Title

Program Evaluation of Developmental Math Instruction at the Community College Level

Author

John M. McHugh, Gardner-Webb University

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Sydney Brown

Abstract

This program evaluation case study examined the academic effectiveness of a developmental math program in the southeastern United States. The CIPP Evaluation Model (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, & Worthen, 2004) was used as the framework for this program evaluation. The research questions used to guide the research were (1) what are the conditions leading to the necessity of a developmental mathematics program at the college level; (2) what other attempts have been made to solve the problem; (3) how does the implementation of the developmental math program at this college align with recommendations for appropriate instruction of developmental math students; (4) how is the developmental math program at the college being implemented; and (5) how effective is the developmental math program at the college.

The data collection consisted of qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews, surveys, a pretest and posttest of math achievement, and documentation review. The information from the surveys and documentation review was coded and then entered into an Excel spreadsheet and analyzed for frequency of occurrence by code. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then coded. This data, along with the data from pretests and posttests, were then entered into SPSS software for analysis. Several t -tests and ANOVA tests were conducted on the data. The above results are displayed in tabular form and discussed in narrative form.

Based on the results of the program evaluation, it appears as if this developmental math program was doing what it was designed to do. The researcher recommended that professional development on working with underprepared students is needed. Also, further research is needed with former developmental math students in order to determine their concerns. Further research is also recommended for the different age groups to determine why there are statistically significant differences in the algebra scores.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Citation Information

McHugh, John M., "Program Evaluation of Developmental Math Instruction at the Community College Level" (2011). Education Dissertations and Projects. 76.
https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/education_etd/76