The Effectiveness of the North Carolina Early Mathematics Placement Test in Preparing High School Students for College Level Introductory Mathematics Courses.
Since its establishment in 1996, the North Carolina Early Mathematics Placement Testing (NC EMPT) Program has provided a low stakes reality check of readiness for college level mathematics to more than 600,000 high school students statewide. The program strives to help reduce the percentage of incoming college freshmen requiring mathematics remediation. The current study involved matched high school and college level data on n=3564 students who attended high school in NC, completed the NC EMPT between 2001 2004, and subsequently enrolled at East Carolina University. Student performance on NC EMPT is matched with later college level mathematics course information and six year graduation rates. Students who failed the NC EMPT enrolled in remedial courses at significantly higher rates (42% versus 11% among those that pass the NC EMPT) and were significantly more likely to fail both remedial algebra and college algebra. While there are no significant differences in the six year graduation rates between those who do and do not pass the NC EMPT, those that passed did finish with significantly higher mean GPAs (3.06 versus 2.91, p Introduction The correct mathematics placement of incoming undergraduate freshmen is an essential need acknowledged by many. College and university departments will agree this appropriate placement is important for many reasons: Success breeds success. Students who are successful in their first college level mathematics course are more likely to stay in college. Freshmen retention is a huge concern across campuses. A high level of retention is not only academically and socially desirable at a school, but it makes sense economically (Rueda, Sokolowski, 2007) Developmental mathematics courses are costly in several ways. For those deemed "not ready," the additional required developmental math course is costly in tuition and fees, and often does not carry credit towards a college major. Just as important is the idea that entering college with insufficient mathematics skills can mean that a student is unable to enroll in the prerequisite or first required mathematics course for many majors. For example, majors in chemistry and business often require completion of a gateway college algebra course before entrance is granted into the major. Delays caused by extra preliminary coursework before taking college algebra can force additional semester(s) of enrollment. The four year plan suddenly becomes the five or six year plan. In addition, the cost to campuses to provide instructional spaces and instructors for developmental coursework in a variety of curriculums is staggering. It is estimated that states and students spent more than $3 billion on remedial courses during 2012 (Complete College America, 2012) Foresight is far better than expensive hindsight. An early warning can help combat what sometimes is a lack of clear information on students' progress toward college and career readiness during the high school years (Barnett, Fay, Bork, Weiss, Community College Research Center, 2013) Allowing students to identify and tackle mathematical weaknesses while in high school, often increases chances of mathematical readiness when entering the first semester of college. Early Mathematics Placement Testing concisely describes a valuable intervention service provided to high school students in programs across the nation. The test allows students to experience a facsimile of an actual mathematics placement exam well before the first semester in college. Thus students, teachers, and parents become more aware of expectations, and therefore more able to react positively in a timely fashion. Students' results letters are individualized, offer a wealth of information about mathematical readiness, and provide a "reality check" of a student's current mastery of mathematics skills.