Assessing College Students' Math Knowledge: Beyond Common Core State Standards

• In Event: 72.049 - Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: 72.049-12 - Undergraduate Learning of Mathematics Content and Pedagogy

Abstract

This study developed an assessment to evaluate the mathematics knowledge and skills that college students have mastered relative to the requisite knowledge suggested by prior studies (e.g., Conley et al., 2011; NCEE, 2013). The assessment items were categorized according to three content strands: variables and patterns, linear equations, and linear functions. Quantitative analyses revealed variable performance within each strand and no strong performance differentiation across strands. Qualitative analyses of performance strongly suggest that particular mathematics knowledge and skills can be articulated that do indeed differentiate between high and low accuracy items. The results are discussed relative to the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and arguments about the mathematics knowledge needed for success in higher education.

Authors

• Marta Krystyna Mielicki, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Mara Martinez, University of Illinois

• Louis V. DiBello, University of Illinois at Chicago

• James W. Pellegrino, University of Illinois at Chicago