The mathematics placement process at University of Northern Colorado includes brief faculty-student interviews during which faculty members suggest mathematics courses for students in their first year at the university. Data from a sample of students admitted in the fall of 2007 (N = 1466) were analyzed to assess the effectiveness of the placement interview. For each student, we considered the most recent (usually high school) mathematics course the student had taken, the grade received in that course, the high school grade point average, the ACT math score, the course(s) recommended during the placement interview, the university mathematics or statistics course in which the student first enrolled, the semester in which the course was taken, and the subsequent grade in that course. Logistic regression was used to model student success in the first university mathematics or statistics course as a function of the other available variables. Our analysis indicated that the most important factor in modeling student success was high school grade point average, but that whether or not the student followed the recommendation advice, and recent high school mathematics course and grade were also useful variables for modeling success.

The purpose of this study was to identify the degree to which college algebra students’ value mathematical skills in their prospective careers. A survey was administered to N=144 students in six college algebra classes at a mid-sized doctoral granting university. Students in half the classes completed a data analysis project and half of the students planned to major in a business-related degree. Logistic regression suggested students held mostly positive attitudes about the value of mathematics in their career, with business students expressing more positive attitudes than those reported by non-business students. Unexpectedly, those who completed the data analysis project expressed less positive attitudes on 6 of the 20 survey items.

Can college students’ confidence in completing exam items be used to predict the students’ subsequent exam performance? I describe two preliminary quantitative studies of the relationship between college students’ mathematics self-efficacy—confidence to perform a specific task under specific circumstances—and exam performance in the contexts of College Algebra (n = 128) and Calculus I (n = 119) at a mid-sized doctoral granting university in the Mountain West. Using multiple linear regression analyses, findings support students’ calibration, or accuracy of self-efficacy judgments, along with self-efficacy, as important predictors of exam performance. Implications for teaching introductory college mathematics include the potential value of providing multiple sources of performance feedback to struggling students. [Download]

[Presentation Abstract] This hand-on, interactive session presents a collaborative college algebra activity using TI-84 Plus graphing calculators and the TI-Navigator wireless handheld network. Additionally, preliminary results of a mixed methods investigation of the TI-Navigator in college algebra will be shared. Further activities and uses of the Navigator system will be discussed. [Download]