The impact of an elementary algebra course on student success in a college-level liberal arts math course and persistence in college

Many students enter community college underprepared for college-level math and are placed into developmental elementary algebra without consideration if the algebra will provide a foundation for their needed college-level math course. Large percentages of those students are unable to succeed in the developmental course and, therefore, are unable to graduate (Bahr, 2008; Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010). This quasi-experimental design focused on students who are not in math-intensive majors, needing only a general liberal arts math course. The purpose was to determine the impact of the elementary algebra course on success in college-level math and persistence in college. Student performance data were aggregated from four community colleges within a state in the northeastern United States. Students\u27 success in a college-level liberal arts math course and total credits earned were examined. An independent t test showed students who scored above the cut-off for developmental placement outperforming those who scored below, yet all differences disappeared when a regression discontinuity was implemented, leading to a conclusion that the actual placement in developmental algebra had no impact on students\u27 success in college-level math or total credits earned