A community college basic arithmetic course: predictive factors for success

Abstract

Despite the increased availability of technology to aid students' learning, more rather than fewer students who are under-prepared in basic mathematical skills are entering the community college. Clearly, curricular trends in K-12 mathematics have not produced a generation of high school graduates who are more capable in their computational skills than their counterparts of the previous generations. It is incumbent upon those who teach developmental math in the community colleges, as well as those whose courses and programs these students eventually enter, to determine what makes for a successful academic experience in this critical gatekeeper course. This study examined the gain scores of students from a pretest-posttest administration of the ASSET Numerical Skills Test in both a computer-mediated setting and a traditional lecture-discussion setting for an entry-level arithmetic course at a community college. Besides the effect of presentation method on gain score, a number of additional independent variables were examined to see if individually or in some combination these variables were better predictors of success. Qualitative data was gathered from several settings to focus on the experiential side of the course from the students' perspectives as well as through observations by the teachers of the sections involved in the study. The results of the analysis revealed that presentation method was the only independent variable that produced a significant effect on gain score. The fact that the other independent variables did not produce a significant effect would suggest that the greatest determining factor of student success is the classroom experience, not factors such as age, gender, number of hours working per week or previous experience using a computer. The qualitative data provided an experiential context for the quantitative outcomes and suggested that individual success might also be related to specific student characteristics. Future studies might include a larger selection of class sections that would cover a broader spectrum of the overall community college student population. Attempts might be made to identify those students who are best suited to a computer-based setting and examine their gain scores in comparison to those of students in a traditional class.