One of my colleagues sent me an interesting article, "Who is Represented in Developmental Mathematics? A Look at College Readiness and Community College Math Requirements". As adult education instructors, we want to prepare our learners for the transition into higher education. This article discusses a recent meeting held in Washington, D.C. where several presentations were about "increasing student success in developmental mathematics." One of the presentations made by Michelle Hodara asked the questions:
- What is known about college students in developmental mathematics?
- And how has the population changed during the last decade?
I know that there are a few practitioners in this community who teach both Adult Education and Developmental Mathematics. I would love to hear your thoughts about this article and any other articles you have that answer these questions.
I invite you all to participate and unpack this topic.
Brooke
Comments
I am trying to unpack this paragraph:
"It was distressing to learn that the percentage of students who completed Algebra 2 or higher math classes in high school and took developmental math in their first year was vastly different when looking at public two-year colleges versus four-year colleges, and that there was a wide variation by race and ethnicity."
--------->okay, we're going to talk about how if you completed Algebra 2 and went to 2- year, vs. if you
For instance, in public four-year institutions, the percentage of students with the same level of college readiness *** okay, do I assume this means "completed Algebra 2" ?? ***
who took developmental math in their first year of college included the highest proportion (Native American/Alaskan Natives at 37%) and the lowest proportion (White students at 10% and Students who did not receive a Pell grant at 10%).
... so 37% of people who completed Algebra 2 who were Native American/Alaskan Natives had to take developmental math, ... okay... now how did they *do* in developmental math, and how did the ones who landed at college level do?
In public two-year institutions, the gap between the highest percentages of students with the same level of college readiness who took developmental math in their first year of college was 41% for Black/African American students at 27% for White students and 26% for students who did not receive a Pell Grant.
(same questions in my mind...
Four-year colleges in certain areas often will not accept students’ developmental math-course credits as college credits, labeling them as elective credits instead. This forces community colleges to impose higher requirements for their developmental courses and entrance into college-level mathematics.
I'm not sure I understand this connection at all, but I do understand that ... community colleges often have higher standards than 4- year because people assume they don't.
I do appreceate the last part of the article and noting that saying a student "completed Algebra 2" could mean just about anything, and that if they complete it their junior year, that next year without math would make it more likely that they'd land in developmental math.
The math tutor in me is still haunted more by the lack of conceptual understanding students get in math instruction *wherever* .