In the past three years, College of Western Idaho (CWI) has developed an exceptional bridge to help high school students complete their math requirements to graduate and launch their college careers.
The key to this success is CWI’s Dual Credit team using the College’s Math Solutions Center framework for MATH 095, and replicating the curriculum in high schools across the region.
“Math is a subject that causes anxiety for many students,” said Randi Smith, Senior Coordinator in Dual Credit. “It can be the reason students choose not to continue their education. By taking MATH 095 in high school, students are gaining confidence in their math skills and the courage to face their fears, pursue their education, and be successful at it.”
The program’s success is evident, CWI’s Enrollment and Student Services tracked a 14% matriculation rate to CWI, in the fall of 2020, for high school students completing MATH 095.
One of CWI’s partners in delivering this course is Compass Public Charter School in Meridian.
"Despite dealing with COVID-19 and the fact we only see half of our students a week at a time during our hybrid schedule, our students have been very successful this year in MATH 095,” said Courtney Fletcher, a math teacher at the school. “In the fall, we actually had all 28 of our students complete and pass their unit tests!”
MATH 095 is designed to allow students to complete college-prep mathematics in an instructionally-supported, individualized, learning-lab structure to help them meet prerequisites to enroll in transfer-level mathematics courses more quickly in their higher-education careers.
Students in the Compass Honors program spend time at the beginning of the year researching the college and degree they want to pursue after high school, and the students use this information to set a goal for the year.
“It is so nice to have a math class tailored to the needs of each of our students where they can go at their own pace and fill in gaps of knowledge to prepare for their senior year math course,” added Fletcher. “I am so lucky to be able to be involved in the implementation of MATH 095 in the school."
CWI’s Dual Credit program serves more than 12,000 high school students in the state, and another partner delivering the valuable math curricula is Kuna High School (KHS).
“Even my students who generally struggle with math find the program and tools easy to use and understand,” said Jaymie Quigley, who teaches at KHS. “One of my students walked in after taking the SAT and said she’d never felt more confident on the math portion of any standardized test than after being in CWI's Dual Credit MATH 095 class.”
The growth of this opportunity for students highlights the collaborative effort between CWI’s Office of Dual Credit and the Math Solutions Center to benefit the community.
“We are excited to give high school students a head-start toward earning a CWI degree or certificate,” said Carol Crothers, Manager of the Math Solutions Center. “Completing CWI course prerequisites while still in high school allows students to minimize or eliminate time spent in a college prep mathematics course and launches students on a course to meet their CWI degree requirements.”
To learn more about MATH 095 in high school please e-mail Carol Crothers at carolcrothers@cwi.edu and Randi Smith at randismith@cwi.edu.
