An Assessment of General Education Mathematics Courses via Examination of Student Expectations and Performance

This paper discusses the method and results of an evaluation of general education mathematics courses. Students at the University of Louisville were surveyed in the first week of the Fall 2000 semester to determine their expectations for their mathematics course. Student grades were examined to determine how student expectations related to student outcomes. The workload expected by students is substantially different from that expected by faculty, and this difference is reflected in final course grades.