ERIC Number: EJ944649
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Sep
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1947-279X
EISSN: N/A
The Push to Pass: Merits of Intervention in Precalculus Mathematics
Pascal, Matthew
MathAMATYC Educator, v3 n1 p20-24 Sep 2011
A portion of all students in introductory or developmental undergraduate mathematics courses find themselves at an unfortunate tipping point: the border between passing and failing. These high-stakes courses often come with high enrollments, and a recurring problem: high failure rates. The measure of success used at the author's institution, the DFW rate, is the portion of students enrolled in the course who fail to earn a C or better for their final grade. A low DFW rate is considered to be indicative of a successful course. In particular, Math 128: Trigonometry is known among department faculty and administrators (and probably students) by an unsettling DFW rate routinely as high as 40%. This statistic applies to more than a decade of archived course data in both spring and fall terms at various times of days with at least six different instructors, removing these variables as likely causes of poor performance. In this article, the author discusses the merits of intervention in precalculus mathematics. (Contains 1 graph and 1 table.)
Descriptors: Intervention, Academic Achievement, Calculus, Mathematics, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Instruction, Trigonometry, Mathematics Achievement, College Mathematics, Undergraduate Students, Higher Education, Homework, Control Groups, Experimental Groups, Mathematics Curriculum
American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges. 5983 Macon Cove, Memphis, TN 38134. Tel: 901-333-4643; Fax: 901-333-4651; e-mail: amatyc@amatyc.org; Web site: http://www.amatyc.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A