Performance, Placement, and Persistence: An Exploratory Study of the First Year Math Experience at The University of Montana
This quantitative study investigates a number of parameters associated with the first-year student’s math experience at The University of Montana: performance in the course and mathematics placement in the fall of 2005. The study sample is comprised of 1,044 first-year students who enroll in one of six selected 100-level math courses offered by the Department of Mathematical Sciences, ranging from intermediate algebra to calculus. Average grade earned by first-year students varies from a low of 1.72 in intermediate algebra to a high of 3.37 in applied calculus. The study finds that a first-year student’s ACT or SAT math score is only weakly associated with his performance in a first-year mathematics course. Twenty percent of students elect to take the optional university-administered placement test; the association is stronger between their score on this test and performance in a first semester math course. In general, students who comply with their recommendation earn a higher average grade than those who enroll in a course above their placement; students who enroll in a course below their recommended placement do even better. The exception to this pattern is the compliance findings for intermediate algebra. The study identified a sub-sample of 348 first-year students who had also enrolled in one of two English composition courses during their first-year in attendance at The University. Using a triage analysis technique developed for this study, three distinct groups were identified: Category 1 students who succeed in both their first-year mathematics and composition courses, Category 2 students who are unsuccessful in both courses, and Category 3 students who successfully complete one course but not the other. The study finds that 70% of first-year students in the sample are in Category 1, 9% in Category 2, and 21% in Category 3. Category 3 was further subdivided in order to identify the percentage of students who did not succeed in mathematics but did in English composition (Category 3M – 18% of the total first-year population) and the percentage of students who succeed in mathematics but not composition (Category 3E – 3%). The study concludes with recommendations for improving the performance of first-year students in mathematics, and an estimate of the resulting improvement in persistence and retention.
college mathematics, developmental mathematics, mathematics performance, mathematics placement testing, persistence, retention, triage
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations