Help Your Students Get on the Fast Track Using Intensive Review Courses To Improve Math Placement

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Help Your Students Get on the FastTrack! Using
Intensive Review Courses To Improve Math Placement

• Bill Coe
• Montgomery College Rockville, Maryland

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Presentation Outline

• About Montgomery College
• History of Fast Track
• Objectives of the Course
• Course Structure
• Results to Date
• The New Workbooks
• Advertising
• Whats New

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About Montgomery College

• 2nd Largest Community College in Maryland
  (over 22,000 students on
  three campuses)
• Diverse student population
  (34 international, 164 countries represented)
• Located in Washington, DC, suburbs

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History of Fast Track

• Adapted from Prince Georges CC
• Year 1 (8/00 and 1/01) - 55 students
• Year 2 (8/01, 1/02, and 6/02) - 156 students
• Year 3 (8/02, 1/03, and 6/03) - 183 students
• Year 4 (8/03, 1/04, and 6/04) - 179 students
• Year 5 (8/04, 1/05, and 6/05) 98 so far

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Fast Track Course Objectives

• Save time (one or two semesters)
• Save money
• Improve placement of students
• Retention

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Our Target Population

• Graduating high school seniors
• Adults returning to school after long absences
• Those with a history of success
• Who is NOT???

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Fast Track Course Structure

• Two weeks, twenty hours for each course
• Fast Track
• 7 hours Prealgebra
• 11 hours Elementary Algebra
• 2 hours testing and counseling
• Advanced Fast Track
• 10 hours Elementary Algebra
• 8 hours Intermediate Algebra
• 2 hours testing and counseling

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Fast Track Results to Date

• Summary by placement level
• Out of 671 students.
• Down one level 7 students (1.0)
• Same level 152 students (22.7)
• Up one level 202 students (30.1)
• Up two levels 82 students (12.2)
• Undetermined 228 students (34.0)

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More Fast Track Results

• Of those students who were officially enrolled in
  the recommended course in the semester following
  enrollment in Fast Track, and passed with a C or
  better FT Students Non FT Students
• Prealgebra 58 48
• Elem Alg 62 44
• Interm Alg 65 54
• CLM 80 67

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Still More Results

• Comparison of Fast Track students to non FT
  students by grade (A or B)
• FT Students Non FT Students
• Prealgebra 76 69
• Elementary Algebra 71 55
• Intermediate Algebra 69 59
• College Level Math 71

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The Fast Track and Advanced Fast Track Workbooks

• Reasons for new workbooks
• Development process
• Structure of the workbooks
• Adaptability (ease of adding new sections)

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Advertising Fast Track

• Counselors and faculty
• Prep Talk (newsletter to high school seniors)
• Continuing Education office
• Credit and non credit schedules of classes
• Flyers
• Web page (montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/FastTr
  ack.html)

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Whats New

• Pre- and post- placement testing
• New format (January 2003)
• Twenty hours, first four weeks of semester
• Followed by late starting classes
• Advanced Fast Track (August 2003)
• Covers Elementary and Intermediate Algebra
• New online version to increase accessibility

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The Online Version

• First class started 7/26/04
• Began with a face-to-face orientation
• Tests (2) were proctored
• Four weeks to finish class
• Instructor available at designated times by phone
  and response to email is within 24 hours
• Next class starts 12/6/04

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Online Features

• Self Tests one or two per lesson, not scored.
• Exercises two per lesson, unlimited tries,
  scored.
• Flash Animation several lessons have animation
  that help to illustrate a process.

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Placement Survey
As Chair of the Placement Subcommittee of
AMATYCs Placement and Assessment Committee, I am
conducting an informal survey on placement
practices. If you would like to participate,
please email me at william.coe_at_montgomerycollege.
edu. I will send you a survey via email. It is
only one page and will only take a few minutes to
complete.