University/Organization
Department of Mathematics
California State University – Chico

College of Agriculture
California State University – Chico

Title
EVOLVING QUANTITATIVE REASONING EXPECTATIONS IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

Synopsis
In this paper we present the efforts of the California State University (CSU) to improve college readiness in mathematics and quantitative reasoning while maintaining and improving social equity. In the AY 2015-2016 the CSU Academic Senate authorized the formation of the Quantitative Reasoning Task Force (QRTF) to examine the current state of preparation of incoming freshmen to the CSU and to make recommendations on how to improve that preparation. The QRTF released their final report in September, 2016. Since that time the report has been endorsed by several academic organizations. This paper will highlight key issues addressed in the report and present responses by various organizations including summaries of the general positions of campuses. The CSU Chancellor’s Office subsequent plans for implementation will be summarized and discussed. Specific attention is paid to the competing issues of access and opportunity, as defined in the report. We will discuss the relation between access and opportunity to the most controversial recommendation: requiring four full years of high school quantitative reasoning as a CSU admissions requirement.

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