THE NEBRASKA MATH READINESS PROJECT
Persistence, Retention, Completion, Success
The purpose of The Nebraska Math Readiness Project is to provide a bridge to success for high school juniors and seniors who need to improve their math skills before entering and completing a college-level math course.
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The goal of The Nebraska Math Readiness Project is to be the statewide, systematic approach that address the low percentage of Nebraska high school students who are college-ready in math upon high school graduation.
INTRODUCTION
Students entering post-secondary education are required to possess a minimum standard of knowledge. College-ready students have a base of knowledge that supports their educational success as they take college level courses in their primary program of study. Unfortunately, many students are entering post-secondary education without being college-ready and are required to take developmental coursework upon entry to a post-secondary institution.
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Less than one-third of Nebraska high school juniors met benchmarks according to the 2016 Nebraska ACT scores.
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Of Nebraska high school graduates entering a community college, 25% required a developmental math course before meeting the requirements to enter a college-level math course for their program of study (NCCA study, Fall 2016).
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Nationally, the number of high school graduates who are failing to meet college-level benchmarks has increased by 8% over the last four years.
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This results in over two-thirds of community college students who are required to take developmental coursework. Only 20% who begin with developmental courses successfully finish a college-level math course (Rutschow, Diamond, & Serna-Wallender, 2017).
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To increase the number of students who are college-ready upon high school graduation, four of Nebraska’s community colleges (Central Community College, Metropolitan Community College, Northeast Community College, and Western Nebraska Community College) are working together to provide a clear path to post-secondary educational attainment. The NMRP establishes a collaboration among the community colleges and fifteen identified high school partners to assist students in achieving their academic goals. The community colleges will work with identified high school partners to communicate expectations of college-readiness, provide a consistent assessment level of what it means to be college-ready, and assist with program implementation.
POPULATION
Through these partnerships, a math readiness course will be offered to high school students who did no show current college-readiness in a variety of ways.
This program is aimed at juniors and seniors who have a declared intent to pursue post-secondary education and meet any of the following qualifiers.
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1. Seniors who scored between 13-18/19 on the math section of the statewide ACT during their junior year (Pre-ACT scores are appropriate for incoming juniors)
2. Scored between 225-239/242 on district MAP math test
3. Accuplacer scores or any college assessment score that would place student into foundations level math courses at the community college
4. Appropriate scores on other district assessments
5. Overall high school GPA of 3.0 or lower
6. Overall high school math GPA between 2.0 and 3.25
7. Teacher Recommendation
5.
This population was chosen as early intervention can greatly impact a student's success. During the first five years, the NMRP has saved students from taking 11,036 credit hours in developmental math and $1,354,005 in community college tuition.
Pearson MyLabMath
The coursework, with the assistance of Pearson MyLabMath software, will provide a customized and adaptive learning experience for students to increase preparation for college-level math coursework prior to entering in post-secondary education. This intervention is driven by technology and allows a student to learn through personalized pretests, homework, quizzes, and tests.
Students can access the Pearson MyLabMath virtual platform two ways:
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1) During the required, in-class course when an instructor is present to assist with in-depth questions and instruction.
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2) Outside the traditional classroom with internet and computer accessibility to continue advance their skills at an individualized pace.
Level I & II Course Descriptions
Level I: This course presents basic
computational skills for either review or initial
mastery by the students. Topics include
fractions, decimals, the solutions of ratio, proportion, and percent problems, operations
with integers, and basic study skills for
mathematics problem-solving and estimation. Topics may also include geometry,
measurement, and basic algebraic concepts.
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Level II: This course is for students who need to learn basic and intermediate algebra skills. Topics include positive and negative real numbers, solving linear equations and inequalities, applications of linear equations, integer exponents, operations with polynomials,
factoring, rational expressions, equations of lines, and graphing of equations and inequalities.
Level III & Tech Math Descriptions
Level III: This course presents advanced algebra topics to further prepare students for College Algebra. Topics include linear equations, functions, absolute value equations, systems of linear equations, factoring, rational expressions and equations, radical expressions and equations, complex numbers, and quadratic functions.
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Tech Math: This course presents a through curriculum of technical skills needed for the machine trades and construction trades. Topics include operations with real numbers, ratios, proportions, percents, measurement, unit conversions, algebraic expressions and equations, practical plane geometry, solid figures, and trigonometry.
Course Objectives
Level I:
1. Perform all operations of mathematics using fractions and decimals.
2. Solve problems that involve ratio and proportion.
3. Understand percent notation and its relationship to decimals and fractions, and solve percent equations and their common applications.
4. Perform operations with integers.
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Level II:
1. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide positive and negative real numbers.
2. Solve linear equations and linear inequalities.
3. Solve application problems requiring linear equations with one variable.
4. Perform operations using integer exponents.
5. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide polynomials.
6. Factor polynomials and solve quadratic equations by factoring.
7. Reduce, multiply, and divide rational expressions.
8. Graph linear equations and write equations of lines.
Course Objectives
Level III:
1. Graph equations and functions in two variables.
2. Solve systems of equations and inequalities in two and three variables.
3. Factor polynomials and solve quadratic equations by factoring.
4. Study rational expressions and solve rational equations.
5. Study radical expressions and solve radical problems, including complex numbers.
6. Solve quadratic equations using the quadratic formula.
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Level Tech Math:
1. Perform operations with fractions and decimals.
2. Solve problems that involve ratio, proportion, and percent.
3. Solve problems involving measurement, unit conversion, and scientific notation.
4. Simplify algebraic expressions and solve equations.
5. Study practical plane geometry involving angle measurement, perimeter, area, and polygons.
6. Study conic sections and trigonometry.
7. Solve application problems involving construction and machine trade techniques.
Upon successful completion of the course,
students will not need to take foundations-level math classes in college. Instead they
will be able to directly enter college-credit math classes upon acceptance into a
partnering community college. This allows
students to pay less tuition, immediately
start taking classes that count towards their degree, be eligible for financial aid, and have the ability to finish their degree on time.
CONTACT THE NEBRASKA MATH READINESS PROJECT
NMRP Statewide Director
Corey Hatt
308-398-7934