer level courses, and this substantially increase the time that they remain in the system. The state in turn has to pay for courses that the students were supposed to take in high school. As described below, the effects of assignment of entering students to different levels of math on the academic preparation, persistence and educational outcomes are unclear at best. This study is an ambitious attempt to enhance the available research on this critical policy issue for the State of California and the nation. This evaluation will provide insights to the district and the state about the effect of placement on successful course sequences that have the potential to promote persistence and save millions of dollars to the state.
The Effectiveness of a Mathematics Review for Student Placement into College-Level Mathematics
Proceedings of the …, 2003
At the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), a public university with an open admission policy, the majority of entering engineering and science students initially place into one of two developmental mathematics courses. Mathematics "refresher" sessions held during freshman orientation significantly increase mathematics placement exam scores and, as a result, place more students into college-level mathematics courses. Of the students who participated in the mathematics reviews in the summers of 2000, 2001, and 2002, 28 percent who initially placed into developmental mathematics improved upon their placement score enough to enroll in college-level mathematics (Pre-Calculus or Calculus I). This increase shifted the majority of the students into college-level mathematics. The performance of students who advanced into college-level courses was comparable to the performance of students who did not improve their scores after the review. Overall, 29 percent of all students who attended the mathematics review were able to advance at least one semester in the mathematics curricular sequence. The majority was successful in these courses, enabling them to enroll sooner in freshman science and engineering courses. and science students had a mean combined score of 960 (482 verbal, 478 math). 2 Typically, the majority of UTEP entering science and engineering students do not initially place into college mathematics courses that count toward the university core requirements. This phenomenon is shared by many institutions nationwide, especially public institutions that have generous access policies. In 2001, the National Commission on the High School Senior Year reported that, on average, one-third of high school graduates are unprepared for college-level courses and must enroll in developmental courses. The Commission attributes much of this problem to a combination of attitudes and behaviors of students, parents, teachers, and school administrators that may not view this critical year as a time to strengthen and enhance academic skills of students in preparation for college. At UTEP, other factors contribute to low placement scores. Many students at UTEP are firstgeneration college students and do not have a good understanding of what is necessary to be successful in college. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many students may not take the initial math placement test seriously because they simply do not understand the importance of placing high in the mathematics sequence. Unless they receive adequate guidance in high school, many students fail to see the relevance of mathematics to their degree completion and, consequently, may spend six to eight years pursuing a college degree.
Finding the early talent: Factors predicting early advanced math enrollment
2018
Early exposure to advanced math classes have shown higher levels of college readiness for students. However, there is evidence of a discriminatory gap among students of marginalized backgrounds in placement of these advanced courses. To examine this, three years of data from approximately 10,500 student will be used to develop and validate predictive models that
Mathematics Course Placement Using Holistic Measures: Possibilities for Community College Students
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education
Background/Context Most community colleges across the country use a placement test to determine students’ readiness for college-level coursework, yet these tests are admittedly imperfect instruments. Researchers have documented significant problems stemming from overreliance on placement testing, including placement error and misdiagnosis of remediation needs. They have also described significant consequences of misplacement, which can hinder the educational progression and attainment of community college students. Purpose/Objective/Research Question We explore possibilities for placing community college students in mathematics courses using a holistic approach that considers measures beyond placement test scores. This includes academic background measures, such as high school GPA and math courses taken, and indicators of noncognitive constructs, such as motivation, time use, and social support. Setting The study draws upon administrative data from a large urban community college di...
2015
and AERA. Melanie Rucinski provided excellent research assistance. We gratefully acknowledge institutional support from the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard. Any errors are our own. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.
Using Assessment Data to Guide Math Course Placement of California Middle School Students
Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2016
Are there effective ways to identify which students will be most likely to succeed in algebra I in grade 8? This study finds that using results from the Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project's grade 7 test of algebra readiness can improve the probability of selecting students for algebra I in grade 8 who will successfully complete the course. Depending on the assessment and the type of score used, the prediction accuracy of student placement decisions ranges from 69 percent to 78 percent. At WestEd What's Happening REL 2014-040 The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) conducts unbiased large-scale evaluations of education programs and practices supported by federal funds; provides research-based technical assistance to educators and policymakers; and supports the synthesis and the widespread dissemination of the results of research and evaluation throughout the United States.
Closing the Gap: First Year Success in College Mathematics at an HBCU
Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2016
At our Historically-Black University, about 89% of first-year students place into developmental mathematics, negatively impacting retention and degree completion. In 2012, an NSF-funded learning enrichment project began offering the introductory and developmental mathematics courses on-line over the summer to incoming science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors at no cost. Passing rates for the summer on-line classes were around 80%, and students in the on-line classes scored equivalently on the common departmental final exams as students taking the classes in the traditional format. For students who passed the on-line classes, their performance in the following classes (College Algebra and Trigonometry) exceeded that of students who progressed to those courses by taking the traditional series of in-person courses. Three years of data show that students who started college with an on-line mathematics course in a summer bridge program had a higher first year GPA, a...