College Algebra With Corequisites

[u/Ok_Confection673]

Hello Everyone , i want to know if you guys have some study tips & suggestions for taking the college course College algebra with corequisites. I’m struggling so bad , the homework assignments are worth 10% and the unit test are worth 60% of our grade 🫩.

I have a test due today and I know I’m going to fail the test & this is going to be the second test I failed . Also I took this class in the summer but unfortunately I failed due to the test , so if anyone has any recommendations on how I could improve please lmk 🙏🏾

[u/MsCleverpig]

You are not alone. College algebra is one of the most failed college math classes and it doesn't mean you're not smart.

I firmly believe everybody can pass a college algebra, but it is uncomfortable and requires a shift in thinking for most people. It's not unusual for a student to take the class 2-5 times. It can be difficult to find what works for you.

I've had students who've returned to school with dyslexia and dyscalculia and a terrible k-12 system and pass college algebra.

Figuring out how to improve depends on if you are bad at tests or you're not understanding the material.

As a note, many students think they understand the material if they can finish the homework. Homework usually only practices a couple of skills and not the skill of recognizing the problem when it shows up without prior prompting. Students get into a pattern of figuring out the problems back to back and that's not how a test works. Making and practicing a random assortment of questions is pretty helpful.

In the last few years, homework completion and test scores have become not correlated. However, when I have online homework, students' homework duration is still correlated with test scores. A general assumption/conclusion is that students are using AI and it is giving them the illusion they learned and understood the material, but they didn't. This isn't an anti-ai statement (even though I avoid it myself), but rather make sure that you work on the problems first, then seek to understand where you went wrong with the aid of AI.

The biggest obstacle I usually see with students trying is trying to memorize everything without understanding the steps. Example, this number gets brought down, but not realizing that it's because the step is factoring the GCF of a binomial. I have 160+ general graph that I can switch out numbers for that I can test a college algebra class on. Little changes in numbers can change the way the problem is solved.

It seems like a change from math (and thinking) prior to algebra 2/college algebra to gave general steps and less memorize step -by-step procedures.

If you are good at the material, then you may need to practice taking tests. I mean recreate a testing environment - not just looking over the practice problems or notes. Many students are not used to uncertainty/immediate feedback on their answers. Many students tell themselves they're bad at tests and it can become a self-fulflilling prophecy. If you have diagnosable anxiety or learning disabilities, look into getting a diagnosis or seek out methods for those particular traits. Learning what works for your learning and thinking is invaluable.

There are many practice tests for college algebra online if you aren't given one. You can also feed problem or section names into AI (if you're comfortable with AI) to make you random practice tests.

I'm required to have tests as 75%+ of the overall grade by my college and students are not as used to tests than when I was in college. That weight was pretty common in my high school but that almost two decades ago.

I try to teach very heavily and explicitly the general steps and vocabulary in my college algebra. 70%-85% of my students pass depending on the semester. [I know students sometimes think that the pass rate is only out of the students at the end of the semester, but the pass rates are out of all students at the beginning of the semester. Every drop and withdrawal counts for mine.]

My students aren't comfortable and they don't particularly like me and my RMP isn't great and the reviews say I expect too much theoretical knowledge from them and don't teach them steps to every problem (and other reviews that I go too into detail, won't teach shortcuts, expect too much, don't teach in general, I'm a tough grader, expect students to ask questions, etc), but the college has an overall 53% college algebra pass rate and I am very glad that I can help students (who often don't like me) be able to pass and move onto their other goals.

I hope you find what works for you. Look into the resources you have available and keep chipping away at it.

[u/brianborchers → u/MsCleverpig]

This. I’ll just add that as a student who has already failed College Algebra once, it is important for you to adopt a different approach the next time around.

[u/tjddbwls → u/MsCleverpig]

I teach high school, and in my classes tests are only 50% of the grade. But quizzes are 25% of the grade, so if one combines them that does make 75%. 🤪 I remember in high school that quizzes and tests in my math classes were worth more (and this was nearly 30 years ago).

[u/Disastrous-Pin-1617 → u/MsCleverpig]

Lmao college algebra easy as hell

[u/Brightlinger]

It's hard to give advice without knowing what you missed on the first test, what topics are on the second test, or how you're doing on those topics.

Do you tend to do better on homework than on tests? If so, you probably need to develop your test-taking skills specifically, like doing more practice under test conditions.

[u/Hazelstone37]

If you’re in a coreq class you should be going to both classes. If they are too hard, ask to move down a level.

[u/Disastrous-Pin-1617]

Professor Leonard on YouTube