Success indicators for the Applied Mathematics program in Georgia

Statement of the purpose. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the following student and teacher attributes to determine if they were indicators of student success in Applied Mathematics courses in Georgia: (a) student grade and age, (b) student attitude, (c) teacher education, or years of experience, (d) student's previous mathematics courses, and (e) student's career aspirations or educational plans.; Methods. The study examined the student and teacher attributes in the Applied Mathematics program from 37 urban and rural high schools in Georgia. Two measures of student success were used, the student's teacher-assigned grade at the end of the first term in the course (TERMGR), and the difference in pretest and posttest scores on two different units taught during the first term in the course (TESTAVE). Data on 14 different measures were collected and examined to determine if they were indicators of student success.; Results. (1) There was no improvement in attitude scores when pretest and posttest data were compared. (2) The following variables had no significant influence on either TERMGR or TESTAVE: the student's sex; the student's attitude on the usefulness of mathematics; the student's plans to take more mathematics courses; or the student's plans after graduation to get a job. (3) The following had significant influence on both TERMGR and TESTAVE: the student's grade level, and confidence. (4) The following had significant influence only on TERMGR: The student's age and attitude toward success in mathematics, the number of mathematics courses the student had taken, and the teachers experience in industry. (5) The variables TESTAVE and TERMGR had virtually no influence on each other.; Conclusions. Data in this study lead to the following conclusions. Attitudes do not appear to have a significant influence on success in the Applied Mathematics course.; There is no significant correlation between improvement in achievement as measured by pretest-posttest differences and the grades given to the student at the end of the term.; The students with teachers who had the most experience achieved more but did not make better grades.