Remedial Math Redesign: Improving Success in College Algebra

Presented by: Dr. David G. Underwood

Students scoring less than 19 on the

mathematics section of the ACT Examination

must be remediated in mathematics.

Arkansas Legislative Mandate

• 38.4% for all public colleges (two and four-year)

• 25.5% for the public, four-year institutions

• 38.3% for the public, four-year institutions **

*Reported by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE)

**Adjusted with “selective” schools (University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University) removed

Arkansas Math Remediation Rate - Fall 2012 *

Context – Arkansas Tech University

First Generation College Students – More than 50%

Some Type Financial Aid – 95.4%

Pell Grant Eligible – 61%

Graduation Rate – 40.2%

Math Remediation Rate Fall 2012 - 40%

ATU’s Approach to Math RemediationTwo-step process• MATH 0802 (Beginning Algebra) for students

scoring 16 or below on Math ACT • MATH 0903 (Intermediate Algebra) for students

earning 17 or 18 on Math ACTVery Traditional Approach• Students attend a mathematics class• Teachers provide lecture and homework• Students take traditional exams throughout

semester

Course % Successful

% Unsuccessful Total

MATH0803 67.6 32.4 1272

MATH0903 58.6 41.4 997

MATH1113 68.8 31.2 2265

ATU Performance• First-time, Full-time, Degree-Seeking -

Fall 07 Cohort through 2010• Success = Earned C or Better

ATU Performance (Continued)

• Over two-thirds, 67.6%, of the poorest students are successful in their mathematics course (MATH 0803).

• Likewise, more than half of the next best students are successful (58.6%)

• Students who scored high enough to enter directly into MATH 1113, College Algebra, have a 68.8% success rate.

Big Picture

• It is easy to focus on the courses as discrete entities and overlook the larger picture of what the student must accomplish to ultimately be successful. In order to graduate from college, the students who begin in MATH 0803 or MATH 0903 must ultimately complete MATH 1113 with a grade of “C” or better.

Big Picture – Successful Completion Keeping the goal in mind – completing MATH 1113• Students who successfully completed MATH 0803

- only 43.9% were successful in MATH 0903. • Students who were successful in MATH 0903

after competing MATH 0803 - only 23.2% were successful in completing MATH 1113.

• Students who started in, and successfully completed MATH 0903, a total of 74% were successful.

Big Picture - Casualties

• Of 2,269 in the 2007-2010 Remedial Cohort - only 668 (29.4%) successfully completed the college algebra course required for an opportunity to complete most college degree programs.

Math Remediation Redesign Project

• During 2011, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, under the auspices of Complete College America (CCA).

• Goal: to assist institutions to redesign how remedial courses are taught to improve success rates and reduce time to degree.

Math Remediation Redesign Begins

• The associate vice president for academic affairs was designated to lead the effort on campus.

• His first task after acceptance as one of the volunteer institutions was to meet with faculty members in the mathematics department who have a history of teaching both remedial mathematics and college algebra to discuss the opportunity and seek volunteers to work on the redesign.

Volunteers

Five full-time faculty members volunteered• Kristi Spittler-Brown, • Terre Taylor, • Susan Jordan, • Jessie Hogan, and • Jamie King

Early Decisions

1. Because the goals were to improve success as well as reduce time to degree completion, the institution would no longer use a two-step remediation process. To that end, MATH 0803 would be deleted from the course listings and all students requiring remediation would be enrolled in MATH 0903.

Early Decision (Continued)

2. The redesigned course would be developed using the Emporium model (based on work originally completed several years ago by Virginia Tech) rather than the traditional approach of lecture and testing. (See also, The National Center for Academic Transformation NCAT)

Emporium Model• The decision to use the Emporium model was a

result of meeting with experts in that model identified by our Complete College America liaison and reviews of the literature regarding the benefits of a course redesign

• The expert most frequently used was Dr. Loretta Griffy from Austin Peay University and many of the ideas implemented were a direct result of Dr. Griffy’s experience in completing her own redesign at Austin Peay.

Redesign Continues

• Two classrooms were converted from lecture to computer based. Once identified, each classroom was set up with 44 personal computers.

• At the same time, the working group of faculty was deciding the most appropriate instructional platform to use and identifying the key components of a modular approach to teaching developmental math.

Software Selected

• Pearson’s MyMathLabPlus was selected as the software platform – could be adapted to the modular approach,– provided testing capacity, – allowed immediate feedback, and – offered targeted homework problems (based on

the types of procedures with which the student was experiencing difficulty)

Textbook Selection

• Faculty selected Pearson’s custom textbook option to develop “Beginning & Intermediate Algebra Guided Notebook”.

• The faculty chose this option to allow the book to seamlessly follow the modules they were developing.

Eight Modules Developed1. Real Numbers and Algebraic Expressions2. Linear Equations and Inequalities in One Variable3. Graphs and Systems of Linear Equations4. Exponents and Polynomials5. Factoring Polynomials6. Radicals and Rational Exponents7. Solving Non-Linear Equations8. Functions

Requirements to Take Credit Courses

• Successfully completing the first 6 modules would allow the student to enter MATH 1003 (College Mathematics), a credit course for non-STEM majors.

• Successfully completing all 8 modules allows the student to enter into MATH 1113 (College Algebra).

Completion of Modules

• Completion of a module is a two-step process.– Pass MyMathLabPlus Modular Test with 70% or

Better and– Pass Faculty-Developed Module Tests also with

70% or Better• In any class meeting, students attending will

be at working on various levels of the modules.

“Working at Own Pace”

• Not same as “working at your own pace”. Goals must be set to ensure the student continues to make progress.

• Not all students will complete all modules in one semester. This becomes a very interesting grading issue and also directly relates to financial aid.

Grading & Financial Aid Implications• To avoid grading/financial aid issues include

Financial Aid and Registrar’s Personnel on Team

• Needed New Grading System– Successful Completion = Regular Grade– Grade for Successful Progress (completion of at least

3 modules during the semester)

• Financial Aid allows 2 semesters to complete all modules

Implementation Date

• CCA Grant Called for Implementation Fall 2012• AVPAA Strongly Recommended Summer 2011

1) the summer has fewer students enrolled in remedial mathematics, and

2) when a new program is implemented it is rare for it not to have unforeseen consequences, problems, etc. It is better to identify problems with smaller numbers of students involved.

Summer 2011 Results – Prior to Redesign

• During summer I and II of 2011, 45 students were enrolled in remedial math.

• Of the 45 students, 33 students (73%) disappeared. • Meaning they did not complete the remedial

course and they did not enroll in a math course for the fall semester.

• Only 15 (33%) students passed the course.

Summer 2012 Results – Post Redesign

• During Summer I and II of 2012, 41 students were enrolled in the new emporium model math course.

• Of those 41 students, only 4 (10%) disappeared **all 4 students were making satisfactory progress when they left

• A total of 37 (90%) passed the course or were making satisfactory progress at the end of the semester– A total of 22 (53.7%) passed the course to enter either

college algebra or college math. – A total of 15 students made satisfactory progress and re-

enrolled in the course for the fall semester.

Fall 2011 & 2012 Results

• In fall 2011 - 590 students were in remediation and 353 of those were successful for a success rate of 59.8%.

• In fall 2012 - 588 students were in remediation and 410 were successful for a success rate of 69.7%

Spring Results: Before & After Redesign

• A total of 133 students who were successfully remediated during the spring before the redesign, subsequently enrolled in college algebra. A total of 69 were successful for a rate of 51.9%.

• A total of 83 students who were remediated in spring after the redesign and subsequently entered college algebra and 64 of those were successful for a success rate of 77.1%

Conclusions• The data we have collected demonstrate that

approximately 10% more students are successfully remediated in the new method versus the old (69.7% compared to 59.8% ).

• Those who are remediated under the new method are much more likely to be successful in college algebra (77.1% compared to 51.9%).

• The numbers are encouraging and we will continue to monitor the results of the change.