AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REMEDIAL CHEMISTRY WHEN APPLIED TO SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STUDENTS AT A PRIVATE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

This study examined the effectiveness of a formal remedial chemistry course when applied to science and engineering students prior to entry into a general chemistry course. All entering freshmen in science and engineering disciplines were tested with the Toledo Chemistry Placement Examination. Students requiring remediation were treated for one academic term and took the Toledo Examination as a post-test. A quasi-experimental design was employed to determine if the remedial chemistry course enhanced students' success in a general chemistry course. Eighteen pairs of students were matched, based on their Toledo Chemistry Placement Examination scores. A control group consisted of 18 students who needed the remedial course but who entered the general chemistry course without the benefit of remedial chemistry. The experimental group was treated with remedial chemistry prior to their entry into general chemistry. Two t-tests were employed to determine if: (1) the remedial chemistry course did remove chemistry skill deficiencies and (2) if remedial chemistry enhanced students' success in a general undergraduate chemistry course. A multiple regression and correlation analysis was performed on those students testing into remedial chemistry to see if college entrance requirements could be used as predictors to determine if students required remedial chemistry.;The results indicate that either the sensitivity of the test was not adequate or other factors such as grades, outside courses and similar course material affected the results. The reasons for these situations are examined in detail.;The MRC analysis of entrance requirements for science and engineering students at a private institute of technology yielded no significant results that would predict chemistry skill deficiencies prior to the students' entry into the university.;The results of this research indicate that those students who took the remedial chemistry course scored significantly higher on the second Toledo Chemistry Placement Examination (p < .05). However, there was no difference between the general chemistry grades of the control and experimental groups, indicating that the remedial course did not lead to higher achievement in the subsequent course.