This study chronicles the implementation of a scaffolded corequisite College Algebra curriculum at a Southeast community college and the corresponding effects on student motivation and achievement. The scaffolded curriculum incorporates academic-related skills, academic support, and student motivation to promote success in the gateway college math course. The corequisite model allows students to bypass a prerequisite course and enroll directly in the college-level coursework, with remedial content from the prerequisite course delivered concurrently through supplemental learning sessions or labs. In fall 2023, data were collected from five College Algebra courses, including student demographic data, from two evaluative instruments administered at the beginning and end of the semester. The results showed that traditional and corequisite students demonstrated statistically significant increases in their basic algebra skills and motivation metrics, with no significant differences between the two groups. Results from the corequisite treatment group identified motivational sub-factors of persistence and anxiety as statistically significant predictors of improved mathematics motivation, suggesting that students gain motivation by reducing anxiety and are more willing to persist in mathematics within the corequisite cohort. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to identify significant predictors of pre- and post-assessment scores, with Senate Bill 1720 exemption status, course type, and final course letter grade emerging as important predictors.

The United States has the highest college attrition rate among industrialized nations. Community college students face a much higher risk, particularly those who lack requisite reading/writing skills. Using the theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory, this study explored the relationship between persistence in college for students in traditional or corequisite remediation. Person factors under study were frustration discomfort, academic motivation, and self-reported symptoms of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). After 7 semesters, 72 adult student volunteers from the 2 remediation programs were recruited from 2 community colleges. They completed an online survey, which included a demographics questionnaire, the Frustration Discomfort Scale, the Academic Motivation Scale, and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale Symptom Checklist (ASRS-V1.1). Based on the results of Chi square, t-test, and MANOVA analyses (as appropriate per research question), type of remediation indicated a slight, albeit statistically nonsignificant effect on persistence. Persisters and nonpersisters did not differ on frustration discomfort nor academic motivation. However, persisters demonstrated significantly lower levels of adult self-reported ADHD symptoms than those who did not persist. The positive social change implications of this study include using the findings to promote early testing and diagnosis of ADHD, active monitoring of students in remediation, and proactive (i.e., intrusive) advising for students with this disability, in order to facilitate the best outcomes for their academic pursuits.

This thesis looks at the corequisite developmental math program at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and compares the effectiveness to the previous developmental math program by comparing the student outcomes in MATH 1530. MATH 1530 is a non-calculus based statistic and probability course that satisfies most majors’ general education math requirements. ETSU sees approximately 1,000 students a year pass through MATH 1530 which is around 6.7% of the total enrollment at ETSU[9]. We are interested in the last five years of the developmental math program before it was changed to corequisite developmental math and the first five years of corequisite developmental math program. Our research compares the grades of the students in these courses to evaluate if one program is more successful in students’ grade outcomes. Our findings show no change in class medians but a change in the class means in favor of the corequisite developmental math program.