Assessment Specialist. Quinsigamond Community College. Worcester , MA.
Vision Project/Math Pre-Assessment: Strengthening Underprepared Students for
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Vision Project/Math Pre-Assessment: Strengthening Underprepared Students for College By Putting the Pieces Together
Aemiro Beyene Assistant Prof., Mathematics
John Mitchell Assessment Specialist Quinsigamond Community College Worcester , MA
Who We Are •
Located in central Massachusetts – Main campus—Worcester – Southbridge – City Square (downtown Worcester) – Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School
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Fall 2011— 9130 (headcount)
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Student body – FT=47%; PT=53% – 56.3% female; 43.7% male – 66.6% white; 12.4% Hispanic; 9.9% Black – 18-22 = 50.7%; 23-29 = 21.3%
Largest major: GS (39.5%), followed by “undeclared” (13.2%)
NATIONWIDE DATA: 256,672 first-time degree-seeking students from 57 colleges participating in achieving the dream.
Referral, Enrollment, and Completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges (CCRC Working Paper No. 15). By: Thomas Bailey, Dong WookJeong& Sung-Woo Cho. December 2008. New York: Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. (Revised November 2009).
Quinsigamond Community College’s Data: • Approximately 81% of Worcester Public School(WPS) students coming to QCC who take the Accuplacer are testing into at least one developmental math course. • Approximately 92% of those students that tested three levels below college math will not graduate or transfer from QCC. We have a responsibility to serve the community by developing sustainable programs that can address this challenge directly and effectively on a larger scale.
Is the System working well enough? … ‘Examining the process” • Quinsigamond Community College pipeline data for students beginning in Basic Mathematics (3 levels below college mathematics) have 7 exit points that students have to face. • Do they pass the first course( Basic Mathematics)?………54% • If they pass, do they enroll in the second course?.........93% • If they enroll, do they pass the second course?.............65% • If they pass, do they enroll in the third course?............. 85% • If they enroll, do they pass the third course?.................45% • If they pass, do they enroll in a college-level course?.. 91% • If they enroll, do they pass the college-level course?....78%
What is the completion rate of the original cohort? You answer!
What does the multiplication principal tell us? • We will never be able to significantly increase completion rate of college mathematics or reduce attrition rates unless we create programs that will reduce the number of exit points a student faces in developmental mathematics. – i.e. reduce or eliminate the number of developmental math sequence courses a student takes.
THE VISION PROJECT Quinsigamond Community College’s Plan for the Worcester Public Schools
QCC’s Strategic Plan and The Vision Project Goals are Aligned to the QCC’s Vision by Proactively Preparing High School Students for College
The Vision Project
5 WPS
MPAWs
QCC
Math 04
Math Boot Camps
Accuplacer
WPS
QCC is collaborating with WPS to implement MPAWs to 11th and 12th grade high school students under the Vision Project Math Initiative Math Pre- Assessment Workshops for High Schools
MPAWs’ mission is to increase the comprehension level of all high school students in mathematics and significantly improve the success rate on the college placement exams.
What is the Math Pre-Assessment Workshop? MPAWs IS • One week of rigorous, handson workshop designed to refresh students’ understanding about basic mathematics • Motivating students to do their best • Empowering students to achieve their goals • Preparing students to take the Accuplacer
MPAWs is NOT
• A one- week comprehensive remedial course
• Teaching to the placement test
• Irresponsibly and rapidly advancing students
Math Boot Camps
Summer 2011
Math Boot Camps Outcome N = 92
59 students completed MBC on schedule 48 students tested out of MAT 090( Basic Math) BREAKDOWN: 25 (43%) tested into Beg. Alg. 19 (32% ) tested into Int. Alg. 4 (7%) tested into College Math 11tested back into MAT090
33 students finished on their own 21 students tested out of MAT 090 (Basic Math) BREAKDOWN: 15 (45%) tested into Beg. Alg. 3 (9%) tested into Int. Alg. 3 (3%) tested into College Math 12 tested back into MAT 090
