Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Early Math Enrollment in Washington State Community Colleges

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/z890s075g

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  • More than half of students in Washington state community colleges enroll in developmental mathematics, but a relatively small percentage of these students persist to the second year. Many students place into these courses and never enroll; others enroll at some point after the first academic term, even when faced with a large number of developmental courses before reaching college level. Some national policy reports (Couturier & Cullinane, 2015) identified mandating early math enrollment as a best practice, but this is not a statewide policy in Washington. This study assessed the impact of the student’s decision to enroll or not in developmental mathematics in the first term on their academic performance and persistence. This included an analysis to determine if there are different effects for students starting at different developmental levels. The study examined math success for 42,816 first-time-in-college Washington community college students with an initial intent to transfer to a four-year university. These students entered the community colleges between 2011 and 2014. The study used contingency tables and comparison tests to evaluate differences in first term grade point average and college level math course completion between students beginning math in the first term of enrollment and students delaying their initial math enrollment. Hierarchical linear modeling and hierarchical generalized linear modeling were used to identify variables contributing to significant differences in student outcomes. The study found a negative impact in first term grade point average associated with first term math enrollment, but a positive benefit on the completion of a college level math course within shorter time frames. Over longer time intervals, the difference in outcomes between early and later enrollees decreased. While impacts resulting from enrollment in a math course in the first term of attendance were identified, these impacts were small compared to the dramatic impacts on math success resulting from students’ initial math placement level and success in the first math course. The findings suggested that policy makers at institutions and in community college systems need to address student math progression challenges through major changes to placement structures. In addition, attention to student support while enrolled in math courses and immediately after any course setbacks is needed. Finally, policy makers and administrators should undertake major revisions to developmental mathematics pathways. Keywords: community college, developmental mathematics placement, developmental education, persistence, remedial math
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  • Ongoing Research
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  • 2019-03-19 to 2021-04-19

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