What is the process for getting a math course approved?

First of all, some acronym definitions:

·         ICCB Illinois Community College Board

·         IMACC Illinois Math Association of Community Colleges

·         ISMAA Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America (includes 4 yr institutions)

·         AMATYC American Association of Two Year Colleges

When somebody at CCC has an idea for a Math course, they would generally get CCC approval first (Faculty Council) and then it has to be sent to ICCB, which sends it for a curriculum review by IMACC, ISMAA and AMATYC which makes a recommendation to ICCB, which at that point will rubber stamp it (or not) based on the recommendation.  

Dev Ed courses that have gone through this process and currently have ICCB approval are:  

Arithmetic      Pre-Alegebra      Basic Algebra      Geometry      Intermediate Algebra      Intermediate Algebra with Geometry      Combined Basic and Intermediate Algebra

Preparatory Mathematics for General Education (PMGE)

They have very specific SLOs which you can review in the Illinois Articulation Guide:  http://www.imacc.org/articulation/articulationguide.pdf

Although Dev Ed courses are not transferable they are still mentioned in the Illinois Articulation Guide as prerequisites so they have to adhere to the Articulation Guide Standards.

For example, Intermediate Algebra (CCC’s M99) and PMGE (CCC’s Math 90) are approved prerequisites for :

General Education Statistics (CCC’s M 125),

General Education Mathematics (CCC’s M 118)

Quantitative Literacy

Elementary Mathematical Modeling

Colleges pay attention to this stuff, anecdotally-when I first came to CCC in 2005, I taught Math 100 which was Math 98 minus the geometry. When ICCB began to require Geometry as a pre-req to Gen Ed Courses, CCC revamped Math 100-( Introductory Algebra) into Math 98- (Introductory Algebra with Geometry).

Math 112 (Intermediate Algebra) became Math 99 (Intermediate Algebra with Geometry) 

-Mary Pat Sheppard

Which SLO's from Math 98/99 are relevant to Math 118/125?

The tables below list the SLO's for the dev ed math sequence with x's indicating whether or not the SLO is a pre-requisite for 118, 125 or 140.
x - Peter Rowell's opinion
x - Mary Pat's opinion

What are they doing in Texas?

Cracking the Compass

All you could ever want to know (and that you are allowed to know) about the Compass can be found the reference manual below. A shorter overview is also available.

Full Compass Reference Manual
http://www.act.org/compass/pdf/CompassReferenceManual.pdf

Short overview
http://www.act.org/compass/pdf/MathPlacementGuide.pdf

When a student takes the Compass Math Test, they actually go through a series of tests that are seamlessly linked together into a stream of 25-35 questions. Before answering any questions, the student starts with a minimum score of 17 on the Pre-Algebra Test, and as they answer questions correctly, their score gradually increases. If their score surpasses 29, they are eventually taken off the Pre-Algebra test and re-routed to the beginning of the Algebra test. If their score increases beyond 43 on the Algebra test, they are eventually re-routed to a third test--College Algebra--and then, potentially, a fourth test--Trigonometry. Most students do not reach a high enough score on the Algebra test to move on to the third and fourth tests. The progression through the first two tests is illustrated in the "Compass Crawl" below.

The tables below are excerpted from the Compass Reference Manual, which outlines the content of each test.

PRE-ALGEBRA

ALGEBRA TEST:

By re-arranging the Algebra test content items in the table above, it is clear that 70% of the test questions are comprised by less than half of the topic list (shown below).

Compass Algebra test topics arranged by frequency

		Topic
70%	11%	Linear equations in one variable (using integers, fractions, and decimals as coefficients)
	10%	Substituting values into algebraic expressions
	8%	Basic operations with polynomials
	8%	Linear equations/inequalities in two variables
	7%	Setting up equations for given situations
	6%	Factoring polynomials
	6%	Rational expressions
	5%	Solving polynomial equations by factoring
	5%	Exponents and radicals
	4%	Linear inequalities in one variable
30%	4%	Systems of linear equations in two variables
	4%	Graphing conics (circle, parabola, etc)
	4%	Graphing relations in the plane
	3%	Formula manipulation and field axioms
	3%	Exponents, radical expressions, and equations
	3%	Distance and midpoint formulas in the plane
	2%	Quadratic formula and completing the square
	2%	Graphing parallel and perpendicular lines
	2%	Graphing systems of equations/inequalities
	1%	Number theory and/or properties
	1%	Absolute value equations and inequalities
	1%	Fitting parameters to equations and models

Courseware for non-STEM dev ed and Co-Reqs

1 Since many states have eliminated funding for dev ed, forcing school districts to combine dev ed and college-level courses into "Integrated Review" courses, Pearson has augmented several of their non-STEM texts and MyMathLab courses with review material.

PPearson course products with Integrated Review (for students who need review)

a.       Stats book with Integrated Review on MyMathLab (Sullivan)

b.      118 book “Using and Understanding Math” with Integrated Review on MyMathLab (Bennett/Brigs)

c.       118 book “Thinking Mathematically” with Integrated Review on MyMathLab (Blitzer) – Coming May 2014

d.      Pre-Stats book (Jay Lehmann) –Coming May 2015.  I have the table of contents.

ALEKS non-STEM course products http://www.aleks.com/highered/math/course_products

a.       Math Literacy

b.      Essential Math Skills for Business

c.       Prep for Statistics

3 Hawkes course products

a.       Browser based version coming FA14 (current version is not accessed via internet)

b.      3 stats courses (Beginning Stats, Discovering Stats, Discovering Business Stats) –Coming SP15

c.       Liberal Arts Math – Coming FA15

d.      “Foundations of Mathematics” – Coming FA15

Math 299

Until now, students who test at the Math 98 range have the option to take Math 90, but students who test in the 99 range have only had one option. Starting in Fall 2014, Truman will be offering 2 sections of 118 and 2 sections of 125 which are paired to Math 299 - Special Topics. The "Special Topics" in this instance will be a review and strengthening of the pre-requisite skills needed for the college level course, and the pairing will be open to students who place slightly below College Level on the Compass exam or who pass Math 98 with an 'A' or 'B'. Each 299 is scheduled back-to-back with its college level sibling, both will be taught by same instructor, and topic-relevant review material will be delivered alongside the college-level material.

For students who need more than one semester of review in order to complete all the necessary review and all the new material of a college-level course, would it be possible to stretch the 299+118 or 299+125 pairings over the course of 2 semesters?

Another possible option for students who test in the Math 99 range will be a streamlined, 3 or 4 credit version of Math 90. Tentatively, in the diagram below, this is referred to as "Math 93," It would be taught in the same manner as Math 90, but would only include half of the material.

The Illinois Math and Computer Science Articulation Guide recommends Math 90 (PMGE) be offered in one of the following "Modalites":

Illinois Joint Articulation Guide vs. Common Core Standards

The article here -  Core vs Illinois Standards (DEAC)  compares the Common Core Standards for K-12 Math to the dev ed math guidelines outlined in the Illinois Mathematics and Computer Science Articulation guide  (found here  http://www.imacc.org/articulation/articulationguide.pdf )

The comparison is relevant because Illinois' standards for dev ed math should probably be consistent with the Common Core Standards for K-12 math which were adopted in 2010. The dev ed math standards in the Articulation Guide were last updated in October 2013. 

Developmental Education Advisory Council (DEAC)

(from http://www.imacc.org/developmental/  )

ICCB created DEAC, and DEAC created a math task force to do the following:

1. to examine placement procedures for developmental mathematics statewide and to explore the possibility of establishing common "cut scores" for key assessment instruments;
2. to review state developmental course objectives to determine alignment of these objectives with the new high school common core standards; and
3. to identify best practices in the state and nationally and share these best practices throughout the state.

 DEAC is co-chaired by Keven Hansen (a professor at Southwestern Illinois College  http://www.swic.edu/sw-content.aspx?id=5765 ) and Roberta Christie (a professor at Shawnee Community College http://www.shawneecc.edu/faculty_staff/robertac.asp )

The document Best Practices for Developmental Programs (DEAC) – Revised August 2011, gives recommendations and case studies for placement, advising, courses, instruction and support. Here are the recommendations for courses...

Something for everyone

College of DuPage breaks their dev ed math sequence into 1/2 credit, bite-size morsels. How do they schedule these courses? How do they teach them?

Also, they offer several program-specific "Math for ___________" courses (fill in 'Business,' 'Health Sciences,' 'Horticulture,' 'Diagnostic Medical Imaging Sonography,') as well as two Technical Mathematics courses, a Perspectives of Mathematics course and a History of Mathematics course.

What math is required for students at CCC's top transfer institutions?

These pie charts show the proportion of students enrolled in programs requiring Calculus, Stats, a general education math requirement, or no math at all. At all three schools, about 40% of students will need to take Calculus. The proportions for each institution were determined by matching the math requirement for each program in the catalog with the program enrollment data for FY13.

The red slices correspond to the general education math requirement at each institution and are comparable to Math 118 at CCC.

Depaul LSP120
      https://qrc.depaul.edu/
Absolute and Relative Quantities & Basic Excel Skills (42%)

Creating Effective Graphs (7%)

Linear Modeling - Trendlines (17%)

Exponential Modeling (12%)

Savings Accounts (Compound Interest) & APY (10%)

CPI (12%)

UIC LAS QR  - Liberal Arts and Sciences Quantitative Reasoning requirement

Students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences must demonstrate competency in quantitative reasoning to earn a degree. Such competence can be demonstrated in any one of the following ways:
1. Achievement of a score on the mathematics placement examination high enough to qualify for enrollment in Mathematics 180. Placement in Mathematics 180 may be by other means determined by the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science.
2. Grade of C or better in any one of the following courses: Mathematics 121, 123, 145, 160, 165, 180, Statistics 101.
3. Grade of C or better in a mathematically oriented course in a department in LAS other than Mathematics. Such courses must require Mathematics 090 or 118 as a prerequisite. At present, such courses include Communication 201; Criminology, Law, and Justice 262; Political Science 201; Psychology 343; and Sociology 201.
4. Grade of C or better in a logic course in the Department of Philosophy: Philosophy 102 or 210.
5. Transfer students may present equivalent courses taken elsewhere, for which they have received a grade of C or better, to satisfy this requirement.

Northeastern - "College Math"