By
Kristopher Califano
Arizona Daily Wildcat
More students enroll in harder math classes
As high school math SAT scores rise, the number of UA students in higher level math courses is also increasing.
This year's high school seniors scored the highest on the math section since 1969, according to the New York-based College Board. College Board produces standarized tests.
University of Arizona math students are performing better now than the last few years and freshmen are enrolling in harder classes, said Donna Krawczyk, math placement coordinator.
Some high schools' requirement that students take math every year may be the reason they are performing better, Krawczyk said.
"My big push is to keep students in math classes through their senior year of high school," said Krawczyk, who also teaches math.
The requirement began with the students who entered the UA as freshmen in 1998.
Although SAT scores are just one requirement of being accepted to the UA, an increase in math scores has not gone unnoticed, Krawczyk said.
During the last few years, more students have qualified to enroll in Math 110: college algebra, than Pima Community College level classes, she said.
There has been an increase in the amount of students enrolling in college algebra than Math 105: Math in modern society, and Krawczyk said the reason is because more underclassmen choose a technical major, and freshmen who are uncertain about their major are taking a higher-level math class.
Some students said they think that the improvement in test scores is not a reflection of students learning the material.
"The main deal is calculators are huge, students know how to use them but don't understand the theory behind the work they do," said Casey Zutphen, physics and math freshman.
The math placement questions have not changed, she said.
If UA students' SAT math scores are at least 670, they are automatically qualified to enroll in pre-calculus classes. If the students receive a lower score, they must take a math placement test.
Krawczyk says for the most part, SAT scores are an accurate reflection of how freshmen will do in math classes at the UA.
The average student scores about 1,100 on the SAT, said Richard Kroc, the Director of the Office of Curricular & Enrollment Research.
The average math score was 514 which is three points higher than last year. The math and verbal areas of the test are both scored on a 200 to 800 scale - a perfect score. About 1.3 million students took the test this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
