Math Start

Project Status: Monitor/Assess

The Math Start initiative will strive to address various student success metrics for students who test in developmental math courses. PSU data indicates that full-time first-year students who test at Math 95 or lower persist at a rate 15% lower than their peers. Further, about a third of the students who take Math 95 will not complete the course, and many who do not pass leave PSU without a degree. Additionally, there are equity gaps for Hispanic/Latinx students. The Math Start Initiative aims to determine if there are alternatives to Math 95 at PSU and a viable option for students placed into Math 95 or below to start at college-level math.

Accomplished

Offered STAT 199 coreq course to support students enrolled in STAT 243Z in the Spring term
Sent out Math Start recommendations based on two years of work with the committee. Both CLAS leadership and the Math Department Chair have agreed to work towards the recommendations over the next academic year.
Created a Math Department faculty committee charged with aiding in the transition of the Math Start Initiative recommendations.
Created new slides describing math courses offerings to be presented at New Student Orientation.

In Progress

Offering 3 free sections of UNST 199: Qualities of Math Confidence.
Holding professional development opportunities for Math 111Z and STAT 243Z instructors in the fall term to include topics on
- Teaching for Today’s Learners
- Alternative Grading
- Best Practices in Math Education

Project Team

Sponsor: Matthew Carlson
Project Manager: Pamela Bock
Team: Shoshana Zeisman-Pereyo, Andrea Garrity
Collaborators: Brooke Baich, Matthew Carlson, Erin Shortlidge, Allyson Meyers, Steven Boyce, Jodi Stiegemeyer, Eva Thanheiser, Mathew Uretsky, Brenna Whitton