Important secondary mathematics enrollment factors that influence the completion of a bachelor's degree

This dissertation focused on strengthening, clarifying, and extending the importance of secondary mathematics education. Clifford Adelman, in his 1999 and 2006 Toolbox research, demonstrated a strong connection between the secondary mathematics courses completed in high school and the odds of a student completing a bachelor's degree.;Three additional variables, early entry to algebra (before grade nine), continuous enrollment in secondary mathematics, and secondary mathematics intensity level (MIL) were included in an effort to more carefully study the importance of secondary mathematics for the prototypical college bound student. These three variables, in addition to Adelman's highest mathematics course completed in high school and his constructed overall academic intensity variable from Carnegie credits earned, were analyzed while controlling for 12th grade socioeconomic status and 8th grade math proficiency. Logistic regression was used with data from the National Center for Education Statistics' National Education Longitudinal Study. NELS was conducted from 1988 to 2000. These data provided a rich and large sample size of students with secondary and post-secondary transcripts for this study.;The results of the data analysis confirmed Adelman's findings. Further, continuous enrollment in secondary mathematics education emerged as important, if not more important, than the completion of a specific secondary mathematics course for students seeking a bachelor's degree during their post-secondary education. The secondary mathematics intensity level (MIL) significantly increased the odds of bachelor degree completion. The MIL variable was constructed from available NELS variables related to secondary mathematics for each student. The MIL results indicate that secondary mathematics teachers should increase student expectations and classroom intensity in an effort to raise students' odds of bachelor degree completion.;Finally, the results of this study in conjunction with Adelman's results solidify the importance of secondary mathematics as a most important variable to increasing the odds of bachelor degree completion. State departments of education and higher education commissions should consider the results from this study as they move forward regarding secondary mathematics policies. Contains 20 tables and 5 figures.