Pre-assessment of mathematical skills for students enrolled in a physical science course

In August 2020, eighteen students enrolled in a hybrid online and residential physical science course completed an unproctored pre-assessment of mathematics skills consisting of the follow four questions.



Coordinate identification multiple choice

1. Which of the points above is at the coordinate (3,1)?

Fill in the blank slope calculation for a line with coordinates displayed

2. For the graph seen above, what is the slope of the line? A fill in the blank question.

3. For the line on the graph shown in the question above, what is the y-intercept for that line?  Also a fill in the blank question. 
Matching data in a table to the correct line on a graph, multiple choice

4. Which line on the graph matches the data in the time versus distance table?

All eighteen students had completed and passed either MS 100 College Algebra or MS 101 Algebra and Trigonometry, with six of the eighteen completing MS 101 Algebra and Trigonometry. The math presented above is considered pre-requisite skills to MS 100 College Algebra. The students were unproctored and would have access to any tools they choose to use to complete the pre-assessment. There was no time limit. 

Success rates on the pre-assessment questions

While 16 of the 18 students could correctly identify a coordinate on an xy scattergraph, success rates for the following questions were abysmal for students who have completed and passed college algebra and algebra and trigonometry. 


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