Limited attention has been placed on the relationship between developmental math and STEM outcomes in community college. We therefore examine one particular experience during the transition from high school to college called math misalignment, which occurs when college students are placed lower in math than is warranted given their high-school course-taking history and record of achievement. Drawing on analysis of linked high school and community college student records, we find that a majority of students in the study sample experienced math misalignment in community college. Moreover, math misalignment especially hindered STEM-aspiring students from pursuing STEM pathways. STEM-aspiring students who experienced math misalignment were less likely to complete STEM courses than STEM-aspiring students who were directly placed in transfer-level math. This study underscores the importance of aligning academic standards across high-school and postsecondary institutions as a means of improving STEM participation.

在社区大学中，发展数学与STEM结果之间的关系受到了有限的关注。因此，我们研究了从高中到大学过渡期间的一种特殊经历，即数学错位，这种情况发生在大学生的数学水平低于给定的高中课程历史和成就记录所保证的水平的情况下。通过对联系的高中和社区大学学生记录的分析，我们发现研究样本中的大多数学生在社区大学中经历了数学错位。此外，数学错位尤其阻碍有志于STEM的学生追求STEM途径。经历过数学错位的有STEM抱负的学生完成STEM课程的可能性要比直接被置于转移级数学中的有STEM抱负的学生更少。