A College-Level Foundational Mathematics Course: Evaluation, Challenges, and Future Directions

Recently in Ontario, Canada, the College Math Project brought to light startling data on the achievement of students in Ontario\u27s College of Applied Arts and Technology System related to their performance in first-year mathematics courses: one-third of the students had failed their first-year mathematics course or were at risk of not completing their program because of their performance in such a course. Here I present the results of an attempt to address the findings of the College Math Project. A foundational mathematics course, based on the JUMP Math program, was designed and implemented at a college in Toronto, Ontario. Although the students who took this program made appreciable gains in their achievement, it is difficult to assert its effectiveness over other programs because of the absence of studies profiling college math education practices either in Canada or internationally. The intention of this article is to help establish a datum for research into specific college math education programs