Removing Remediation Requirements: Effectiveness of Intervention Programs

Abstract

Remediation of incoming college freshman students is a national concern because remediated students are at higher risk of failing to complete their degrees. Some Oklahoma higher education institutions are working to assist K–12 systems in finding ways to reduce the number of incoming college freshman students requiring remediation. This study investigated one such undertaking in which 12th-grade students took mathematics courses modeled after the East Central University ATLAS developmental mathematics program in an effort to enhance their performance on college admissions and placement assessments. A key feature of ATLAS is its use of an artificial intelligence–based learning system called ALEKS to hone mathematical skills. This study compared the efficacy of ATLAS-patterned high school mathematics courses with non-ALEKS-based mathematics courses or no mathematics course in removing remediation requirements for college-bound high school seniors. Results support the effectiveness of taking a senior-year high school mathematics course in reducing the number of college-bound high school seniors requiring mathematics remediation and also suggest that the ATLAS program may provide an alternative for some students to remove their college mathematics remediation requirements while still in high school.