Secondary Options and Post-Secondary Expectations: Standards-Based Mathematics Programs and Student Achievement on College Mathematics Placement Exams.

Research on student achievement within the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) and Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP) at the secondary level is beginning to accumulate, however, much less is known about how prepared these students are for post-secondary education. Therefore this study involving students within one tracked school district used multiple linear regression to examine the role of differential experience within two secondary Standards-based mathematics programs, gender, and prior mathematics achievement on college algebra and calculus readiness placement test scores. Results show that there are no significant differences between students who had completed three and four years of the CPMP curriculum. UCSMP students with four or five years of experience significantly outperformed CPMP students on both assessments. Prior achievement was a significant predictor of student achievement on both examinations. Male students outperformed female students on the algebra placement exam. Students who had studied from both CPMP and UCSMP significantly outperformed students who had studied from CPMP for four years on the calculus readiness examination.