It Works - The De Anza Success Story
Developmental Math is the single greatest barrier to college success. Each year, more than two million entering college students fail the entrance exam and must take one or more courses with typical failure rates of 50% in each course.
De Anza College, in Cupertino, California, has been employing the EnableMath College Developmental Math Program with its developmental math students since 2005 and has achieved consistently extraordinary results, in terms of improved pass rates, retention of students participating in the program and in attitudinal surveys.
Fall 2008 Results:
The most recent data from the fall of 2008 indicates a continuation of these extraordinary results. With almost 500 students participating in EnableMath sections of the three developmental math courses, the differences in pass rates and retention are significant.
The pass rates for EnableMath students are 17% percentage points higher than for the Non-EnableMath students and actually approaching those of typical college courses. Our goal is to match those rates. The typical attrition rate for developmental math courses is 25%. As you can see from the figures, a 10% attrition rate is significantly better than for De Anza Non-EnableMath students and 15 percentage points better than typical developmental math courses.
Attitudinal Survey
The attitudinal surveys were conducted at the end of the semester to gage the opinions of those students who participated in the EnableMath Program. The results are extremely encouraging and indicate the percentage of responding students who either agreed or strongly agreed with the statements below :
- I felt more engaged using the EnableMath software: 78%
- EnableMath helped me learn more math than I would have without the software: 72%
- EnableMath helped me improve my grade: 76%
- I learned some facts from EnableMath that were not presented in the lecture: 62%
- I would take another math class with EnableMath: 72%
- I would recommend the EnableMath program to other students: 70%
The Fall 2006 Study.
In the fall of 2006 a comprehensive study was undertaken. Approximately 500 students were enrolled in EnableMath sections of one of the three developmental math courses. The results showed in extraordinary improvement in outcomes for participating students:
13-16 percentage point jump in student retention in the class!
14-25 percentage point jump in course pass rates!
21-27 percentage point jump in course pass rates among African-American, Latino and Filipino students!
Popular with Students - For Good Reason
The table above shows a difference in grade point average of more than a half point in every course. It is not surprising that the program is popular with students. Surveys of students in the EnableMath program indicated a very strong preference for this approach. A significant majority agreed or strongly agreed in a post course survey that they learned more math in the EnableMath courses.
Anne Leskinen, the Dean of the Division credits the popularity of EnableMath classes to the team approach and the hands-on, visual learning style. "They find it more interesting," she says. "The whole experience is more effective because you don't just listen for a week and take a quiz-which may be too late. Students are more in the present with the class, and they feel like they have a cadre of individuals trying to help them."
Susan Dean, a long time member of the math faculty and the first to use the EnableMath program at De Anza agrees, "Students clamor to get into the EnableMath sections, because of the success of other students and because it really organizes things for them and they develop better habits and better problem-solving."
EnableMath has also become popular with instructors. "Looking at teaching math traditionally and teaching it this way, I just think this is better for these students," agrees Dean. "They do homework until they understand it. I would never go back to a traditional classroom and teaching just out of a book for this type of student."