Introduction

Summary

The calculus renewal effort continues to have a significant impact on undergraduate mathematics education. Today, most new editions of calculus texts, even so-called traditional ones, incorporate significant themes and problems developed as part of the calculus reform movement. On the other hand, the mathematics community has paid little attention to the courses that precede calculus, most notably precalculus and college algebra. Moreover, only a small percentage of students who take precalculus ever go on to take calculus, and many who do are not well prepared and never complete the next course. In response to these concerns, the conference, Rethinking the Preparation For Calculus, was held in October, 2001. Since the papers presented at the conference form the basis for this volume, the volume begins with an overview of the conference co-authored by Jack Narayan, the principle organizer of the conference, and with the text of the keynote address given by Lynn Steen. The twenty questions about precalculus that Lynn posed guided many of the discussions at the conference. As you read about the conference in the initial papers in this section and in the papers that follow, please keep in mind that the focus of the conference was on precalculus courses that are not terminal—that is, on courses that prepare students to take calculus. During the conference it became apparent that this focus was too narrow and consequently the focus of this volume was extended to include the courses below calculus.