Building Better Onramps to College Mathematics

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Building Better Onrampsto College Mathematics
Philip Uri TreismanProfessor of Mathematics and
Public AffairsExecutive Director, Charles A.
Dana CenterThe University of Texas at Austin
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Other Countries Average Scale Score
MathPerformance on 8th Grade TIMSS Comparedwith
the U.S.
Source Data taken from the Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS), accessed Dec. 16, 2008 at
http//nces.ed.gov/timss/index.asp. Computations
of categories by the Charles A. Dana Center.
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Mathematics Achievement at the 4th Grade
Country
Ave. Scale Score
4
Science Achievement at the 4th Grade
Country
Ave. Scale Score
5
Mathematics Achievement at the 8th Grade
Country
Ave. Scale Score
6
Science Achievement at the 8th Grade
Country
Ave. Scale Score
6
7
(No Transcript)
8
8th Grade White
287
300
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8th Grade Black
253
271
10
8th Grade Hispanic
256
277
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8th Grade Eligible for National School Lunch
Program
257
275
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The Problem is Everywhere

• Nationally
• 60 percent of students enrolling in community
  colleges across the nation take remedial
  education classes.
• 90 percent for low-income and minority students
  at some community colleges.
• The number of students moving from remedial
  education classes to college-level courses can
  drop as low as 15 percent

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The Problemis Everywhere

• California Only 9 percent of students place into
  transfer-level math courses.
• Texas 25 to 50 percent of students taking
  remedial math courses fail to complete them
• Florida Only 15 percent of students who failed
  to complete developmental coursework remained in
  college.

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Educational Outcome by Math College Placement
Test Score and Estimated Discontinuity
Florida data1997 through 2000, entering cohorts
tracked for 6 years
Source Calcagno Long, 2008.
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The TypicalMath Onramp
TransferLevel Credits
EXIT
EXIT
EXIT
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The Missing Pathway?
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Developmental Mathematics
The improvement landscape
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A New Goal for Carnegie

• Carnegie is working with researchers and
  practitioners to improve the success rates of
  community college students in developmental
  math.

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Looking for Solutions that are

• Scalable
• Sustainable
• Systemic

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Part of a Broad Ecology

• Honoring good work and best practices
• Following emerging practices            
• Many wrapped in local particulars
• Assist with re-engineering for wider use
• Creating new models as a research and development
  enterprise

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Creating Change Some Essentials

• Supportive policy environment
• Institutional strategies and prioritization
• Mobilizing grassroots faculty action
• New research and development engines
• reengineering best practices for use at scale
• surfacing practices worthy of attention
• new model building