PCAST makes a strong recommendation for math courses

On February 7^th, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Engineering (PCAST)  had a Public Briefing: Report to the President Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and made a number of recommendations.

The executive summary is here

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-executive-report-final_feb.pdf 

I was particularly pleased that the report addressed the need for better teaching of mathematics for many college freshmen with STEM majors, that many of these programs require a solid math background. Without excellent math preparation, the STEM major choices to a student may be limited. 

PCAST has recommended 200 experiments over the next 5 years; these experiments would be evaluated for effectiveness.  These activities will include summer bridge programs, using computer technology in remedial computer programs, college math  curriculum taught by faculty in other disciplines (such as engineering),  and “a new pipeline of  producing K-12 mathematics teachers from undergraduate and graduate programs in mathematics-intensive fields other than mathematics.” 

The need for this effort is strong; ACT Inc. statistics show that only 45% of high school seniors who take the ACT are ready for college algebra. The ACT math score of 22 is the benchmark for college algebra. (ACT Inc., The Condition of Career and College Readiness, 2011)  To be prepared to take Calculus I, it is generally accepted that an ACT math score of 27 is needed, a full 5 points higher than the benchmark for college algebra. As a result, a very small percent of students are prepared for Calculus I as they enter college.  However, for engineering, Calculus I is generally the desired math course in the first semester of college (unless a student placed at a higher level) and pre-calculus is considered a remedial course.

 It has been found that a six week summer bridge program by itself for student underprepared is not long enough or intense enough.  Programs that also include mentoring and tutoring throughout the freshmen year are more effective.  So  innovation and integrating of ideas is needed.

 My research has shown:

1)      Being prepared to take Calculus I for engineering majors is important; there is so much math in the engineering and physics courses and the courses tend to be graded competitively; students who enter engineering college with a calculus readiness are more likely to be successful.

2)      However, for non-engineering STEM programs , a balanced high quality college preparation course sequence will often provide an adequate preparation; in some cases a student can be very successful taking college algebra as a first semester course. In other words, calculus readiness may not be required, as long as the student has a strong preparation for English, science and other courses.

3)      The challenge is for those students who place into remedial math. Traditionally they must pay for enrolling in a remedial math course, yet earn no college credit, thus more likely to drop out.  Here is where innovative approaches are needed.   One example of innovation is integrating a remedial course with another college course, such as is being done at Madison Area Technical College (WI).  Luanne Borowicz and Emily Baguhn reported on their innovative approach at the ASQ Education Advancing the STEM Agenda Conference, of combining a remedial math course with college chemistry.  The retention and achievement levels of the students in both the math course and the chemistry course were exceptional.

http://asq.org/edu/2011/06/best-practices/developmental-math-design-for-a-science-math-bridge-program.pdf

 It seems like we have swings of the pendulum on where the STEM focus is; today, it is on improving math preparation and helping students with the freshman level math courses.  It is needed. In some past years, the focus has been on student confidence, student background and financial aid.  We must remember that student success in STEM is very much a multivariate concern; my model showed there were nine pillars for student success.   We must also remember that there is significant diversity in the STEM majors; so that math preparation may be essential in a STEM field such as engineering, and less of an issue in a STEM field such as biology.

Cindy Veenstra

Modeling Engineering Retention and Reflections on Strategies for Success

I was pleased to read the current issue of the Journal of Engineering Education (JEE) and Will Tyson’s article “Modeling Engineering Degree Attainment and Achievement Using High School and College Physics and Calculus Coursetaking and Achievement”. In his article, he cited my research on engineering student retention, both my JEE article “ Is the Modeling of Freshman Engineering Success Different from Modeling of Non-engineering Success? “ and my Advances in Engineering Education article “ Model for Freshman Engineering Retention” . Both papers were co-authored with university leaders on student success, Professors Eric Dey and Gary Herrin (also past associate dean of engineering) of the University of Michigan.

In researching the modeling of freshman engineering retention, I found there were nine pillars for student success . This is discussed in the AEE paper and includes substantial literature review tables in the appendix.  Here is a link to a brief explanation of the Model. http://www.veenstraconsulting.com/veenstra-model.php

Tyson’s paper recognizes the importance of the Veenstra model and further expands on the pattern of course taking of Calculus and Physics courses both in high school and early college for success as engineering majors. His research showed that “achievement in specific courses explains grades earned in college physics and calculus prerequisite courses.” However, he concluded that there was “no uniform effect of academic integration on engineering degree attainment.” Tyson did not discuss the effect of inadequate financial aid but significantly his conclusions included that students who started at community colleges taking courses required for an engineering major, “were as likely as university course takers to continue in engineering.” For developing strategies degree completion for students from low income families, this is a significant research finding.

Importance of Advising
In my research, I looked at the achievement success of students through the Calculus sequence (I,II,III) . Basically, if a student understands and has learned the concepts of Calculus I, he/she is more likely to do well in Calculus II or III. On the other hand, the evidence was clear that students who earned low grades in Calculus I were much more likely to drop out or earn a “C” or lower in Calculus II. Each course builds on the knowledge of the previous course. The Physics I course can also build on the knowledge of Calculus depending on how it is taught. My data and data of other researchers show significant evidence of the importance of correct placement of students into the first semester courses in the freshman engineering program. Even AP Calculus students must be placed in the appropriate first semester course. If a student is not ready for Calculus II even though she took AP Calculus AB in high school, she will do better academically in the first two years, if she enrolls in Calculus I. As one might expect, advisors get resistance from students on this placement issue. The advisory center and associated faculty must continually improve the university’s placement tests and place students into the appropriate course. We grow STEM graduates one student at a time, starting with advising based on best practices for the first semester.

STEM College-Ready and Generating Interest in STEM
As my model suggests, there are a number of factors that lead to graduation; graduation success if multivariate. Students with good preparation in high school have a higher success rate with the transition to engineering college and get a good start in engineering. We need to ensure that all high school graduates are STEM major college-ready, i.e. are ready for Calculus and science courses. We are very far from this goal today but many school districts and states are beginning to address this concern. For those who are not college-ready, we need positive programs and good advising to encourage students in a course taking  pathway that will work for them. We must adopt the ideas of lean manufacturing and develop lean approaches for helping students be successful in their college career. By this I mean, remove roadblocks where students need to visit several offices- streamline the process so the student makes an easy transition, understands what is expected and is less stressed out by large campuses. Continue to encourage the student.

As had been discussed substantially in the research journals on engineering education, we must also have generated the interest in STEM careers, both in K12 and continuing in college through speakers, activities like a solar car competition and through internships. We need more partnerships between engineering colleges and industry. As more and more research is published on engineering retention, it is clear we need to look at the transition from P-12 to engineering college as a P-16 school system and provide more collaboration between high school and universities.

Revised Publication Page

Our Publication Page has been recently revised; new format, new focus, more research --Check it out for research on helping students succeed in their college studies and especially the first year of college. Includes publications using Baldrige systems thinking and Hoshin planning.

http://www.veenstraconsulting.com/publications.php

 

Cindy

 

Improvement in High School Completion in Math and Science

This past Thursday (April 21) the Washington Post published an article “CEOs Warn of Subpar School Standards.” authored by Ben Wolfgang. In the article, it is reported that the “Change the Equation” organization of educators and CEOs of major American companies had conducted a survey and found that “while students in many schools meet the benchmarks set by their states, those thresholds fall far below national levels set by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Education Program(NAEP)."

The last NAEP testing was conducted in 2009 of 4th, 8th and 12th graders. Since CEO’s are interested in recruiting new workers, let’s limit this discussion to the 12th grade results. How bad is it? The average scores for math and reading were significantly higher than the scores in 2005; however only 38% were proficient in reading and 26% in math. For the 2009 NAEP testing, 21% of the students were considered proficient in science.

This is not exactly encouraging. However what we must keep in mind is that improvement is occurring. It needs to continue at a much higher rate, else the warning by the CEO’s is valid: “U.S. schools have set a standard for their students that‘s too low and that subpar expectations put the country in danger of falling even further behind other nations in reading and math proficiency.” (Add also science).

This month the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) published a report related to the NAEP testing: “America’s High School Graduates: Results for the 2009 NAEP High School Transcript Study”. It looked at the transcripts from a random sample of 2009 high school graduates and had some promising findings and  conclusions:
• On the average, the 2009 graduates enrolled in 3 more credits than 1990 graduates.
• From 2005 to 2009, the percent of high school graduates completing Algebra II has increased from 78% to 84%
• From 2005 to 2009, the percent of high school graduates completing Pre-Calculus has increased from 30% to 35% and in Calculus, from 14% to 17%.

The increase in enrollment in math courses is good news; however due to the competitive nature of college and especially of the STEM courses; and considering the course speed, we need to encourage more high school students to enroll in {and be successful] in pre-calculus and calculus.
• From 2005 to 2009, the percent of high school graduates completing advanced biology has increased from 40% to 45%.
• From 2005 to 2009, the percent of high school graduates completing chemistry has increased significantly from 56% to 70%.
• From 2005 to 2009, the percent of high school graduates completing physics has increased from 36% to 39%.
• From 2005 to 2009, the percent of high school graduates completing technical courses such as engineering or computer science has decreased slightly from 31.9 to 31.1%.

It is encouraging that 70% of the graduates enrolled in chemistry; however more need to be enrolled in physics. It is also encouraging that we are making significant progress especially for the mid-level math courses.

The report indicated that those graduates who participated in a rigorous curriculum or AP course in math or science, on the average tended to score as proficient in math or science. These students will be well-prepared for college. With the national goal of 60% of young adults earning a college degree (based on economic growth and more than 50% of new jobs requiring a college degree -see Lumina Foundation website), the CEOs are correct in raising a warning.

A summary of the report is available at http://nationsreportcard.gov/hsts_2009/summary.asp

Cindy

Time for Reflection on Strategic Planning for Student Success

As the winter semester draws to a close with finals week, it is a time for reflection for administrators and faculty for improving student success processes for next year. Here are five questions that may be useful.

1) What processes went right and what processes need to be improved? How can we better measure them?
2) What curricula changes are needed?
3) What training is needed to help faculty engage more with students in their classrooms and to use quality tools to help them assess how well students are learning? How can technology be used more effectively in the classroom?
4) What student support functions need to be reviewed and improved?
5) How do we design a seamless and integrated approach to student success? How do we help freshmen and transfer students with their transition? As a first impression, do students see our staff as helpful or as a maze of offices to visit? How do we help upperclassmen complete their degree?

Cindy