High school mathematics curriculum and the process and accuracy of initial mathematics placement for students who are admitted into one of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs at a research institution

Recent "math wars" have drawn attention to how well various high school mathematics curricula prepare students for college level mathematics. College mathematics placement tests form a bridge from high school mathematics study to postsecondary study had to be examined.;The purpose of this study is to investigate the accuracy of the mathematics placement process in postsecondary education for students who are admitted into one of the STEM programs and have participated in a Commercially Developed (CD), National Science Foundation-Funded (NSFF), or University of Chicago School Mathematics Project Mathematics (UCSMP) curriculum in high school.;This quasi-experimental design study used qualitative and quantitative methods in data collection and analysis. Sampled students include over 1,000 Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majored freshmen who graduated from one of 103 high schools in a Midwest state and enrolled in the University in Fall of 2002 or Fall of 2003. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was applied to investigate the relationship between students' high school mathematics curriculum background and performance on the University calculus placement exam. The curricular validity of the calculus placement exam was investigated through content analysis and comparisons of content coverage with 13 high school textbooks (five of UCSMP, four of Prentice Hall, and four of Contemporary Mathematics in Context (CORE+)). Approximately 700 students who enrolled in one of the University mathematics courses in the Fall of 2007 participated in a survey providing feedback on the placement exams and the placement counseling process. Of these students, 24 were also interviewed. Six academic advisors from three different STEM academic units were interviewed to acquire information regarding the mathematics placement counseling process at the University.;The results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis indicate that NSFF students who enrolled in one of the STEM programs perform on average 1.9 points lower than their CD or UCSMP counterparties on the calculus placement exam (score range 0-30). The content coverage of the University calculus placement test is biased against students who completed one of the NSFF curricula in high school with CD and UCSMP curricula matching more closely with content of placement test. It was found that college academic advisors who are responsible for giving freshmen course recommendations have misconceptions about and limited understanding of the NSFF curricula. Advisors often recommend less difficult college mathematics courses to students with NSFF curricular backgrounds. This study provides evidence on the disconnect between the high school and postsecondary mathematics educational systems in terms of curriculum content and curricular delivery in class.;The findings of this study have implications for high school mathematics curriculum selection and the college mathematics placement advisory process for STEM majored students, and for future research in this area.