Effective Mathematics Placement Testing Strategies: A Study of Mathematics Placement Test Retake Policy at a Two-Year Public Community College in Florida

Sanford Geraci

Advisor: S. Saperstone

Committee Members: Gail Kettlewell, Don Boileau

Enterprise Hall, 418
November 19, 2007, 07:00 PM to 07:00 PM

Abstract:

Placement testing at the college is important. Initial placement recommendations may be followed by further placement recommendations based on retakes of the placement test. This study examines a particular retake policy at a college in Florida. This college allows students to retest on the mathematics placement test every 90 days. As a result, students may be placed into a particular course and then retake the college placement test. It is an increasingly known practice of students that if their retake placement score places them in a higher course than the original course that they placed into, then they may withdraw from their current course and take the higher level course the following semester without finishing the course into which they were originally placed. This study will compare the success rate in the subsequent course of those students who placed lower, retook the college placement test, and then took the subsequent course to those students who had originally placed into that subsequent course. It will also look at the proportion of students that actually benefit as a result of the retake policy and the overall proportion of students that do not benefit as a result of the retake policy. Lastly, it will make recommendations on a retake policy based on the results of the study. Analysis of the data collected reveals that students who retake the placement exam and test into a subsequent developmental course do worse in the subsequent course than those students who initially placed into that particular (subsequent) course. These findings are based on analysis of the sample proportions in the various pairs of groups for each course and inferences for a population proportion based on the sample proportions. We must also consider the proportion of students that are performing better as a result of the retake policy. Although the number of students that retake the placement test is relatively small (as compared to the number of student that take the test), the study shows that most of these students that do retest do not do better as a result of the placement retake and the number that do better is insignificant. Lastly, recommendations are given. Recommendations include changing the colleges retake policies. The most significant recommendation permits retakes only before initial enrollment, suggests placing students on their average placement test score, and defines a more strict time limit on how long placement scores are accepted.