According to a 1999 study by the U.S. Department of Education, the most important factor affecting the attainment of a college degree is the number of math courses taken in high school. 'Answers in the Toolbox: Academic Intensity, Attendance Pattern and Bachelor's Degree Attainment' by Clifford Adelman was released ten years ago, but its published conclusions have held up over the past decade. Later studies have duplicated the results, results that took demographic factors into account, such as students' socio-economic status.
Bottom line, it doesn't matter how rich or poor the household the student comes from is, if he or she goes to school regularly and takes higher level math classes, then his or her chances of succeeding in college are good. Taking a high school math class beyond Algebra 2, Adelman reports, more than doubles a freshman college student's odds of earning a bachelor's degree.
This is not surprising when you stop and think about it. There is not one facet of our lives that does not include some sort of mathematical computation. We use math when we do something as simple as go to the grocery store. Unless you have a seemingly bottomless pocketbook, you are estimating how much you'll have to pony up at the cash register as you go up and down the store's aisles.
The same is true for the curriculum in colleges. There are very few degree programs that don't, at one time or another, require the use of mathematical computations and concepts. Take, for instance, one of the courses offered here at White Mountains Community College as part of our Culinary Arts Program. The description of Menu Planning and Restaurant Design reads: "The importance of a menu in relationship to costs, pricing, creativity, and guest satisfaction are covered. Students will also design a floor plan for a restaurant using computer software."
Math is the language we use to understand much of the world. Political trends are charted by random sampling, so we know at any given moment how popular the President and Congress are. We watch the price of a barrel of oil to decide when we are going to buy our fuel for the winter. And many of us used math recently to figure out if the so-called Cash for Clunkers made economic sense for our particular household.
Throughout the state, public schools are guided by the New Hampshire Curriculum Frameworks. The state's frameworks for mathematics sets out six clear goals for K-12 students, including but not limited to all students developing strong mathematical problem solving and reasoning abilities, and understanding mathematical concepts core to the study of probability and data analysis.
We do have courses here at the college to help entering students get up to speed in math, and all degree programs at White Mountains Community College require the successful completion of at least one college-level math course, but it makes sense, both economically and intellectually, for high school students to take advantage of challenging math courses before they get to college. With the help of "Answers in the Toolbox: Academic Intensity, Attendance Pattern and Bachelor's Degree Attainment" we have the statistics to back that up!
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