New Mexico Junior College

New Mexico Junior College, Hobbs, NM. Comparative study.Courses: Basic Math and Elementary Algebra

Course Type: Supplement to lecture

Quick Stats:

Overall, New Mexico Junior College saw a 20.05% grade increase in switching to Hawkes from Pearson’s MyMathLab.

In 2012, New Mexico Junior College redesigned its developmental math sequence using MyMathLab courseware in a flipped classroom. The classes evolved over the years into lectures with lab time included. However, the Mathematics Department was not satisfied with the redesign’s results.

Hawkes Learning was implemented into Basic Math and Elementary Algebra in spring 2016. The department adopted Developmental Mathematics because the content covers basic math through algebra, allowing students to move through the developmental math sequence into a credit-bearing class using just one text. Its low price, lifetime student access to the courseware, and customer support also factored into the decision.

Students meet for an in-person lecture that includes time to work on their online Hawkes assignments. They complete Hawkes homework, online tests within the courseware, and mastery-based paper exams. Students must average 75% or better on three assessments to pass, regardless of grades earned on other coursework.

The department has observed higher pass rates using Hawkes vs. MyMathLab in both Basic Math and Elementary Math, as well as a positive correlation between test scores and overall scores using Hawkes.

A line graph shows overall success rates. For Basic Math, success rates were 46.6% without courseware, 42.1% with MML, and 53.8% with Hawkes. For Elementary Algebra, success rates were 39.2% without courseware, 54.3% with MML, and 55.8% with Hawkes.