Assessment Report for MA 440 PreCalculus
In the spring of 2013 482 students, in 24 sections of MA 440, were assessed. The assessment was based on three carefully chosen
questions on the student final exam. Each of the three questions contained various parts. Question 1 had three parts, question 2 had
four parts and question 3 had eight parts. The exam questions are provided in a separate attachment and were chosen based on the
requirements and the educational objectives of Queensborough Community College, the learning objectives specified by the category
of the Common Core of Pathways and the department course objectives. The individual sections on each question are tabulated and
are attached at the end of the report.
Educational Objectives of the College
3. Reason quantitatively and mathematically as required in their fields of interest and everyday life
4. Use information management and technology skills effectively for academic research and lifelong
learning
Problems 1 and 3 were chosen to evaluate Educational Objective 3. Problem 2 was selected to evaluate Educational Objective 4.
Pathways

Interpret and draw appropriate inferences from quantitative representations, such as formulas, graphs, or tables.

Use algebraic, numerical, graphical, or statistical methods to draw accurate conclusions and solve mathematical problems.

Represent quantitative problems expressed in natural language in a suitable mathematical format.

Effectively communicate quantitative analysis or solutions to mathematical problems in written or oral form.

Evaluate solutions to problems for reasonableness using a variety of means, including informed estimation.

Apply mathematical methods to problems in other fields of study.
Problem 1 as well as problem 2a and 2b were chosen to address the first and second Pathways Objectives, problem 2c and 2d were
chosen to address the fourth and fifth Pathways Objectives. The first and the third Pathways Objectives are addressed by problem 3.
About 70% of all students participating in the assessment answered problem 1, and about 60% of these students answered problem 2
correctly. Less than 50 % of the students examined answered problem 3 correctly (see the table).
Action to be taken:
Suggestions were made to ask the instructors of all the sections of MA 440 to give out extra class worksheet problems and to assign
extra homework problems with special emphasis on the examined questions.
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Queensborough Community College
MA-440 Assessment
Spring 2013
Learning Outcomes and Rubric for Questions 1, 2, and 3
j
æ1ö
åçè 3 ÷ø ,
j=1
¥
1. Write the sum of the first three terms of the infinite series
2. Determine the measure of the largest angle in a triangle of sides 6,
9 and 10 inches. Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a
degree.
and then express the sum as a single fraction in simplest form.
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to expand an infinite series
(written in sigma notation) into a sum of a prescribed number of
terms.



check box (1a) for writing the sum of the first three terms.
check box (1b) for the correct sum as a single fraction.
Check box (1c) for the correct sum as a single fraction in simplest
form
Note: if box (1c) is checked, box (1b) must also be checked
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to apply the law of cosines
to determine the measures of sides and angles in a triangle.

check box (2a) for correctly writing the appropriate form of the
law of cosines for the given problem. For example, if a student
chose A to represent the largest side, then a correct form would
be A^2=B^2+C^2 -2BC cos A.

check box (2b) for a correct substitution of values into the
appropriate form; in this case, 10^2 = 6^2+9^2- 2*6*9*cos C.

check box (2c) for a correct solution

check box (2d) if any solution obtained was rounded correctly to
the nearest tenth of a degree.
3. For f (x) =
x-2
determine each of the following:
x + x-6
2
I. The equations of any vertical or horizontal asymptotes of the graph of f.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to determine the asymptotes of a function from its symbolic form, and to determine that the
function has no asymptotes.
b. check box (3a) for the correct equation of the vertical asymptote.
c. check box (3b) for the correct equation of the horizontal asymptote.
II. The domain and range of the given function.
III. The y-intercept and the x-intercept(s), if any.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to determine the domain
and range of a function from its symbolic form.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to determine the intercepts of
the function from its symbolic form.

check box (3c) for correctly determining the domain.


check box (3d) for correctly determining the range.
check box (3e) for setting up an equation for finding the xintercepts.

check box (3f) for writing the correct x- intercepts.

check box (3g) for setting up an equation for finding the yintercept.

check box (3h) for writing the correct y- intercept.
Assessment
MA-440
Spring 2013
24 Sections
482 Students
Number of Stuents in
Sections /Questions
Q-1a
1b
1c
2a
2b
2c
2d
3a
3b
3c
3d
3e
3f
3g
3h
20
15
11
9
13
13
10
6
12
9
12
8
15
12
15
14
25
20
17
17
19
19
10
9
16
22
16
15
16
17
19
16
23
22
19
19
17
17
16
15
18
16
14
9
0
1
0
0
16
8
6
6
9
8
4
3
4
3
3
1
5
5
8
7
21
14
9
9
8
7
4
0
6
4
5
5
2
3
3
5
14
11
9
10
14
11
7
5
7
6
11
4
6
3
8
8
18
17
15
13
10
10
5
2
13
8
7
1
0
0
4
5
26
25
21
21
24
24
20
12
9
17
15
11
19
8
23
21
26
25
23
19
25
25
15
9
21
10
22
4
19
20
17
6
26
22
21
21
22
23
19
8
17
16
16
16
12
7
17
16
24
23
19
15
23
23
23
22
20
21
22
13
10
7
19
10
10
5
0
3
9
8
4
2
4
3
0
0
1
2
0
6
21
17
12
9
14
13
13
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
6
6
6
8
8
6
4
6
6
7
5
7
6
7
9
16
13
13
13
12
13
5
2
6
4
9
0
8
4
10
10
15
14
13
13
12
12
12
12
13
10
9
7
8
5
7
8
24
17
13
12
12
12
11
9
14
7
7
7
5
1
4
4
16
13
9
9
7
5
5
10
0
10
3
0
0
0
12
11
21
19
15
15
16
15
7
6
18
15
12
3
5
3
11
10
17
16
15
15
13
13
13
10
7
10
6
1
10
6
14
14
26
22
21
21
23
16
11
17
9
14
10
7
8
8
20
17
24
9
8
8
17
16
15
14
13
12
5
5
5
4
4
4
21
19
17
18
19
17
13
10
12
14
14
10
10
8
14
10
22
6
4
4
16
14
11
6
0
9
3
2
15
5
15
13
482
378
316
305
362
342
259
203
245
246
228
134
186
135
251
224
78.42
65.56
63.28
75.1
70.95
53.73
42.12
50.83
51.04
47.3
27.8
38.59
28.01
52.07
46.47
EDUCATION OBJECTIVES
E3
E3
E3
E4
E4
E4
E4
E3
E3
E3
E3
E3
E3
E3
E3
PATHWAYS OBJECTIVES
P1
P2
P2
P2
P1
P4
P5
P3
P3
P1
P1
P3
P3
P3
P3
Total
%