A study in the prediction of students' performance in first-year mathematics courses at Memorial University of Newfoundland

Veitch, Mary Veronica (1979) A study in the prediction of students' performance in first-year mathematics courses at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which Grade XI marks could be used to predict achievement in first year mathematics courses for students at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Data related to high school and university performance were collected for the freshman class of 1976-1977 at Memorial. Correlation coefficients were used to determine the appropriateness of the various potential predictors of achievement. The Grade XI composite mathematics mark, which is the average of the public examination mark and the mark awarded by the school for the year's work, was identified as the best single predictor in most cases. In an attempt to establish suitable cut-off marks for entry into first-year mathematics courses, bivariate and multivariate regression methods were used to generate predictor equations. For students who had completed the Grade XI Honours Mathematics program, a mark of 65 was sufficient to predict a passing grade in either Mathematics 1010 or Mathematics 1011. For students completing the Grade XI Matriculation Mathematics program, a mark of 77 was needed to predict a pass in Mathematics 1010. It was concluded that while the Grade XI Honours course provides adequate preparation for university mathematics courses, the gap between the Grade XI Matriculation course and the introductory course at Memorial was substantial. In all cases, the standard error of estimate revealed in the predictor equations was sufficiently high to suggest a need for flexibility rather than rigidity in the application of cut-off marks. -- The study also examined the university records of Grade XI Honours Mathematics graduates who had been permitted to by-pass the usual first-semester mathematics course and proceed directly to the introductory calculus course. It was concluded that the performance of these students in this course and in subsequent mathematics courses justified the advanced placement they had been given. Furthermore, since these students had acquired in high school an adequate mastery of the material in Mathematics 1010, the data lent support to the plan to award them university credit, subject to conditions laid down by the Mathematics Department at Memorial.

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