Abby Ferguson, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter

Berry math majors are in the 97th percentile nationwide after receiving scores last month from a standardized math exam they took last spring.

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) Major Field Test is used as an assessment of comprehension and critical understanding for graduating college seniors in their particular field of study.

Five Berry seniors took the math exam in the spring, and their collective scores have placed Berry well above where it has ranked in any previous year.

Much like the SAT, the Major Field Test allows for performance comparison between colleges and individuals to gauge the effectiveness of a school’s curriculum. The math Major Field Test specifically involves 50 questions from five branches of math: algebra, calculus, routine, nonroutine and applied problems.

Berry students are not specifically prepped for the exam, but instead are expected to have a thorough understanding of the subject matter. The thought behind this is to allow results to accurately reflect how well Berry students have mastered the curriculum instead of simply how well they can prepare for a standardized test, said Eric McDowell, Chair of Berry’s Math and Computer Science Department.

McDowell said the five students who took the exam are “very strong” students individually. He also said the heightened scores may also be reflective of a department-wide shift toward “active learning” over the last ten years.

This transition means professors are changing their courses and teaching style to put more of an emphasis on active, daily student involvement and participation in place of more traditional lecture-style courses.

“As a department, we’re trying to commit ourselves to moving away from just lecturing,” said Ron Taylor, Associate Professor in the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences. “[We are] consciously thinking about how to get out of the way and put the focus on the connection between the student’s head and the material.”

Although some other colleges are working with similar ideas, active learning is not necessarily a nationwide movement yet. Berry’s “interactive teaching style” is still distinct in comparison with most programs throughout the country, said Jill Cochran, Assistant Professor in the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, and it is part of what helps make Berry students successful.

The shift has been generally well received by students, although professors admit that there is usually an adjustment period as students are forced to approach their classes and learning habits in a new way.

The first ‘active learning’ course a student takes is usually difficult, but after a second or third semester of active learning, students “don’t want to do it any other way,” McDowell said. 

Although he is excited about this year’s results, McDowell said he wants to wait to receive this year’s test results to see if they are indicative of a broader upward shift in Berry’s math scores, or are just the result of the class of 2013 testing particularly well.