Math That Meets the Moment: A New Policy Agenda To Reenvision the Role of Math in Ensuring Educational Equity

This month, we saw headline upon headline about record-low math and reading proficiency for 12th graders. That news, from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, follows a trend of declining national math scores that began before the COVID-19 pandemic. The data are alarming, and if you factor in that companies are increasingly demanding employees with stronger math skills, then you have a workforce-pipeline crisis in the making.

While our society has evolved in so many ways in response to innovation, we continue to use outdated modes of math education that date back centuries and lead to inequitable outcomes. As a result, our students — particularly our Black and Latinx students and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds — are funneled into math courses that are not responsive to their interests, the ever-changing digital world they live in, or workforce needs. In short, the math opportunities available to our students do not meet the moment.

We hear countless stories about students being disconnected from math, hitting dead ends with available courses, or rerouted to math courses that do not relate to their specific career paths. Far too many students see their dreams of future majors and careers dashed by math’s role as a gatekeeper to opportunity. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Instead, math education can become a gateway to opportunity for all students. That’s precisely why Just Equations is rolling out Math That Meets the Moment: A Policy Agenda To Reenvision the Role of Math in Ensuring Educational Equity. Our new agenda, anchored by the experiences of affected students, targets the systemic policies that perpetuate math inequities, such as racialized tracking, unengaging curricula, limited access to advanced courses, and questionable placement into remedial math. The agenda proposes action in four critical areas: (1) high school math redesigns, (2) postsecondary access and admissions, (3) postsecondary math pathways, and (4) cross-system alignment for transformative change.  

First, we must work urgently to redesign high school math to provide students with multiple avenues to establish a strong math foundation. This means modernizing course options to provide students with multiple avenues for math success, including by promoting or requiring four years of high school math and modernizing Algebra II. This redesign also requires providing access to advanced math courses for all eligible students through equitable policies, such as automatic enrollment in eighth grade Algebra I for students who demonstrate readiness. In addition, it is crucial for the redesign to provide several options for advanced coursework relevant to student experiences and interests, such as probability and statistics, calculus, and dual-enrollment courses.  

Second, we need to revisit students’ postsecondary access. This requires rethinking math admissions requirements to expand equitable access, such as reassessing the overreliance on calculus coursetaking as a measure of preparedness. Colleges and universities must also increase math requirement transparency in the admissions process by communicating effectively and consistently with high schools, students, and families about what math is needed for access to their institutions. 

Third, we must create postsecondary math pathways that best prepare students for their future careers. This means designing pathways that reflect workforce needs and students’ interests by expanding gateway math offerings. It also means placing students directly into college-level math courses with corequisite supports as needed and providing students in STEM pathways with the shortest possible college-level prerequisite sequence to ensure they graduate on time. We must also increase transparency around college math requirements for graduation and transfer, including ensuring clear articulation processes for transfer students.  

And last, but perhaps most importantly, we must build cross-system alignment so state K–12 and higher education systems are in consistent communication about math policies. Such collaboration involves investing in resources that ensure access to STEM paths for historically marginalized groups, aligning math policies across systems through such structures as math task forces, and adopting annual goals and analyzing longitudinal data by key demographics to ensure equitable outcomes.  

This new agenda serves as the foundation of our outreach and impact across the education community and beyond. Together, with our state and national partners, we will meet the moment — ensuring that all students have equitable access to math education that helps them achieve their dreams.