A “Mathematics Background Check”

Abstract

Early in my career someone else reported that the best indicator of success in calculus-based physics (CBP) at our school was whether students had taken mathematics in a certain region of New Brunswick. I sat down with a very longtime mathematics teacher and asked him what he thought students should know in mathematics after high school to succeed in college. He quickly gave me five areas that every student should know and pointedly indicated that it was best to give them the questions and watch how they attacked the problems. A solution was not even important; all one had to note was the immediate steps that the student took.