Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Diagnostic Effects Of An Early Mastery Activity In College Algebra And Precalculus, Nathan Wakefield, Joe Champion, Jessalyn Bolkema, Douglas Dailey

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate implementation of an early intervention mastery activity during the first two weeks of college algebra and precalculus courses at a large U.S. public university. Statistical modeling of (N = 935) students’ performance in the courses, including a logistic regression model of pass/fail course achievement with students’ high school rank, ACT Mathematics scores, and performance on the intervention as explanatory variables, suggested significant independent differences in course performance across performance levels on the early mastery activity. An evaluation of diagnostic validity for the model yielded a 19% false negative rate (predicted to …