Transcript Placement Testing for Mathematics

Mandatory Placement Testing for
Mathematics Course Enrollment
A Response to program review:
Target Audiences and Success Rates
Academic Governing Council
September 9, 2014
Team Members
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Nancy Forrest - Professor Mathematics
Oscar Neal- Assoc. Professor Mathematics
Dana Sammons- Professor Mathematics
Laurie Chesley– Dean - School of Arts &
Sciences
• John Dersch- Professor Mathematics/Dept.
Chair
• Vikki Cooper- Assoc. Professor English/ Dir.
Dev. Ed.
Placement and Prerequisite
enforcement currently in place
• Only six of our twenty-one mathematics courses have
enforced prerequisites
• Accuplacer is used to test students with poor or no ACT
scores for placement into developmental math courses
– Trigger for placement, ACT scores are outdated 18+ months old
– Only places in developmental math
– No college level mathematics placement
• H. S. math courses are used for placement
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Potentially outdated
Varying nature of High School math
Differences in topics covered in courses with same name
Differences in how schools report grades
Current Mandatory Placement Policy
• Policy Statement - GRCC students whose
Accuplacer scores indicate that they need
developmental coursework (in English, Math, or
Reading) will be required to enroll in and pass that
coursework before taking college-level English and
Math courses, and other specified college-level
courses.
• Reason for the Policy - Internal student success
data, as well as external research, scholarship, and
benchmarking, indicate that students who are
required to take developmental coursework
before taking college-level coursework are more
likely to succeed and persist in their college
studies.
Current Mandatory Placement Policy
Procedures - All students whose ACT subscores fall below 18 in
English, Math, or Reading must take Accuplacer. (Any student
without ACT scores will be required to take Accuplacer, with the
exception of Guest and Early College students.) If Accuplacer
indicates a need for developmental English (EN 097) or Math
(MA095, 096, 097, and 098), the student must take those
courses and cannot register for college-level English or Math
until he or she has successfully completed them. Students may
appeal an Accuplacer placement by retesting after 7 days and
paying a retest fee of $20. The placement of the second test will
stand. Students who wish to appeal this second placement may
see the Associate Dean of Student Success and Retention for a
final placement determination. Students placing into two or
more developmental classes are also required to enroll and
complete PY 097. Students will not be permitted to self-enroll
until this course has been completed with a grade of C- or
higher.
Proposed changes to
Mandatory Placement Policy
• To require mandatory placement for all
students seeking to take a mathematics
course at the college who have not been
placed in or successfully completed the
prerequisite at an institution of higher
education in the 6 months prior to registration
• Remove all vendors from mandatory
placement policy
Rationale for mandatory placement
• Our 6 courses with mandatory prerequisites have
greater success rates than those that do not have
mandatory prerequisites for enrollment
• Literature supports proper placement leads to greater
academic success
• Literature supports mandatory placement leads to
greater academic success than placement by HS GPA
and standardized test
• Literature results find an inverse relationship between
time between sequential courses and
academic success supporting placement test and
previous course work expiration
Success Rates
Mandatory Prerequisite vs No Mandatory Prerequisite
Course
Proportion
Proportion
Successful given Successful given
prerequisite NOT
prerequisite
mandatory
mandatory
Developmental
51.2%
57.4%
College
61.9%
69.8%
Combined
57.7%
64.5%
Note: Proportion Successful given prerequisite NOT
mandatory includes students who took the prerequisite
Success rates for college level courses
without mandatory prerequisite
Proportion
Successful given
prerequisite was
not taken or
completed with
C or better
Proportion
Successful
given passed
prerequisite
with C or
Better
Significant
Statistical
Difference at
0.05
Proportion
Successful
given passed
prerequisite
with B- or
Better
Significant
Statistical
Difference at
0.05
59.8%
78.0%
Yes(p=0.019)
84.8%
Yes(p=0.006)
50.0%
65.0%
Yes(p=0.026
69.1%
Yes(p=0.004)
51.1%
54.0%
No(p=0.638)
66.2%
Yes(p=0.008)
Course
MA 133
MA 131
MA 110
Our Placement Test Interests
• Interested in using a placement test that has a
positive correlation with academic success and
reduces placement biases from guessing
– Accuplacer/Compass misplaces about 1 in 3 students.
Researchers calculate accuracy rates and four validity metrics
for placement tests. They find high "severe" error rates using
Accuplacer/Compass. The severe error rate is 27 to 33
percent; that is, students are severely misplaced
• Interested in using a placement test that offers
remediation.
– Students in lower socioeconomic levels are less likely to
properly prepare for placement exams, thus a placement
exam that allows for remediation is highly beneficial for our
student body.
– Could potentially reduce the amount of remedial work
needed to improve retention, persistence and matriculation
Aleks PPL
– Uses a fill-in placement test that does not allow
multiple choice guessing
– Uses mathematics knowledge web to identify
student strengths and weaknesses
– Uses the results to provide an individual study
plan to help students properly prepare for the
placement exam
– Identifies specific areas and topics that have been
mastered and that need remediation
ACT Placement vs Aleks Placement
ACT VS Grade
R-sq = 0.895%
Aleks vs Grade
R-sq = 97.91%
Data from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign illustrate the weak
correlation of ACT placement, and the strong positive correlation of Aleks placement
Schools in Michigan using Aleks
Andrews University
Dorsey Schools--Saginaw
Eastern Michigan University
Ferris State University
Gogebic Community College
Grand Rapids Community College
Henry Ford Community College
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Lake Superior State University
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University
Northern Michigan University
Oakland University
Southwestern Michigan College
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
Wayne State University
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Journal Articles
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Foley-Peres, Kathleen, and Dawn Poirier. "College Math Assessment: SAT Scores Vs. College Math Placement Scores.
"Educational Research Quarterly 32.2 (2008): 41-8. ProQuest. Web. 26 Aug. 2014.
Marwick, J. D. (2004). Charting a path to success: The association between institutional placement policies and the academic
success of Latino students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 28(3), 263-280.
Belfield, C., & Crosta, P. M. (2012). Predicting success in college: The importance of placement tests and high school
transcripts.
Bailey, T. (2009). Challenge and opportunity: Rethinking the role and function of developmental education in community
college. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2009(145), 11-30.
Kowski, L. E. (2013). Does high school performance predict college math placement?. Community College Journal of
Research and Practice, 37(7), 514-527.
Amey, M. J., & Long, P. N. (1998). Developmental course work and early placement: Success strategies for underprepared
community college students.Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 22(1), 3-10.
Reisel, J. R., Jablonski, M., Hosseini, H., & Munson, E. (2012). Assessment of factors impacting success for incoming college
engineering students in a summer bridge program. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and
Technology, 43(4), 421-433.
Fine, A., Duggan, M., & Braddy, L. (2009). Removing remediation requirements: Effectiveness of intervention
programs. Primus, 19(5), 433-446.
Knowlton, E. H. (2011). An Intervention Strategy Designed to Reduce Math Remediation Rates at Community Colleges.
Northcentral University.
Ahlgren, A., & Harper, M. (2011). Assessment and Placement through Calculus I at the University of Illinois. NOTICES OF THE
AMS, 58(10).
Reddy, A. A., & Harper, M. (2013). ALEKS-based Placement at the University of Illinois. In Knowledge Spaces (pp. 51-68).
Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Proposed changes to
Mandatory Placement Policy
• To require mandatory placement for all
students seeking to take a mathematics
course at the college who have not been
placed in or successfully completed the
prerequisite at an institution of higher
education in the 6 months prior to registration
• Remove all vendors from mandatory
placement policy
Request for Feedback
Please send feedback to [email protected] by a
Friday, October 3 so that the Math Department
can consider your feedback before your next
presentation to AGC on Tuesday, October 14
Thank You