Students’ Competence in College and Advanced Algebra: Basis for an Intervention Plan

Abstract

This study explored the competence in college and advanced algebra of teacher education students in the school year 2025-2026. Quantitative data for this study were collected from 126 teacher education student respondents using a researcher-developed questionnaire that underwent rigorous validity and reliability testing. The questionnaire focused on six areas: algebraic expressions, exponents and radicals, equations and inequalities, systems of linear equations and inequalities, relations and functions and their graphs, and exponential and logarithmic functions. The respondents were classified according to key profile variables: age, sex, year level, and average monthly family income. The ensuing analysis showed that most respondents were aged 21 years and above, male, third-year students, and in the lower-income category, with exponential and logarithmic functions identified as the area with the lowest mean. This study found a significant difference in year level across all the aforementioned areas. In contrast, no significant differences were found when grouped by age, sex, and average monthly family income across four areas: algebraic expressions, exponents and radicals, equations and inequalities, and relations and functions. Furthermore, in the area of systems of linear equations and inequalities and exponential and logarithmic functions, it was found that there is a significant difference in age, sex, and year level, but no significant difference in average monthly family income. These findings suggest the need for targeted, year-level–specific instructional interventions, particularly in exponential and logarithmic functions, to strengthen algebraic competence among teacher education students.