Math Pathways is a mathematics course or sequence of courses that students take to meet the requirements of their programs of study.

For many students, the required mathematics course becomes a barrier to degree completion, either because they are reluctant to sign up for a mathematics course, or because they sign up for a mathematics course that is not appropriate for their program of study. It is important that students take the right mathematics course for their program of study or major. Ideally they should complete this first mathematics course during their first semester of enrollment.

While mathematics pathways are not new, there is still a long way to go towards wide-scale adoption and normative practice. The premise of this monograph is that there is expertise to be shared and issues still to be addressed. The monograph comprises chapters organized along topics that are aligned with the DCMP theory of change. The DCMP believes that systemic and sustainable change is best achieved through a process that is faculty-driven, administrator-supported, policy-enabled, and culturally reinforced. We hope that each chapter will provide the guidance and inspiration for improving student success in mathematics education through the widespread adoption, implementation, and continuous improvement of mathematics pathways.

The Dana Center recommends that implementation of mathematics pathways is most effective when efforts are coordinated across institutions while still allowing for local decision making on how the pathways are operationalized. Monitoring depth of implementation of reforms under these conditions is a daunting task, especially when there is not a statewide policy mandate or significant funding for institutions. Collecting information about implementation practices is a further complexity. The Texas Success Center (TSC) has addressed these challenges related to implementation by highlighting exemplary practices among colleges and motivating continuous improvement. TSC supports Texas community colleges in a variety of ways including evaluating, supporting, and scaling ongoing efforts to improve student success rates.

This brief describes the goals and processes for each working group as well as recommended skill levels and learning outcomes for Michigan’s entry-level, college-level mathematics courses: Quantitative Reasoning, Statistics and Preparation for Calculus.

In recent years, researchers and math faculty have questioned the use of standardized tests as a sole predictor of college readiness. Often, test scores underestimate student potential to succeed in college-level courses and disproportionately place students of color, low-income students, and returning adults into prerequisite developmental courses. A growing body of rigorous studies finds that giving students direct access to college-level courses with co-requisite support significantly increases the likelihood that students across a broad range of test scores will complete a college mathematics course. Research also demonstrates that using multiple measures of readiness, including high school GPA, increases student access and success in college-level courses. In light of these findings, Middlesex Community College implemented and scaled a placement policy using multiple measures of mathematics readiness with positive results that demonstrate its impact on improving student success in college-level mathematics courses.

As the baby boom generation ages, the current shortage of registered nurses in the United States is expected to worsen due to a rising need for nursing services and the retirement of significant numbers of nurses. Hence, nursing professional associations and other experts are increasingly analyzing the real or perceived barriers to entry into and successful completion of nursing programs and examining how to expand access to a wider field of students. While a shortage of nursing faculty continues to be a hindrance on the supply side of nursing education, a consideration on the demand side is whether any program prerequisites or curricular requirements serve as unnecessary obstacles to nursing degree program entry, progression, or completion. This brief examines the mathematics content and requirements for nursing degrees, as compared with the mathematics used by nurses in the field; considers whether they pose a barrier to access; and offers some emerging solutions suggested or implemented by a variety of agencies, institutions, and states.

Professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) help drive our nation’s innovation and competitiveness in a variety of fields and industries. According to the Department of Commerce, STEM occupations are expected to grow at a rate of 1.4 times faster than non-STEM occupations, and the United States will need approximately one million more STEM professionals between 2014 and 2024 (Noonan, 2017).

However, the decreasing number of students deemed eligible for college-level mathematics, coupled with poor outcomes in developmental mathematics sequences, is negatively impacting the number of STEM degrees awarded. The insufficient number of students prepared to succeed in a college-level calculus course in their freshman year significantly reduces the pool of students likely to graduate with a STEM degree in four years (Kreysa, 2006). Ultimately, mathematics departments are left to grapple not only with how to address the poor success rates of their developmental STEM students, but also how to increase enrollments in calculus and the number of STEM graduates.

This resource describes processes that math departments can utilize to modernize their own pathway to calculus.

Texas 2-year and 4-year transfer inventory guide for 2019-20. This year's version of the Texas Transfer Inventory only includes updated information on the core curriculum and transferability of mathematics courses.

To fully realize the promise of math pathways, the Dana Center recommends that math departments engage in a deliberate and thoughtful process of continuous improvement throughout the initial structural changes and beyond.

Putting into place new, aligned math pathways is a significant step, but that step must be followed by questioning and confirming that students are being placed in the appropriate pathways—and that each pathway covers relevant content that will be useful to the student’s future progress.

This brief provides guidance for such efforts by presenting examples of effective continuous improvement processes at the departmental level. These examples are intended for use with professional learning experiences designed to foster cultures of continuous improvement in DCMP implementation.