Evaluation Data/Results of Highline Corequisite Mathematics
Our corequisite grant team engages in quarterly evaluation of corequisite mathematics at Highline. Our evaluation team consists of Babie Hunter, and Drs. Helen Burn and Terry Meerdink. Our evaluation data includes the following:
Course pass rates (aggregate and disaggregated by race/ethnicity)
How corequisite students do in follow-on science courses
End-of-term student surveys, with baseline comparison
Assessment of student learning, with baseline comparison
Aggregate Pass Rates, Corequisite and Traditional Introduction to Statistics
Corequisite Introduction to Statistics with Support (MathP 146) was piloted in Spring of 2019 and has been offered every term since. Below are the pass rates (2.0 or higher) for MathP 146. For comparison, we include the pass rates for the traditional Introduction to Statistics (Math& 146). The results reflect favorably on the corequisite courses, which tend to have higher pass rates of 10 percentage points of more compared to traditional Introduction to Statistics.
TERM COUNTS (pass/enrolled) % pass
MathP 146 Spring 2019 53/65 82%
Math& 146 Spring 2019 133/187 71%
MathP 146 Fall 2019 47/53 89%
Math& 146 Fall 2019 177/231 77%
MathP 146 Wtr/Spr 2020 106/114 93%
Math& 146 Wtr/Spr2020 285/383 74%
MathP 146 Summer 2020 31/36 86%
Math& 146 Summer 2020 106/139 76%
MathP 146 Fall 2020 44/51 86%
Math& 146 Fall 2020 174/235 74%
Disaggregated pass rates by race/ethnicity
Highline College is diverse in terms of race/ethnicity. For example, students of color represent 63% of our degree-seeking students. Likewise, our corequisite statistics course (MathP 146) serves students who are diverse in terms of race/ethnicity. For example, in summer and fall term 2020, the distribution of enrolled MathP 146 students included: 7% Asian, 30% Black/African American, 6% Hispanic/LatinX, 1% Pacific Islander, 15% White, and 25% Other/Multiracial/No race reported.
Below are pass rates disaggregated by race/ethnicity for corequisite MathP 146 and standard Math& 146, respectively. The corequisite pass rates are higher overall across all racial groups.
Student Subgroup Winter/Spr 2020 Summer/Fall 2020
Asian 100%, 81% 100%, 85%
Black/African American 94%, 65% 88%, 71%
Hispanic/LatinX 86%, 55% 60%, 83%
Native American 100%, 40% NA
Pacific Islander 75%, 56% 100%, 50%
White 92%, 85% 77%, 74%
Other/Multiracial/No Answer 91%, 68% 89%, 68%
Analysis of corequisite students in follow-on science courses
One question about corequisite courses is how well they prepare students for introductory science courses. This is an important question given that corequisite courses embed remedial or developmental mathematics. At Highline, many introductory science courses have a prerequisite of prealgebra or intermediate algebra. To explore this question, we analyzed enrollments and pass rates for students enrolled in a single section of corequisite introduction to statistics (MathP 146) in fall term of 2019 (n = 30). The results showed that in the subsequent three terms, students collectively enrolled in 50 courses, the most popular being Introduction to Chemistry (Chem 121), and General Biology with Lab (Bio 160). This makes sense given that we estimate 30% of corequisite stats students are in the health sciences pathway. Pass rates in these two classes were 87% (mean GPA 3.2) and 90% (mean GPA 3.7), respectively.
End-of-Course Student Survey Results
Each term of the Highline Corequisite Mathematics Initiative, we administer surveys to MathP 146 students at the end of the term. Thus far, we have surveys on 162 MathP 146 students. The survey questions were designed around four focal areas: 1) Learning; 2) Support; 3) Contextualization and Relevance; 4) Course Logistics. The final survey questions were rearranged to mix the presentation of focal areas and used a 4-point, forced response Likert scale: 1 – strongly disagree; 2 – disagree somewhat; 3 – agree somewhat; 4 – strongly agreed.
In Fall of 2019, MathP 146 student survey responses were compared with a MATH& 146 baseline comprising three sections (n = 77) taught by two different instructors in Fall 2019. Instructors for the Math& 146 comparison courses were selected because they were known to be enthusiastic about teaching statistics and to incorporate group work and student-led projects. Thus, we felt they would be a good comparison group with the MathP 146 instructors who were committed to building community in their classrooms and contextualizing the course content to build students’ perceptions of relevance. The faculty who participated in the fall surveys included two women, two men, two faculty of color, one part-time faculty, one faculty in the tenure process, and two with tenure.
The overall results reflect positively on the corequisite course in all focal areas, including contextualization/relevance, and course support. We did have a drop-off in response rate under COVID-19, and this is noted in the report.
Below are selected results of the Fall 2019 comparison showing the percentage of corequisite MathP 146 students (baseline Math& 146 students in parenthesis), who agreed strongly or somewhat with the given statement.
I feel I have mastered the basic concepts and skills covered in this class: 95% (92%)
I am glad I chose to take MathP 146/Math& 146: 97% (91%)*
Overall I am satisfied with this course: 97% (91%)
These findings are striking given that the surveys also showed that roughly 50% of corequisite students disagreed they entered the course confident in their ability to succeed compared to 21% of students in Math& 146.
Because we believe that contextualization and relevance are attributing to the high levels of satisfaction, we report below the percentage of corequisite MathP 146 students (baseline Math& 146 students in parenthesis), who agreed strongly or somewhat t to specific survey questions around contextualization and relevance:
What I learned in this class is useful in my daily life: 85% (63%)
In this class, I learned ideas or concepts that connect to my culture or community: 78% (58%)
What I learned in this class is directly relevant to my program of study: 92% (74%)
The material in this course as interesting to me: 92% (88%)
Assessment Project comparing corequisite traditional introduction to statistics
In fall of 2019, we did an assessment project comprising common questions on a final exam. The questions covered three areas: 1) sample versus population; 2) Z scores; and 3) Confidence Intervals.
MathP 146 student survey responses were compared with a MATH& 146 baseline comprising three sections (n = 77) taught by two different instructors in Fall 2019. Instructors for the Math& 146 comparison courses were selected because they were known to be enthusiastic about teaching statistics and to incorporate group work and student-led projects. Thus, we felt they would be a good comparison group with the MathP 146. The faculty who participated in the fall surveys included two women, two men, two faculty of color, one part-time faculty, one faculty in the tenure process, and two with tenure. In all cases, MathP 146 at comparable or higher levels as Math& 146 students.