Effects of using calculators on computational ability of non-college bound students, their attitudes toward mathematics and achievements on unit tests in probability and statistics

Due to the present tracking system in the public school system, the non-college bound students are not receiving equitable mathematics instructions as compared to the college bound students. Reasons for this practice vary. The most common reason cited is that most non-college bound students are weak in basic computational ability. Thus, they are repeatedly offered either remedial or general mathematics courses. The present study was conducted to determine if, when computation is removed as an obstacle by letting the non-college bound students use calculators, the topics in probability and statistics can be taught to them. Two groups were used in this experiment: (1) the experimental group which had calculator at their disposal throughout the study, and (2) the control group which did not.;The conclusions of the study were as follows: (1) The results of the study showed that there were no significant differences between subjects in the experimental group and those in the control group in computational ability as measured by the Test of Performance in Computational Skills. (TOPICS) (2) The results of the study showed no significant differences between subjects in the experimental group and those in the control group in attitude as measured by the Aiken and Dreger Mathematics Attitude Scale. (3) The results of the study showed no significant differences in achievement in probability between subjects in the experiment group and those in the control group as measured by the unit test. (4) The results of the study showed a significant difference between subjects in the experimental group and those in the control group as measured by achievement scores on a unit test in statistics. This indicated that the use of calculators had an impact on the students' learning of statistics.