AN ASSESSMENT OF THE QUANTITATIVE SKILLS OF STUDENTS TAKING INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE BIOLOGY COURSES (BIOMATHEMATICS, MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE)

The mathematical skills possessed by students taking introductory college biology courses were investigated. A list of 23 mathematical competencies were identified as a 46-item multiple choice test was developed to measure the extent to which students possessed these skills. The Biomathematics Skills Test (BST) was administered at the beginning and end of the 1983 fall semester to students in introductory biology courses for science majors (BS 100) and non-science majors (BS 105) at North Carolina State University. The overall average for the pretest was 70% for BS 100 students and 65% for BS 105 students.; The relationship between the mathematical skills possessed by students at the beginning of the semester as shown by the BST pretest and 15 variables dealing with selected student characteristics was examined. There were significantly positive correlations for 12 of 15 variables in the case of BS 100 pretest scores and 11 in the case of BS 105. Males did significantly better on the pretest than females in the case of BS 100, but there were no significant differences in the case of BS 105. Whites did significantly better on the pretest than blacks in both courses. The means for a combined group of Hispanics, Indians, and Asians were not significantly different than whites, but were higher than blacks in BS 100.; The type of biology course (BS 100 or BS 105) taken was found to be significantly related to BST performance. The variable of taking or not taking a mathematics or statistics course during the semester was not significantly related to BST performance.; The BST pretest and seven other variables were used to determine the best predictors of success for the two biology courses. SAT-Mathematics, SAT-Verbal, High School Grade Point Average, age, and BST pretest were significant predictors of success in BS 100. BS 105 predictors were High School Grade Point Average and BST pretest.