Addressing Academic Deficiencies And Difficulties Of Graduate Students In The Ma Mathematics Program Of Dlsu- Dasmariñas

Abstract

This study was conducted to address the academic deficiencies and difficulties of graduatestudents and to determine their readiness to meet the challenges of the MA Mathematics program . The students were chosen using the complete enumeration method. Their professional profile such as educational attainment and years of teaching experience either in high school or college level were analyzed.
The respondents took an 87- item validated teacher-made diagnostic test. The result of the study shows that only 12 (47.0%) out of the 26 students are mathematics majors; however, all of them are teaching mathematics subjects. Most of the respondents have taught mathematics for 6 to 10 years although about 53% of them lack higher mathematics subjects in their bachelor’s degree. Others who took higher mathematics have very limited knowledge, or have already forgotten the topics. Based on the result of the diagnostic test, the students had difficulty on items related to slope, fractions and probability as evidenced by their low proficiency rating on these topics, but they got high proficiency rating on topics such as algebraic expressions, measures of dispersion, and functions. Only 50% of the students answered the items correctly in general mathematics. Overall, the graduate students are fairly proficient in the background subjects required in pursuing the MA Mathematics Program.