Abstract

Memorial University is not unique in the problems it has with the mathematics skill levels of incoming high school graduates. It is unique in the method it has developed for successfully addressing the problem. In 1988, a province-wide initiative was launched to collect data on the mathematics skill levels of all students entering post-secondary programs which required mathematics. The results were shocking. The data showed that more than 75% of the high school graduates who met the admission requirements to these institutions were functioning at a grade 10 level or below in mathematics. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics decided to address the issue in a serious manner. Dr. Sherry Mantyka (May) volunteered to lead a small group of individuals within the Department who would be dedicated to this task. This group worked in cooperation with the Provincial Government’s Department of Education and the Province’s Professional Association of Teachers. A program was developed to upgrade basic skills to the required level. This program was designed based on certain foundational principles from cognitive and intervention psychology. The data which has been collected to evaluate the success of the program in preparing the learner for post-secondary courses is impressive. In this paper we present data documenting the success of the program over three decades and include information about collaborations for adaptations of our program being implemented in other educational settings.