College Students' Exploration of Isomorphic Numerical and Word Percent Problems

Abstract

This study examines students' ability to solve percent problems when in word form versus numeric form. The work of University Pre-Calculus students was analyzed with two isomorphic assessments measuring the accuracy of the problem solution when given in word versus numerical form. It was hypothesized that college students would perform better on numerical percent problems, specifically working with discount, tax, and tip problems. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that the words would hinder the students' ability to accurately solve percent problems when in word form compared to numeric form. The results of this study prove the hypothesis to be inaccurate. In contrast to the hypothesis, students performed better on word problems versus numerical problems (p-value of 0.013) when the problem specifically dealt with discounts, tax, percent increase, and percent decrease.