Deficiencies in Mathematical Skills Identified in First-Year Students at Two Pharmacy Institutions

Describe the mathematics ability of incoming student pharmacists at 2 US pharmacy institutions.

A baseline mathematics assessment (BMA) was administered to first-year students (P1) during orientation at 2 public, 4-year pharmacy schools over 4 years. The assessment questions incorporated basic mathematics principles needed for pharmacy calculations, without pharmacy-specific terminology. A survey of students' prior mathematics experience, pharmacy experience, perceptions of mathematics ability, and native English speaker status followed the assessment. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize performance based on question category. Overall performance and performance by category were analyzed using t-tests. One-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate survey responses.

The BMA was completed by 922 students during the 4-year study period. The mean score was 73.8% (range: 26.6%-99.2%). Students performed best in the categories of rounding (88.9%), fractions and decimals (86.8%), and proportions (85.8%). The category with the lowest performance was conversions (29.7%). Overall performance differed significantly between the 2 schools. Students who self-identified as native English speakers performed significantly better than those who did not. Students' self-ratings of mathematics ability aligned with their performance.

The assessment revealed variation in mathematics proficiency and identified areas of weakness for incoming student pharmacists.