College algebra is a required course for most majors, but is viewed by many as a gatekeeper course for degree completion by students. With almost half a million students taking college algebra each year, faculty are experimenting with new course lengths of time that might result in higher success, completion, and retention rates for college…

A student's mathematical preparation is important in readiness for postsecondary study and ultimately success in a global job market. Nationally, a significant number of students are leaving high school unprepared for college-level course work in mathematics. A 2008 National Center for Educational Statistics report on Community Colleges indicates…

Statistics education researchers are urging teachers of statistics to help students develop a more sophisticated understanding of variation, since variation is the core of statistics. However, little research has been done into the conceptions of variation held by instructors of statistics. This is of particular importance at the community college…

Although online learning is rapidly expanding in the community college setting, there is little evidence regarding its effectiveness among community college students. In the current study, the authors used a statewide administrative data set to estimate the effects of taking one's first college-level math or English course online rather than face…

Just 31 percent of community college students complete remedial, or developmental, math "gateway" courses before they move on to college-level math, according to a recent study. To help combat this cycle, some community colleges are turning to newly developed online programs that emphasize repetition, practice, and mastery of concepts.…

Traditional curricular materials and pedagogical strategies have not been effective in developing conceptual understanding of statistics topics and statistical reasoning abilities of students. Much of the changes proposed by statistics education research and the reform movement over the past decade have supported efforts to transform teaching…

Developmental education has the mission of enabling underprepared students to acquire the capabilities necessary for college success. A growing number of research studies document its failure, however; specifically, approximately two thirds of community college students referred to a remedial mathematics sequence do not complete it. In response to…

The nation is facing a crisis in its community colleges: more and more students are attending community colleges, but most of them are not prepared for college-level work. The problem may be most dire in mathematics. By most accounts, the majority of students entering community colleges are placed (based on placement test performance) into…

This study reports findings regarding the application of a survey of achievement goal orientations to a sample of mathematics 777 students enrolled in remedial and college mathematics courses at a community college. The survey was based on the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales [PALS] and it included questions from the Views About Mathematics…

This mixed-methods study examined the experiences of African American community college mathematics students' in the Nyame Scholars Program at Promise Community College. The purpose of the study was to identify through narrative analysis what aspects of the program impact students' racial, academic, and mathematics identities. A comparison group…

This article comments on an earlier article by professors Yates and Beaudrie (2009) who examined whether online assessment facilitates student cheating and found no evidence of such a greater prevalence of cheating. Professors Yates and Beaudrie are commended for their contribution to this increasingly important area of research. The analysis…

The purpose of this study was to determine if course format significantly impacted student learning and course completion rates in an introductory statistics course taught at Harford Community College. In addition to the traditional lecture format, the College offers an online, and a hybrid (blend of traditional and online) version of this class.…

This Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) 2014 monitoring report presents governing board outcomes and metrics. The following sections are included: (1) 2020 Completion Agenda Goal; (2) Outcome 1: University Transfer Education and General Education; (3) Outcome 2: Workforce and Economic Development; (4) Outcome 3: Developmental…

Predicting student success has long been a question of interest for postsecondary admission counselors throughout the United States. Past research has examined the validity of several methods designed for predicting undergraduate success. High school record, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, and combinations of all three have…

Nearly 60 percent of incoming community college students are unprepared for college-level work and must take at least one pre-college, "developmental" course, usually in math or English, before enrolling in any credit-bearing classes toward a degree. Within developmental education, students are most likely to need help with mathematics,…