Results of a Research Study:College and Career Ready

Fact vs. Opinion

S11510:20 – 11:10

Elite

National Center for Education and the

EconomyMathematics Panel

Co-Chairs Philip Daro Solomon GarfunkelPanel John T Baldwin Patrick Callahan Andrew S Chen Wade Ellis, Jr. Robert L Kimball, Jr. Lucy Hernandez Michal Geri Anderson-Nielsen Lisa Seidman Colin L Starr

WE WILL TALK ABOUT RESULTS OF A RESEARCH STUDY

• Conducted by National Center for Education and the Economy

• Key Question: What does it mean to be “college and work ready” with respect to math?

• Other panelists also looked at English but we will not report on that

A SUMMARY STATEMENT FROM REPORT

“In sum, a substantial part of the high school mathematics we teach is mathematics that most students do not need, some of what is needed in the first year of community college is not taught in our schools, and the mathematics that is most needed by our community college students is actually elementary and middle school mathematics…”

SOL: Why did NCEE conduct this

study?

College and Career Readiness

With the growing complexity of the world and the increasing demands of the 21st - century workforce, there is little question that all students should be prepared for college, careers, and life.

The question is… What does college and career-ready mean?

LISA: As NCEE was preparing for

the study, they decided to focus

on the first year at CCs, why?

Nearly one-half of all job openings in the United States are “middle skill” jobs,

all of which require at least some postsecondary education and training.

Holzer, Harry J. and Robert I. Lerman (February 2009). The Future of Middle-Skill Jobs. Brookings Institution.

Community Colleges

• Community colleges focus on preparing students for these middle skill jobs

• Nearly half of all undergraduates are attending community colleges

• Community colleges provide open access to millions of Americans who might otherwise not receive a college education

ROB: Explain the methodology of

the research

AccountingAutomotive Technology

BiotechElectrical Technology

BusinessCriminal Justice

Early Childhood EducationInformation Technology/Computer

ProgrammingNursing

General Education Track

TextbooksExamsProjectsSyllabi

PISA RubricCCSS Content

THREE TYPES OF COURSES WERE EVALUATED

• What we call “101” courses; the first required course for a specific discipline.

• Math courses that may be required by a program; typically College Algebra, Mathematical Models, Applied Math,… These courses are taught by faculty in the math department.

• Required discipline-specific math courses that are usually taught by the faculty in those disciplines (e.g. Math for Nurses); these were less commonly found but do exist and take the place of traditional required math courses.

Evidence the panel examined came from

SyllabiTexts

ExamsProjects

We will take a moment to look at samples of what the panel examined.

Mathematics in Automotive TechnologyManufacturer’s specs state that pressure readings in drive should be within 10% of pressure readings in neutral. Is the drive reading as indicated below within spec? What are the possible explanations for this? What would be a possible customer complaint?

Infusing Mathematics into Automotive Technology InstructionCORD and Michigan’s Dept. of Career Development

Math used in core courses

Math used in core courses

Math used in core courses

Math used in core courses

Math used in core courses

Math used in core courses

Math used in core courses

SOL: It appears that the report claims that the first-year

“101” core courses the panel examined provide evidence as to what it means to

be college and career ready.

Is that correct?

SOL: What were the major findings of the

report?

PART I FINDINGS: MATHEMATICS CONTENT IN 101 COURSES

“The data from the analysis of textbooks across programs gives a clear answer to what is required: middle school mathematics; especially ratios, proportionality, expressions, and simple equations.” <Middle school topics as described in the CCSS.>

Any mathematics used in the 101 courses is in context.Problems students encounter that require math are unlike the problems they see in “math” courses.

Three mathematical proficiencies not found in the CCSS nor in typical high school mathematics curricula: –Complex Applications of Measurement– Schematic Diagrams–and Geometric Visualization

MORE ANALYSIS OF DATA…”though we searched far and wide for high school mathematics to make its way into these first year community college exams, its appearance was the exception rather than the rule. So…it is not just Algebra II mathematics that is nowhere to be found, Algebra I mathematics is similarly absent.”

PART II: MATHEMATICS CONTENT IN MATHEMATICS COURSES

PROGRAM SPECIFIC MATH COURSES

• Some programs have their own math courses, including math for accounting, nursing, and biotechnology

CONCLUSION REGARDING PROGRAM SPECIFIC MATH COURSES

“Since these courses are typically designed with the program major in mind…one would expect …attention to relevance in mathematical focus… Here the relevance of middle school mathematics is salient, as is the inclusion of non-traditional content in complex applications… So here there is some measure of consistency between mathematics and the 101 courses, a healthy linkage not typically found

… in programs of study that have less control of the available mathematics offerings for their students and who find themselves to a much greater extent than they might like at the mercy of the priorities of their mathematics department colleagues and their view that if students ‘learn’ a math concept its applications will readily follow.”

PART III: MATHEMATICS IN 101 COURSES VS. MATHEMATICS IN

REQUIRED MATH COURSES“Overall, high school algebra gets far more attention in the initial required mathematics courses than in the 101 subject courses…

Mastery of Algebra II is widely thought to be a prerequisite for success in college and careers.

The panel foundthis is not the case.

Requiring all H S students to take Algebra II may be an

unnecessary barrier.

Most of the mathematics that enables students to be successful

in college courses is not high school mathematics but middle

school mathematics; especially ratio, proportion,

expressions, and simple equations.

A CONCLUSION STATEMENT FROM REPORT

“If the 101 courses do, indeed, reflect mathematics as it is applied on the job, it raises a disturbing question: are we turning away otherwise qualified [persons] from good jobs because they fail to meet irrelevant requirements?... Given the rate of failure in introductory community college mathematics courses, it appears that an artificial barrier to college success has been erected while at the same time, strong consideration should be given to including the missing math…as needed to succeed in…community college courses…”

ROB: If little more than middle school math is all that is required for success in so many careers, why is math such a problem for so many community college students? Why are so many students in remedial math courses?

SOL: Are community colleges “dumbing down” their instruction? Shouldn’t we be raising the bar, not lowering it?

LISA: Won’t students need more math background to be promoted or to advance in their careers?

ROB: The common core is being used

to redesign / realign the K-12 curricula.

What does this study say about the

common core?

Common Core

Grade 8• The Number System• Expressions & Equations• Functions• Geometry• Statistics & Probability

Grades 6 & 7• Ratios & Proportional

Relationships• The Number System• Expressions & Equations• Geometry• Statistics & Probability

SOL: What is important for this audience to know about the findings

of this report?

Mathematics• Many college programs demand little or no mathematics• Mathematics needed is mostly middle school mathematics• Students command of middle school mathematics concepts is weak• Don’t rush through middle school mathematics; Master Algebra I by sophomore year• Algebra II not a prerequisite for success in community college or in most careers; high schools should abandon requirement that all high school students take it• Mathematical modeling, statistics and probability, complex measurement, schematics and geometric visualization needed in many community college programs but not now taught in most schools• Mathematics tested in community colleges falls far short of what is in students’ textbooks and short of what they need in careers they have chosen Quoting the report

ALIGNMENT – We (math departments) must do a better job at aligning what is required in our courses with what is required in majors. The old standards, Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra, like Algebra II in HS, are not appropriate for all students.PROMOTING MATHEMATICS ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES – Evidence from texts suggest that mathematics can and should play a larger role in core courses – ‘we’ must help other faculty achieve that goal.DEPTH – Too much emphases is placed on skills; in the core courses and often in mathematics courses. More prominence needs to be given to problems with which students need to grapple – struggle – reason about – problems in context.

Questions

To download the full report, go to:

http://www.ncee.org/