Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1998

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Education

Major Professor

Phyllis Huff

Committee Members

H.T. Mathews, Charles Chance, John Ray

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the remedial/developmental math curricula that impact transfer students who enroll in Tennessee Technological University (TTU) prior to completion of their level 1 mathematics course work. This study was conducted with 419 students who first enrolled at TTU and 70 students who transferred to TTU from another Tennessee Board of Regents college or university from Fall 1994 through Spring 1996. Only students who had received a passing grade in a remedial or developmental mathematics course and continued through the level 1 mathematics course were included in the study. The student's grades in mathematics provided the basis of comparison of grade maintenance (defined as success) in these ways: 1) Group One had completed three remedial/developmental courses and level 1 mathematics; 2) Group Two had completed two developmental courses and level 1 mathematics; and 3) Group Three had completed one developmental course and level 1 mathematics. An additional component of the study compared grade maintenance for students who had completed one or more remedial or developmental courses at a TBR school which has implemented algebra reforms with grade maintenance for students who completed their remedial/developmental courses at a TBR school which has a traditional algebra course. The null hypotheses tested were that there were no significant differences among the means of each of the three groups with reference to grade maintenance. Final grades for each course in the remedial and/or developmental and level 1 mathematics were analyzed to determine success. Only the final grade was recorded, regardless of the number of attempts made. The letter grades were translated into the familiar 4.00 scale and used to test the hypotheses. Since the groups were found to be homogeneous, the means were analyzed by a t-test. The results indicated that non-transfer students have a higher grade point average in remedial mathematics and that transfer students have a higher grade point average in developmental mathematics. At level 1 mathematics, the grade point averages differ by only .08. For each comparison no significant differences were found at the .05 level.

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