Online Senior Assessment 2013: Mathematics mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables and schematics, and draw inference from them. The Mathematics section of the OSA contains

Online Senior Assessment 2013: Mathematics

Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013 Page 1 of 1

INTRODUCTION The third component of the OSA contains questions for the Mathematics core. The first questions ask the participants about how they fulfilled their Mathematics core requirement.



The following table shows the number and percentage of participants who selected each response to the first question regarding where students took their core curriculum course. The number of participants selecting each response adds up to more than the 1,578 total participants because participants were instructed to select all that apply.

How did you complete your core curriculum requirement in Mathematics?

Response n % of Sample

I took at least one mathematics or logic core curriculum class through dual credit in high school.

242 15.3%

I took at least one advanced placement mathematics core curriculum class in high school.

219 13.9%

I took at least one CLEP exam for mathematics core curriculum credit.

44 2.8%

I received transfer core curriculum mathematics credit for at least one class that I took at another institution.

720 45.6%

I took all my core curriculum classes in mathematics or logic at Tech.

838 53.1%

For the analysis in this report the 1,578 participants will be divided into the “TTU” group and the “ELSE” group. The TTU group represents the 838 participants (53.1% of the sample) who selected “I took all my core curriculum classes in mathematics or logic at Tech.” The participants who selected one or more of the other responses were asked if the class they took outside of Tech counted for their core curriculum credit. The ELSE group will represent the 684 participants (43.3% of the sample) who reported that a class taken outside of Tech did count for their Mathematics core curriculum credit. These 684 participants were asked which course counted. The following table shows the number and percentage of the sample who selected each response.

Which one?

Response n % of Sample

A dual credit class. 118 7.5% An advanced placement class. 76 4.8% A CLEP exam. 12 0.8% A class I took at another institution. 463 29.3% I don't know. 15 1.0%

Total 684 43.3% 56 participants (3.5% of the sample) reported that they did not know if a course taken outside of Tech counted for their Mathematics core curriculum credit. These 56 participants will be excluded from any TTU vs. ELSE group analyses.



The system stores data for the participants which makes it possible to identify the respondents who major in programs related to the Mathematics core. The following majors were identified and classified as Mathematics majors: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Construction Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Engineering Technology, Environmental Engineering, Foundational Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Physics, and Pre-Engineering. The following table shows that there were a total of 264 Mathematics majors in the OSA sample. It also displays how many participants were in each of the Mathematics majors.

Mathematics Majors

Major n % of sample

Chemical Engineering 21 1.3% Civil Engineering 23 1.5%

Computer Engineering 5 0.3% Computer Science 12 0.8% Construction Engineering 8 0.5% Electrical Engineering 23 1.5% Electrical Engr. Computer Science 77 4.9% Engineering Technology 1 0.1% Environmental Engineering 6 0.4% Foundational Engineering 41 2.6% Industrial Engineering 4 0.3% Mathematics 5 0.3%

Mechanical Engineering 15 1.0% Petroleum Engineering 6 0.4% Physics 16 1.0% Pre-Engineering 1 0.1%

Total 264 16.7%



RESULTS The student learning outcomes for Mathematics are:

Apply arithmetic, algebra, geometry and statistics to solve problems.

Represent and evaluate basic mathematical information numerically, graphically, and symbolically.

Use mathematical and logical reasoning to evaluate the validity of an argument.

Interpret mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables and schematics, and draw inference from them.

The Mathematics section of the OSA contains five knowledge questions. The first learning outcome aligns with the third and fourth questions. The second learning outcome aligns with the first and second question. The third and fourth learning outcomes align with the fifth question. A screenshot and summary of responses for each question is shown on the following pages.



Mathematics Question 1:

The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the first question for participants who took their Mathematics course at TTU (red) and participants who took their Mathematics course elsewhere (blue). Answer 3 is the correct choice. It can be seen that approximately half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more people in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (50.4% vs. 47.0%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students who took their Mathematics course elsewhere do not do better with this question than students who took their Mathematics course at TTU. Since the first question aligns with the second learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who took their Mathematics course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to students who took their course elsewhere.

32.3%

50.4%

13.2%

4.1%

34.0%

47.0%

14.4%

4.5%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%

almost tripled.

almost doubled.

increased by about 16%.

decreased by about 16%.

Percent of Sample

TTU

ELSE




The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the second question for participants who took their Mathematics course at TTU (red) and participants who took their Mathematics course elsewhere (blue). Answer 1 is the correct choice. It can be seen that a majority of participants in both groups chose the correct answer, with a few in each group that chose other answers. Overall, a few more people in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (71.5% vs. 66.5%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students who took their Mathematics course elsewhere do not do better with this question than students who took their Mathematics course at TTU. Since the second question aligns with the second learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who took their Mathematics course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to students who took their course elsewhere.

10.7%

15.5%

2.3%

71.5%

13.8%

16.6%

3.1%

66.5%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%

29/50

0.583

0.581

7/12

Percent of Sample

TTU

ELSE




The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the third question for participants who took their Mathematics course at TTU (red) and participants who took their Mathematics course elsewhere (blue). Answer 1 is the correct choice. It can be seen that approximately half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more people in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (48.7% vs. 44.4%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students who took their Mathematics course elsewhere do not do better with this question than students who took their Mathematics course at TTU. Since the third question aligns with the first learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who took their Mathematics course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to students who took their course elsewhere.

3.7%

8.6%

39.0%

48.7%

3.3%

12.6%

39.6%

44.4%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%

There is not enough information provided toanswer the question.

Both methods predict the same finalpopulation at the end of the 10-year cycle.

The county electoral board's method.

The local development planners' method.

Percent of Sample

TTU

ELSE




The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the fourth question for participants who took their Mathematics course at TTU (red) and participants who took their Mathematics course elsewhere (blue). Answer 1 is the correct choice. It can be seen that a large majority of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, more in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (82.3% vs. 77.0%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students who took their Mathematics course elsewhere do not do better with this question than students who took their Mathematics course at TTU. Since the fourth question aligns with the first learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who took their Mathematics course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to students who took their course elsewhere.

2.2%

3.5%

12.0%

82.3%

1.8%

5.3%

16.0%

77.0%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%

There is not enough information provided toanswer the question.

Either contract, since the total contract is thesame for either studio.

The contract from studio B, because the totalcontract is less expensive.

The contract from studio A, because the totalcontract is less expensive.

Percent of Sample

TTU

ELSE




The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the fifth question for participants who took their Mathematics course at TTU (red) and participants who took their Mathematics course elsewhere (blue). Answer 4 is the correct choice. It can be seen that less than half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, more people in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (43.9% vs. 42.7%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students who took their Mathematics course elsewhere do not do better with this question than the students who took their Mathematics course at TTU. Since the fifth question aligns with the third and fourth learning outcomes, this suggests that on average students who took their Mathematics course at TTU meet these learning outcomes similar to students who took their course elsewhere.

43.9%

5.4%

33.6%

17.1%

42.7%

6.1%

32.8%

18.4%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%

Females and males are equally likely to buythe magazine.

Males are more likely to buy the magazine.

Males are less likely than female to buy themagazine.

Females are less likely than males to buy themagazine.

Percent of Sample

TTU

ELSE



Mathematics Average: The table below compares the differences between TTU and ELSE when the results are averaged (e.g., if a student got 4 out of the 5 questions correct, his score will be 4/5 = .80). The mean is higher for students who took their core requirement for Mathematics elsewhere. This difference is statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students who took their Mathematics course elsewhere do better with the Mathematics section of the OSA than students who took their Mathematics course at TTU.

Core at TTU Core Elsewhere

n Mean SD n Mean SD t-stat p-value

Mathematics Overall

838 55.5% 29.1% 684 59.4% 28.6% -2.58 0.0050

The chart below shows the distributions of scores for participants who took their class for the Mathematics core requirement at TTU (red) and participants who took their class for the Mathematics core requirement elsewhere (blue). The distributions are similar, but it looks like a few more participants in the ELSE group answered 4 or 5 out of 5 correct and that a few more in the TTU group answered 1 or 2 out of 5 correct.

6.0%

15.9%

21.8% 21.7% 20.2%

14.4%

4.2%

13.5%

21.5% 19.4%

24.9%

16.5%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Pe

rce

nt

of

Sam

ple

Percent Correct

Mathematics Questions: TTU vs. ELSE

TTU

ELSE



The table below shows a comparison of the average scores for the participants selecting each course option within the ELSE group.

n Mean SD

A dual credit class. 118 60.3% 27.9%

An advancement placement class. 76 78.7% 22.5%

A CLEP exam. 12 61.7% 24.8%

A class I took at another institution. 463 55.9% 28.6%

I don't know. 15 62.7% 32.0%

Total 684 59.4% 28.6% Based on the mean, students who took their Mathematics course through advanced placement are the highest scoring group and students who took their course at another institution are the lowest scoring group. The following table shows a summary of the correlations between the percentage of Mathematics questions answered correctly and the following variables of interest: gender, age, SAT score, ACT score, transfer credit hours, total credit hours, cumulative GPA, Humanities major, Mathematics major, Natural Sciences major, and Social and Behavioral Sciences major.

Correlation p-value n

Gender -0.28 <.0001 1,575 Age -0.05 0.0674 1,578 SAT score 0.47 <.0001 897

ACT score 0.46 <.0001 743 Transfer hours -0.04 0.1100 1,578 Total credit hours 0.08 0.0011 1,578

Cumulative GPA 0.14 <.0001 1,576 Humanities major 0.04 0.1497 1,578 Mathematics major 0.27 <.0001 1,578 Natural Sciences major 0.10 <.0001 1,578 Social/Behavioral major -0.17 <.0001 1,578



The following tables summarize the regression model using these same variables of interest with Mathematics scores on the OSA as the outcome variable. Note that the variables SAT score and ACT score were combined into one variable, SAT/ACT score, to include more students in the one model. This variable was created by using a conversion table from the ACT website to convert ACT scores to the SAT score range (see http://www.act.org/solutions/college-career-readiness/compare-act-sat/).

Regression model predicting Mathematics score

n F-value p-value R2

1,183 52.30 < .0001 0.3085

Variable B SE β

Intercept -0.4706 0.0963 - Gender -0.1166 0.0154 -0.20*** Age 0.0038 0.0028 0.04 SAT/ACT score 0.0007 0.0001 0.40*** Transfer credit hours 0.0003 0.0003 0.03 Total credit hours 0.0003 0.0004 0.02 Cumulative GPA 0.0454 0.0132 0.09*** Humanities major 0.0320 0.0345 0.02 Mathematics major 0.1021 0.0225 0.13*** Natural Sciences major 0.0585 0.0243 0.06*

Social and Behavioral Sciences major -0.0163 0.0179 -0.02

Note: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; gender: 0 = male, 1 = female The model overall is significant at the 0.05 level (R2 = 0.3085). For this model gender, SAT/ACT score, cumulative GPA, Mathematics major, and Natural Sciences major were significant predictors at the 0.05 level for Mathematics scores on the OSA. The model suggests that when controlling for the other variables in the model male students, students with higher SAT/ACT scores, students with higher GPA’s, students with a Mathematics related major, and students with a Natural Sciences related major, on average, score higher on the Mathematics section of the OSA.

http://www.act.org/solutions/college-career-readiness/compare-act-sat/

http://www.act.org/solutions/college-career-readiness/compare-act-sat/

Documents

Online Senior Assessment 2013: Mathematics mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables and schematics, and draw inference from them. The Mathematics section of the OSA contains