Introduction

This paper examines the questions: Who are the undergraduate students who enroll in precalculus courses? What courses do students take after completing a precalculus course? These questions are addressed by an analysis of enrollment in mathematics courses at two- and four-year colleges and at universities from 1980 to 2000, followed by a demographic profile of students at a Midwestern two-year college whose mathematics course enrollment closely parallels enrollment at two-year colleges nationally [1].

What is “precalculus”?

As we begin the task of rethinking the precalculus curriculum, we first need to examine our assumptions about precalculus. Do we, as well as members of our own departments, colleagues in other institutions, and those teaching in the high schools mean the same thing when we characterize a course or courses as “precalculus”? When colleagues are asked what “precalculus” is, they give the following responses:

• the courses before calculus (college algebra, trigonometry, and precalculus/elementary functions, and modeling)

• a specific course that combines college algebra (including the topics of induction, theory of equations, sequences, and series) and trigonometry

• 2nd year high school algebra and a brief introduction to trigonometry

• a high school algebra and trigonometry course for students in the accelerated track.

Answers to the question: What is “college algebra”? also vary. Some respond that it is a third algebra course taken in high school—a one-semester course taken after algebra I and algebra II have been completed.