Background

Summary

It is one thing to claim we have a problem and another thing to show we have a problem. Based on their own experiences and observations, participants at the conference, Rethinking the Preparation for Calculus, felt that the number of students who continue on to calculus from precalculus was small and their success rate was low. However, they realized that in order to convince colleagues, administrators, state legislators, funding agencies, and book publishers that changes need to be made, they needed data that clearly indicate the extent of the problem. They also realized that much could be learned from the calculus renewal efforts. The papers in this section by Mercedes McGowen and Steven Dunbar provide some preliminary data in response to some important questions, while the papers by Deborah Hughes Hallett and Susan Ganter summarize the lessons learned from the calculus initiative and discuss future directions.

Mercedes McGowen analyzes the enrollment in mathematics courses at two- and four-year colleges and at universities over the past twenty years, and she describes the demographic profile of students at William Rainey Harper College, “a two-year college whose mathematics course enrollment closely parallels enrollment at two-year colleges nationally.” She examines the questions: “Who are the undergraduate students who enroll in precalculus courses? What courses do students take after completing a precalculus course?”

In fall 2000, more than three million students attending two- and four-year colleges and universities were enrolled in mathematics courses taught in departments of mathematics and mathematical sciences. […]