RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Approaches to College Mathematics: Reimagining Remediation and Improving Student Outcomes in Precalculus
Page: 1144
This proposal reports on the impact of a course designed to prepare first-year students for success in Precalculus. The course, Approaches to College Mathematics (ACM), was developed as a prerequisite course in response to one university’s high failure rate in Precalculus. In addition to a carefully designed yet flexible curriculum that aims to have students explore familiar topics in fresh ways, the course focuses on growth objectives meant to help students transition to their first semester as a college student. Institutional data and survey data from both students and instructors were collected. Preliminary results show that the overall failure rate in Precalculus decreased the semester after ACM was implemented. Additionally, a high percentage of students in ACM reported feeling that ACM was the right placement for them. Finally, ACM grades and the ACM instructors’ sense of their students’ mathematical confidence significantly predicted grades in Precalculus.