TrendsinBasicMathema0calCompetenciesofBeginningUndergraduatesinIreland,

2003-2014

Presentedby:DrPáraicTreacyLoca4on:UniversityofGreenwichDate:8/9/15

The‘MathsProblem’

•  Deficienciesinbeginningundergraduatestudents’basicmathema4calskillshasbeenanissueofconcerninhighereduca4on,par4cularlyinthepast15years1-4.

•  The‘MathsProblem’reportedinUK,Ireland,AustraliaandtheU.S1-3.

1Lawson(2003);2O’Donoghue(2004);3Gilletal.(2010);4Faulkner(2012)

StudentBackground

•  Vastmajority(>99%)ofsecondarylevelstudentsinIrelandstudymathema4csathigher,ordinary,orfounda4onlevelfortheLeavingCer4ficate.

•  Studentsneedtopassmathema4csathigherorordinaryleveltogainplaceonTechnologybasedorSciencebasedundergraduatecoursesattheUniversityofLimerick(UL).

ProjectMathsProjectMaths,graduallyintroducedbetween2010and2012,aimsto:

•  encourageagreaterfocusonproblem-solvingskillswhilealigningassessmentwiththeserevisedclassroomprac4ces5,6;

•  placegreateremphasisonstudentunderstandingofmathema4calconceptswithincreaseduseofcontextsandapplica4onsofmathema4csinrealworldscenarios5,6.

5Na4onalCouncilforCurriculumandAssessment(2008);6DepartmentofEduca4onandSkills(2010).

BonusPoints

•  BonuspointsintroducedforLeavingCer4ficateMathema4csExamina4onsin2012.

•  Studentsareawarded25bonuspointsiftheyachieveagradeD3orbederintheirLeavingCer4ficateHigherLevelMathema4csexamina4on.

Grade Points Grade Points

HA1 100 OA1 60

HA2 90 OA2 50

HB1 85 OB1 45

HB2 80 OB2 40

HB3 75 OB3 35

HC1 70 OC1 30

HC2 65 OC2 25

HC3 60 OC3 20

HD1 55 OD1 15

HD2 50 OD2 10

HD3 45 OD3 5

StudentBackground

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Percen

tageofthe

coh

ort

Year

HigherLevel

OrdinaryLevel

OtherorMissing

Figure: Proportion of students entering UL service mathematics modules from Leaving Certificate

Higher Level, Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level or other (2008-2014).

Diagnos4cTest

•  StudentsbeginningtheirSciencebasedandTechnologybasedundergraduatecoursesattheUniversityofLimerick(UL)havehadtheirbasicmathema4csskillstestedthrougha40ques4ondiagnos4ctestduringtheirini4alservicemathema4cslecturesince1998.

•  Studentswhoscore18/40orlessareconsidered‘atrisk’offailingtheirservicemathema4csmodule.

Diagnos4cTestQues4ons

Diagnos4cTestQues4ons

%of‘AtRisk’Students

Figure:Percentageofyearlycohortthatscored18/40orlessintheULdiagnos4ctest

30.6

25.6

33.6

40.4

35.3

40.6 42.246.1 44.8

53.7

48.7 48.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Percen

tageofthe

coh

ort

Year

2003v2014:PerformanceinDiagnos4cTest

Year Mean N Std. Dev. 2003 22.03 337 6.573 2004 22.67 406 6.574 2005 21.25 497 6.739 2006 20.13 626 7.091 2007 21.15 580 6.982 2008 20.27 544 7.053 2009 20.15 682 7.443 2010 19.44 644 7.008 2011 19.84 686 6.963 2012 18.32 739 6.451 2013 19.05 645 6.376 2014 18.91 633 6.379

2003v2014:PerformanceinLC

Figure:Propor4onofLeavingCer4ficategradesachievedbystudentsenteringULservicemathema4csmodulesin2003and2014.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

HA HB HC HD OA OB OC OD NS

Percen

tageofthe

Coh

ort

LeavingCer0ficateMathema0csGradeAchieved

2003

2014

2003v2014:‘AtRisk’

0 0 1.612.5

25.4

57.1

100

0 514.8

49.1 45.7

87.493.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

HA HB HC HD OA OB OC

Percen

tage

2003

2014

PercentageofstudentsthatachievedagivenLeavingCer4ficatemathema4csgradewhoweredeemedtobe‘atrisk’in2003and2014.

Consistency

•  Faulkneretal.(2010)foundthatstudentsenteringULwithpar4cularleavingcer4ficatemathema4csgradesperformedtoasimilarlevelinthediagnos4ctestbetween1998and2008.

•  Thesameconsistencywasnotpresentwhencomparingyearsinwhichbonuspoints/ProjectMathswereintroducedintotheLeavingCer4ficateexamina4ons.

MeanScorebyLCGrade

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

MeanScore(outof4

0)

HB

HC

HD

OA

OB

Figure:Meanscoreinthediagnos4ctestofstudentsthatachievedagivenLeavingCer4ficatemathema4csgradebetween2003and2014.

Conclusions

•  Thepropor4onofstudentspredictedtobeatriskoffailingtheirservicemathema4csend-of-semesterexamina4onshasincreasedsignificantlybetween2003and2014.

•  Sincetheintroduc4onoftheProjectMathsCurriculumandbonuspoints,significantdeclinesinbeginningundergraduates’performanceofbasicmathema4calskillsareevident,par4cularlyamongstudentswhohaveachievedHigherLevelCgradesandHigherLevelDgrades.

•  Isgradedilu4onanemergingissue?

ReferencesDepartment of Education and Skills (DES) (2010). Report of the Project Maths Implementation Support Group, Dublin: Department of Education and Skills. Faulkner, F. (2012). An analysis of performance in mathematics for technology undergraduates and an investigation of teaching interventions for these students. Faulkner, F., Hannigan, A., & Gill, O. (2010). Trends in the mathematical competency of university entrants in Ireland by leaving certificate mathematics grade. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications, 29(2), 76-93. Gill, O., O’Donoghue, J., Faulkner, F., & Hannigan, A. (2010). Trends in performance of science and technology students (1997–2008) in Ireland. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 41(3), 323-339. Lawson, D. (2003). Changes in student entry competencies 1991–2001. Teaching mathematics and its applications, 22(4), 171-175. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (2008) Project Maths – Information for Schools. Available: http://www.ncca.ie/uploadedfiles/mathsreview/pmaths_en.pdf [accessed 7th July 2015] O’Donoghue, J. (2004). An Irish perspective on the “Mathematics Problem”. In Plenary lecture at Irish Symposium for Undergraduate Mathematics Education (Vol. 2).