This single case study explored the relationship between non-academic interventions that supported student psychosocial factors and remedial math success. The theoretical framework proposed that remedial math success was linked to psychosocial factors as described by Bandura’s social cognitive theory rather than merely cognitive factors possessed by the student. The literature review revealed that remedial math success in community colleges was chronically problematic, that psychosocial factors were fundamental to human development and learning and well supported by neuroscience, and that above average academic success has long been positively correlated with programs of non-academic interventions. According to the findings of this study, non-academic interventions such as case management, cohorts, accelerated remedial math coursework, childcare, and emergency financial assistance, provided psychosocial support essential to learning and development, which in turn resulted in extraordinary success in remedial math completion. The conclusion drawn from the findings is that effective psychosocial support is essential to achieving exceptional remedial math success rates. / text

The math achievement of students is low in a small rural district in Colorado. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of a summer third through fifth grade math program in improving math scores. Piaget's theory of cognitive development was used as the theoretical foundation for the math instructional resource delivered to the struggling students in the program. A quasi-experimental design was used to address whether the math scores improved for the participating students (n = 145) and whether the participating students experienced a smaller summer loss in academic achievement than the students who did not participate (n = 457). Ex post facto data included pre- and post- math assessments. The math instruction and assessments were administered to third through fifth grade students as part of the school district's academic program during the 2012, 2013, and 2014 summer schools. A dependent samples t test was used to analyze the data to determine if the students' achievement scores improved for those attending summer school. The results did not indicate any significant improvement. An ANOVA was then used to determine if the summer math program decreased summer loss of learning in participating students. Participating students experienced significantly less summer loss than did non-participating students. Therefore, recommendations for the summer math program include more instructional time and moving the program closer to the beginning of the school year to avoid any summer loss. This study will have a positive social impact as it influences decisions made by the school district to improve the summer math program and produce students who are better prepared for postsecondary school options.

This study describes the partnership between an urban community college and seven high schools from its inception. The purpose of the partnership was to increase the number of high school seniors transitioning into college-level math courses through the college math readiness program, an existing community college intermediate algebra course. In addition to archival records and documents, college math faculty, high school math teachers, administrators and staff, and college students were interviewed for this study. Four major challenges were identified in the following areas: student recruitment process, data management, lack of information to students, and collaboration among math faculty and math teachers. Despite all challenges, the partnership and the college math readiness program was perceived by stakeholders to be a successful program for the students and the institutions involved.

North Carolina's community colleges redesigned developmental math programs in 2011. The overall effectiveness of the redesign has not yet been evaluated. A concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted at Mid-Atlantic Community College (MACC) for a formative and summative evaluation of the redesigned program. Mezirow's transformative learning theory, along with an emphasis on designing individualized methods of instruction as outlined by Keller were the theoretical foundations of the evaluation. The extent to which the redesigned math modules affected the effectiveness of the math program at MACC was the guiding research question. Data on student outcomes and participant perceptions were collected for this concurrent mixed methods evaluation. Quantitative data from MACC institutional databases (N = 827) were used to compare the overall GPAs and mean passing grades for students in the old (2012-13) and new (2013-15) programs using an independent samples t test. There were no significant differences in students' mean passing grades or overall GPAs for the redesigned modules, compared to the semester classes. Qualitative data from 9 semi-structured interviews with 3 administrators, 3 instructors, and 3 students were analyzed inductively for thematic patterns. Qualitative results indicated that perceptions of administrators were more favorable regarding the effectiveness of the redesign than the perceptions of instructors and students and that programs implementing individualized modules need to provide professional development training to those individuals affected by the redesign. Results from this study can promote positive social change by providing information for improved teaching and learning practices among developmental math instructors.

Enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the U.S. is increasing, as are the numbers of students entering academically underprepared. Students in remedial mathematics represent the largest percentage of total enrollment in remedial courses, and national statistics indicate that less than half of these students pass all of the remedial math courses in which they enroll. In response to the low pass rates, numerous studies have been conducted into the use of alternative modes of instruction to increase passing rates. Despite myriad studies into course redesign, passing rates have seen no large-scale improvement. Lacking is a thorough investigation into preexisting differences between students who do and do not take remedial math. My study examined the effect of taking remedial math courses in college on degree attainment and college GPA using a subsample of the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. This nonexperimental study examined preexisting differences between students who did and did not take remedial math. The study incorporated propensity score matching, a statistical analysis not commonly used in educational research, to create comparison groups of matched students using multiple covariate measures. Missing value analyses and multiple imputation procedures were also incorporated as methods for identifying and handling missing data. Analyses were conducted on both matched and unmatched groups, as well as on 12 multiply imputed data sets. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that preexisting differences between students on academic, nonacademic, and non-cognitive measures significantly predicted remedial math-taking in college. Binary logistic regression analyses also indicated that students who did not take remedial math courses in college were 1.5 times more likely to earn a degree than students who took remedial math. Linear regression analyses showed that taking remedial math had a significant negative effect on mean college GPA. Students who did not take remedial math had a higher mean GPA than students who did take remedial math. These results were consistent across unmatched groups, matched groups, and all 12 multiply imputed data sets.

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