Mathematics Outcomes for Career and Technical Students Enrolled at a Community College in East Tennessee

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the success of college-ready and academically underprepared community college students in a college-level math course designed for career and technical programs. A non-experimental two-group comparative design with existing data examined differences in academic metrics based on participation in a corequisite learning support mathematics course. The study used a sample size of 1070 students from a community college in East Tennessee who were enrolled in a college-level Trigonometric Applications course between the fall of 2015 and the spring of 2024. Due to a lack of prior academic preparation, 500 of these students were concurrently enrolled in a corequisite learning support course. Data for eight research questions were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistically significant differences between college-ready and corequisite students were found in gateway math course completion (p < .001), gateway math course grade (p < .001), math term credit hours completed (p < .001), and math term grade point average (p < .001), with students who were college-ready in math outperforming academically underprepared students in all outcomes. However, the groups had no significant difference in retention rates (p = .226) for the term following the gateway math course. Regarding course completion for common subpopulations, findings showed statistically significant differences between college-ready and corequisite students for students of lower socio-economic status (p = .007), traditional-aged students 18-24 (p < .001), first-generation students (p = .005), and non-first-generation students (p = .012). In these subgroups, college-ready students had higher gateway math course completion rates than academically underprepared students. There was no significant difference in gateway math course completion rates between college-ready and corequisite students of higher socioeconomic status (p = .085) or non-traditional age (p = .051). These findings indicate that while students with stronger math preparation generally outperform academically underprepared students in the gateway technical math course, the corequisite support for academically underprepared community college students in certificates and A.A.S. programs is particularly effective for students who are not Pell-eligible and non-traditional students.