MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Paul Jones, a 39-year-old gas station clerk, stacked square, wooden alphabet blocks in his remedial math class at Ivy Tech Community College on Thursday afternoon.

Don’t laugh. The same blocks that children use as construction toys are part of the reason for a dramatic increase in the number of Ivy Tech students passing “Math 118, Concepts in Math,” without which they can’t earn a degree.

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