College Milestones
Completion of Gatekeeper Mathematics Courses: Massachusetts
What Is Measured?
Percentage of Massachusetts Community College students enrolled in developmental mathematics who completed gatekeeper courses in the same subject within their first two academic years
Who Is Counted?
Students entering Massachusetts Community Colleges for the first time in fall 2006 who took at least one developmental mathematics course in their first year
What It Tells Us
Some 20 percent of first-time Pell grant students in Massachusetts Community Colleges who took developmental mathematics courses in their first year completed corresponding gatekeeper mathematics courses during their first two academic years.
Why It's Important
There is general consensus that timely completion of gatekeeper courses, the lowest-level college-level courses in the core subjects of mathematics, reading, and writing, positively affects student outcomes such as attainment of certificates and degrees and transfer to a four-year institution. Completion of gatekeeper courses fulfills requirements for graduation and transfer as well as prerequisites for more advanced courses in various fields.
About the Data
First-time students: include students with no prior postsecondary experience except for college credits earned during high school or in the summer before enrolling in the fall.
Pell Grant recipient: a student who received a Pell Grant within the first year of entry at a given institution of higher education.
Race/ethnicity: Other includes Asian; American Indian or Alaska Native; and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Racial categories exclude persons of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, who are presented separately.