Assessing the General Education Mathematics

Courses at a Liberal Arts College for Women

Background and Purpose

The overarching goal for the assessment program at Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, WI, is to assess the effectiveness of the four lower-level courses. These courses include a developmental course, a liberal arts mathematics course and introductory and college algebra courses. Originally, we intended to refine the assessment program for the major. However, after examining course enrollment data, it was evident that our assessment focus needed reevaluation. Since a large portion of our college population experience one of the four lower-level courses as a terminal course, and about 2% of students completing algebra continue with upper level courses, the assessment goal shifted to examine the effectiveness of these courses. Initial examination of these courses revealed the following:

· Developmental Mathematics does not adequately prepare students to continue in the algebra sequence. This concern was shared by other departments (that require the algebra courses as prerequisites) and the instructors teaching the Introductory Algebra course. There was a gap between the mathematics in the developmental course and the mathematics expected to be learned in the Introductory Algebra course.

· Introductory and College Algebra uses textbooks reflecting a traditional approach to learning algebra and included a large amount of material. In an effort to cover the material, it is difficult for students to learn this material in a meaningful manner. This observation was reflected in course evaluations and instructors feedback.

· Mathematics for the Liberal Arts lacks clearly stated goals. This course was introduced three years ago as an alternative to Developmental Mathematics and has not been assessed since that time. The course content was established after polling other departments. In an attempt to meet the diverse mathematical needs as perceived by other departments, the course currently is a collection of disparate topics. Since this course is currently recommended for students who only narrowly miss passing a mathematics competency examination, an examination for the course goals in relation to the need for quantitative literacy became evident.

The initial examination of course goals and enrollment data led to the conclusion that in order to develop an effective assessment program, we needed to reexamine the learning goals for each of the four courses, with a possible revision and realignment of the curriculum to ensure proper articulation. Discussions during this phase focused on the following:

· Original course goals in relation to the alignment with overall departmental goals

· The existing curriculum in relation to what it is we want students to learn

· The currently existing competency and placement tests

· An assessment plan for the presently existing courses

This first stage required a great deal of discussion concerning the purpose of each course and how each course fits into a cohesive sequence. Our main concern was the students who placed into either Developmental Mathematics or Mathematics for the Liberal Arts course if they didn’t pass the mathematics competency test. Examination of the enrollment records from the last five years revealed that only about 25% of students enrolled in the two lower-level courses continued onto the algebra sequence, while about 55% of the students enrolled in the introductory algebra course continued with the college algebra course.

A second round of discussions resulted in a decision to choose different textbooks to reflect revised course goals and curriculum. The curriculum choices were based on our student population and learning goals addressed in the initial phase. The Developmental Mathematics curriculum was chosen to provide a better bridge to Introductory Algebra, while the curriculum for the Mathematics for the Liberal Arts was chosen to develop quantitative literacy. The curriculum for the algebra courses reflects an emphasis on topics relative to the real world, with more emphasis on technology and applied mathematics.

These curricular changes will be in place by the spring 2003 semester. However, the assessment phase will begin immediately. A pilot assessment plan will be used during fall 2002, to help inform our decision-making for the future.

The Assessment Goals and Plan

The pilot assessment plan will focus primarily on skills and attitudes. After the first semester, the assessment plan will then be modified to reflect the developing learning goals and curriculum changes. Since all students entering Mount Mary College take a competency test, we will select 8-10 items from the competency test that focus on basic skills and embed these items in the final examination in a free-response format. These items will be used for the Developmental Mathematics course. Similarly, items will be chosen from an algebra placement test for inclusion in the final examination for the two algebra courses. Questions will be chosen to reflect the learning goals of each course. To gage the affective domain, students in all four courses will be given the opportunity to self-assess their anxiety and persistence in relation to mathematics, both at the beginning and the end of the course.

Future assessment plans include the development of a mathematics portfolio for the liberal arts course and the inclusion of more multi-step or open-ended problems. With the introduction of technology to the algebra sequence, the assessment for the algebra courses may include a projects or problems that use technology.