The Impact of Mathematically Enhanced Curriculum on Career and Technical Education Student Math Scores

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that students who participated in mathematically-enhanced, high school career and technical education (CTE) curriculum would reflect a better understanding of basic math concepts. This hypothesis was based on the posit that learning may be more difficult to achieve outside of a contextual setting (Piaget, 1970) and that teachers may, at times, struggle to convey abstract concepts to their students (Dewey, 1943). This study included teachers and students enrolled in at least one CTE course in the fall of 2017. Students continued their studies through the spring of 2018. The Kentucky Online Testing (KYOTE) mathematical placement exam was used to determine students' levels of mathematical comprehension. Students were tested before implementation of the mathematically enhanced curriculum and at the end of the course of study. A t-test was used to compare student scores. The pre- and post-test score analysis indicated that the results of the KYOTE exam were statistically significant suggesting that the curriculum had a positive influence on math comprehension. Due to variance in testing environment and teaching implementations, a replication of this study is recommended.