- Students who were placed into higher-level math due to multiple measures (e.g., GPA and prior math background) performed no differently from their higher scoring peers in terms of passing rates and long-term credit completion. Since these students were given the opportunity to take a higher-level course and performed at least as well as their higher-scoring peers, these students were more accurately placed than they would have been by placement test scores alone.
- One implication of the findings for the colleges which used measures of prior math is that these measures can supplement test scores but not necessarily replace them. They observed improvements in placement accuracy for students who scored around the placement cutoff, but these students did not match or outperform their higher-scoring peers.
- High school GPA is highly predictive of college persistence and success. However, the finding that students who received a multiple measure boost based on GPA outperformed the entire range of students in the same level suggests that GPA may be a very useful measure for making placement decisions, and underscores the role of effort and self-control in college achievement.
- The findings suggest that community colleges can improve placement accuracy in developmental math and increase access to higher-level courses by considering multiple measures of student preparedness in their placement rules.