A study of factors influencing student performance in mathematics on the Florida College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST)

The purpose of this study was to identify factors which affect the performance of students on the computation/mathematics subtest of the Florida College-Level Academic Skills Test. Subjects in the study were 385 students at two private Florida colleges, who were Florida residents and had taken the CLAST between fall 1985 and spring 1987. Data collected on the students included: information on high school and college mathematical backgrounds; racial composition of high school from which they graduated; high school class rank; SAT/ACT math scores; college GPAs in mathematics and overall; race, sex, and age; CLAST mathematics subtest scores. Multiple regression analysis was used with the CLAST score as the dependent variable. Overall, the results of the study indicated that performance on the mathematics subtest of the CLAST is determined to a great extent by factors determined before the student has entered college: racial composition of high school, and SAT scores. In addition, the overall college GPA had a significant influence. The number of remedial math courses taken in college was found to affect the CLAST score significantly, but in a negative fashion. Conclusions from the study were: (1) the predictability value of the SAT score should not be ignored if students are expected to exhibit competency based on standardized test scores after college entrance; (2) the content of remedial mathematics course taken in college should be carefully examined to determine relevance to competencies expected to be achieved before taking the CLAST; (3) articulation programs between colleges and high schools should be established in order to overcome low-level math course tracking and low teacher and student expectations of black students in predominantly white schools.