Program seeks to reverse math lag

By Patricia Oropeza, On-line Forty-Niner

May 12,1998

Higher education institutions are beginning to see that many students are not as well-prepared for university courses as they should be.

 

Cal State Long Beach President Robert Maxson said that 59 percent of incoming CSULB freshmen in 1997 were required to enroll in remedial math courses, while 51 percent required aid in English.

 

As chair of the CSU Presidents Commission on Teacher Education, which aims to revamp the quality and quantity of teacher education, Maxson has made a point of supporting CSULB programs that target K-12 education - which may eliminate the large number of remedial students enrolling at CSULB.

 

According to the commision's mission statement, a strong K-12 public school system ensures that the CSU can focus on the appropriate college-level instruction, and not on remedial education courses.

 

"We're doing several things to help eliminate the need for remedial education," Maxson said. "Some of them won't show up for several years, but some will show up quickly."

 

The Four-Year Math Tutorial Program, which began at Millikan High School five years ago under the title of Key Interactive University Preparatory Program, focuses on preparing underrepresented minorities for college by providing an enriched mathematics base.

 

"We wanted to see how we could impact the performance of educationally at-risk students," said Henry Fung, associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. "Many of these students don't know what a university or college is all about."

 

CSULB students majoring in math or science tutor students from the time they are freshmen until their senior year in high school.

 

Currently, there are 10 CSULB students involved in the program, which is also active in Wilson and Lakewood high schools.

 

"Tutors are great because they're closer in age [to a student] and they could see that if they're successful, they too can be successful," Fung said.

 

Fung said the program is an excellent way to help students improve their skills so they will not be forced to take remedial math courses once they reach the university.

 

"We need to initiate the process whereby we can meet the needs of our society," Fung said. "If math is a critical block, then we'd better address the question so that we don't create a bottleneck for ourselves as a society."

 

Results of Millikan's KIUP Program, which in 1997 became the first program to have a graduating class, have so far proved impressive.

 

Twenty percent of the 55 students in KIUP had grade point averages ranging from 3.5 to 3.9 compared with 12 percent of the graduating senior class, Fung said.

 

In addition, 64 percent of KIUP students met CSU and UC entrance requirements versus 40 percent of the remaining graduating senior class, he said.

 

Fung said that though 14 of the 55 students involved in the program are currently attending CSULB, they have not been tracked.

 

Expanding the program to other areas besides Long Beach would be nice, Fung said, but is virtually impossible due to a lack of funding.

 

"These three schools are closer to us, and it makes it easier for students to tutor without having to travel long distances," he said. Fung said the program is a win-win situation for everyone.

 

Besides the tutoring program, CSULB also offers high school students the opportunity to participate in intensive six-week math workshops prior to taking the Entry Level Mathematics exam, a requirement for all incoming freshmen.

 

"We want to see whether we can shine students up enough in order to take away their [math] rustiness and improve their ELM scores," Fung said.

 

The CSULB-student run workshops began last spring, but since few attended, the workshops were rescheduled to the end of July, which is nearer the time freshmen begin attending campus orientations.

 

CSULB also makes an effort to assist students who need help with reading and writing.

 

Since the fall of 1996, students in the liberal studies program have been tutoring local K-6 students in reading, said Kristi Jones, director of the liberal studies program. The students must complete 150 hours of tutoring prior to graduation.

 

"We want to prepare our teachers to teach the children they will encounter so that as they come up through the educational system, they will be academically prepared," she said.

 

Not only do liberal studies students attain necessary hands-on training, they also help a child improve his or her reading skills.

 

"If a child is reading at grade level by the third grade, the potential for academic success beyond the third grade is substantially increased," Jones said.

 

Prior to being placed in a classroom, students must go through a six-hour management training session that teaches them how to deal with any behavioral problems they may encounter on the job.

 

Jones attributes the success of the program, in which 250 liberal studies students are active, to the fact that there has been a collaborative effort between public schools and universities over the last few years.

 

The fact that Maxson has provided plenty of moral support has been an added benefit, Jones said.

 

"We have a sense of somebody out there who isn't going to be an obstacle and will, in fact, encourage and help us seek ot whatever support we need," she said.

 

The Eleventh Grade Writing Project was created in order to meet the need for better writers among CSULB freshmen.

 

In order for a student to graduate from high school, he or she must first pass a writing exam. Some K-12 teachers are trained in methods to accelerate students to the required writing level, and are given classroom assistance from students in the CSULB English credential program.

According to CSULB administrators, the university provides Long Beach area high schools with more than 1,000 hours of tutoring in writing each month.

 

Currently, CSULB is co-designing remediation for 12th grade students who have not passed the writing assessment in the 11th grade.

 

Maxson said he plans to keep track of all the students who decide to attend CSULB, and have received some form of tutoring from the university.

 

"We're going to see if they are doing better than students who weren't worked with," Maxson said. "In other words, is it making any difference?"