The results of both the fall and spring Common Math Assignments were analyzed according to an array of relevant academic history records available through the Banner student information system. As soon as the Banner numbers produced the records, the identification numbers were irreversibly replaced by key codes so that the analysis of individual samples was fully anonymous. The data tables are available to College departments to be sorted in answer to various questions that may arise concerning the assessment results. The accompanying charts report on a few of the findings. Charts numbered 1-7 analyze data from CMA1. Charts labeled A-D analyze data from CMA2. The following findings incorporate and build on those of the Interim Reflections which emerged from the fall implementation of CMA1.

Results and Recommendations

1. Two categories of academic history analysis encountered roadblocks. One was correlation with Accuplacer scores, which was impeded by the absence of Accuplacer records in Banner, reducing the N by over one half in both CMA1 and CMA2. The second was tracking prior math classes at CCC, where results showed that that the number of students who had completed a CCC mathematics course was small. This was particularly troublesome with CMA2, where 78% of the sampled students had not completed a CCC mathematics course (See Chart C). Lack of math history at the college and scanty records of Accuplacer scores made it difficulty to obtain meaningful conclusions about progress in math during the students’ college careers.
   Recommendations:
   1. Accuplacer scores should be regularly entered into Banner records to facilitate assessment analyses.
   2. The low number of students who had not completed a CCC mathematics course suggests the need to examine at what points in their studies students take mathematics courses (see also recommendation 2a, below).
   3. The math department should study the remaining unscored anonymous samples to enlarge the field from which progress patterns might be observed.


2. Based on available data concerning past math courses at CCC, Chart 4 from CMA1 and Chart C from CMA2 show a clear improvement in CMA scores for students whose have taken credit math courses at CCC. Chart 4 shows a marked difference between the students who have completed only one developmental course and those who have completed the second developmental level. Chart C shows a slight improvement of scores for students who have taken developmental courses as compared with the scores of students who have taken no CCC math courses. Since many students need to take mathematics courses for three or four semesters to successfully complete one credit-bearing mathematics course, and since certain non-mathematics courses require mathematical skills, these results suggest that the College may need to front load most programs of study with mathematics courses
   Recommendations:
   1. The College should review academic policy to consider requiring students to take developmental mathematics courses during the early part of their programs.
   2. Chart 4 from CMA1 should be reproduced and posted throughout the College, and particularly in the Math Center and Counseling area to focus attention on the fact that Math 046 is necessary but markedly insufficient for mathematical competency, and to encourage early enrollment in higher levels of math study.
   3. The College should establish a reporting design for tracking persistence through developmental and credit math courses. The design should include information about class size, transitions between courses, and student surveys. Reports should be available on a regular basis to inform interventions.


3. Based on available Accuplacer information, almost all the students who scored less than 31 on the Accuplacer arithmetic test obtained the lowest possible CMA2 score (see Chart A). This is not surprising because a student who scores less than 31 on Accuplacer arithmetic is placed in Math 046, a course which does not address linear models of bivariate data, so students must wait for higher level courses for the introduction of that topic. Nonetheless, this statistic does suggest the need for further study. When scores on the Accuplacer Algebra test are included (see Chart B), the results indicate that both Accuplacer scores are roughly predictive of outcomes in the graphing tasks required by CMA2.
   Recommendations:
   1. The Math department should undertake a study exploring the relationship between student success in Math 046 and intervals of scores on the Accuplacer tests, with a special focus on the arithmetic test.
   2. Information from the study should guide interventions, which might include more informed counseling about math study, referrals to ABE courses, tutoring, or other supplements to the current developmental math sequence for low-scoring students.


4. Scores on the paragraph question in CMA2 show a more even distribution than the scores for the graphing (see Chart D). This is explained partly by the differences in the two scoring rubrics (graphs and paragraphs were scored differently) and partly by the differences in the skills required. Although these differences reduce the comparability of the two parts of CMA2, it may be noted that the paragraph scores average to a higher mean (2.22) than the graphing mean (1.50). These tentative findings suggest that students may be somewhat better able to draw conclusions from mathematical data patterns than they are to apply graphing principles to mathematical problems. Still, a mean of 2.22 is well below proficiency, indicating a need for greater exposure to data and numerical operations throughout the curriculum.
   Recommendation:
   1. Activities should be designed for embedding numerical operations and data interpretation into classes throughout the college. These might include systems for getting students to keep track of their grades through a class, projects for understanding and presenting information in graphic form, templates for tallying research data, etc. These should be piloted by volunteer teachers across the curriculum.


5. The overall finding for the year is that student math skills are too low. In both CMA1 and CMA2, few students performed at the proficient level. Creating the CMAs provided the math department with a fresh context for dealing with the long-standing low success rate of students in mathematics courses. Members of the Math Department have decided to implement new actions such as reviewing course outlines, comparing commonality between same level courses, recommending that at least some sections of Math 080 be taught by full-time math instructors, gathering data on how soon students take Math 131 after 080, reducing the content of certain mathematics courses ( subject to the 80% common course rule) while treating the remaining content with more time and depth, and possibly adding a course more basic than Math 046.
   Recommendation:
   1. The College should support the Math Department initiatives with IR support for ongoing studies (see also Recommendation #2c).
   2. Full time faculty should continue to mentor adjuncts who teach the three key math courses: Math 046, Math 080 and Math 131.
   3. Adjuncts and tutor liaisons should be encouraged to attend Math department meetings, and the College should seek funds to pay adjuncts a stipend for their contributions to these initiatives.