1. Michigan Math Pathways Summit
Howard Gobstein
AMPSS – Advancing Math Pathways for Student Success
APLU - Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
June 28, 2017

2. AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success
The case for modernizing math pathways
The AMPSS coalition and its national strategy
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

3. The case for modernizing math pathways
It’s about college completion
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

4. U.S. Future Requires Addressing The Chasm in Education Success
Among U.S. 24-year-olds:
In the top
economic quartile,
In the bottom
economic quartile,
80% hold a 4-year college degree
10% hold a 4-year college degree
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

5. Jobs during recession 2007-2010
HS or less
Some college
4-year degree
5.6M
lost
1.8M
lost
187 thousand
gained

6. Over 95 percent of jobs created during the recovery have gone to college-educated workers, while those with a high school diploma or less are being left behind. Those with at least some college education have captured 11.5 million of the 11.6 million jobs created during the recovery.
June 30, 2016

7. Math is the biggest academic hurdle to degree completion
Gateway
math
The Department of Education found that the three college courses with the highest failure rates are mathematics courses.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

8. Failure to Complete Nearly half withdraw, fail, or get a D.
More than one million students take College Algebra each year.
Nearly half withdraw, fail, or get a D.
D, F, W:
45%
A, B, C: 55%
Sources: Burdman, P. (2015). “Degrees of Freedom: Diversifying Math Requirements for College Readiness and Graduation.” Ganter, S. L., & Haver, W. E. (Eds.). (2011). Partner discipline recommendations for introductory college mathematics and the implications for college algebra.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

9. Source: Complete College America
Failure to Complete
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

10. AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success
Why is it such a barrier?
Gateway
math
Remediation: Developmental sequences are too long
Relevance: Students are taking the wrong math.
Transfer: Math doesn’t transfer or apply to their chosen program.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

11. Remediation and developmental math
Developmental math enrollments are huge.
2-year institutions
4-year institutions ⅔
The most common pathway into gateway math is remedial or developmental math.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (2009).
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

12. developmental Math Students don’t advance
Remedial math students
More remediation means LOWER completion rates in gateway math and LOWER completion rates overall.
NEXT is RELEVANCE…
15% pass college-level math
30% take college-level math
Source: The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin (2015).
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

13. Not getting the math they need
College Algebra is intended to prepare students for Calculus.
Of students who take Algebra…
Student enrollments in different majors
Require
Calculus
RELEVANCE:
(ON THE LEFT: Yes, that’s just students who take College Algebra, not those who pass it. And “take Calculus 1” means whether it’s required or not.)
Most majors don’t require Calculus – similar numbers for 2-year and 4-year institutions.
COLLEGE ALGEBRA DOESN’T WORK WELL FOR STEM MAJORS, EITHER
Do not
require Calculus
…only 10% take Calculus 1
Sources: Small (2002), Dunbar (2005), Burdman (2015), Chen & Soldner (2013).
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

14. Mathematics Leaders Take Notice
“Unfortunately, there is often a serious mismatch between the original rationale for a college algebra requirement and the actual needs of students who take the course.
“A critically important task for mathematical sciences departments at institutions with college algebra requirements is to clarify the rationale for requirements, determine the needs of students, and ensure that the department’s courses are aligned with these findings.”
—Mathematics Association of America,
Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

15. Transfer and Applicability
About one third of students transfer at least once.
Many of these students’ math credits don’t transfer.
And if they do, the credits don’t apply to their specific major or program of study.
Ask: How many of your students are transfers?
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

16. The solution: modernized math pathways connected to majors
Many are developing multiple pathways like these:
Statistical reasoning
Social sciences
Quantitative reasoning, math methods, or math modeling
Humanities and fine arts
Introduce concept of meta majors.
Some have created other pathways, for nurses, teachers, etc.
Quantitative Reasoning often includes topics such as logic, probability, data analysis, modeling from data.
Algebra and Calculus
STEM and business
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

17. AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success
Evidence of Promise
Example: Carnegie’s Quantway and Statway Who: Community college students in remedial math College-level math completion within one year: Increased from 6% to 48% with the introduction of Statway. Two-year degree completion rates: About 40% higher for Quantway students compared with all students at the same colleges. Transfer rates to 4-year colleges: About 40% higher for Quantway and Statway students compared with all students at the same colleges.
This is from a brand-new report.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

18. Evidence, continued Success rates can be tripled or better.
Data from CCA, the Dana Center, Carnegie, and others show that success rates in gateway mathematics increase from 20% to 60% or higher with redesign of remedial pathways.
The impact is at least as great for underrepresented groups.
In Tennessee’s co-requisite remediation effort, passage rates for college-level math went up four times, but for minority students it went up six times.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

19. You are not alone in your MICHIGAN Quest

20. the ampss coalition and its Strategy
What’s developing around the country
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

21. The Goal of a long-term Strategy
To build a nation wide network of state efforts to modernize math pathways at national scale.
Entry-level math courses exist and are:
rigorous and credit-bearing,
transferrable and applicable to majors across the state;
All students are enrolled in the right pathway for their program of study;
Accelerated remediation gets students through college-level math in one year or less.
Math pathways are integrated appropriated into broader student success initiatives.
Responding to the national need the AMPSS partners came together to advance a vision for
students have the opportunity to enroll in a set of rigorous, entry-level, credit-bearing mathematics courses that are transferable and applicable to specific programs of study across 2- and 4-year institutions in the state.
all students are enrolled in the appropriate math pathway.
all students who need it are provided with accelerated or co-requisite remediation so that they can succeed in the appropriate college-level, credit-bearing math course within one year of matriculation.
WE THINK WE COULD HELP A MILLION MORE STUDENTS EACH YEAR GET THROUGH GATEWAY MATH.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

22. Critical importance of 2 & 4 year collaboration – changing racial distribution in all institutions – next slide….
A Primer on the College Student Journey, Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2016

23. Most URM begin in 2 year institutions – in order to give them higher ed choice – 2 & 4 year must work together
A Primer on the College Student Journey, Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2016

24. Progress in Broadening STEM Participation
CONCLUSION: The participation of minorities in the S&E workforce is not keeping pace with the country’s changing demographics.
URM as proportion of:
2006
2013
S&E workforce
9.1%
12%
Overall population
28.5%
32.6%

25. AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success
A Powerful Model
Nationally Consistent
Norms for course and majors
Metrics for student outcomes
Practitioner guides to establish pathways
State Enabled
Articulation across
institutions
State leadership
Degree requirements
Institutionally supported
Transfer agreements
Align math to majors
Advising and placement
Faculty Led
Eliminate algebra sole requirement
Develop new math courses common across institutions
Align math courses to majors
We realized there is an unprecedented opportunity for us to multiply our impact by working together.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

26. Promoted by a new partnership
Nationally Consistent
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways
for Student Success
State Enabled
Institutionally supported
Faculty Led
We realized there is an unprecedented opportunity for us to multiply our impact by working together.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

27. AMPSS’ National Strategy
 A national strategy and implementation plan for institutions, states, and organizations 
Core functions of national collaboration
Elevate recognized norms and strategies
Engage and connect key players in states
Coordinate, provide common metrics and analyze progress
Direct support by specific partners for
statewide planning and design
direct support for institutional implementation
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

28. AMPSS’ Theory of Change
Institutions’ and states’ efforts go through these phases:
Building awareness
Mobilizing
Creating enabling conditions
Institutional implementation
Connecting key stakeholders
Identifying issues
Designing math pathways
Enroll students in pathways
Deciding to act
Creating a vision
Building policy and procedural supports
Revise advising and placement
Forming a state team
Organizing and planning
Align pathways with majors
Support faculty, registrar, advisors
This is a conceptual sequence, not chronological.
OF COURSE state efforts don’t always fit cleanly into these approaches – that some institutions might already be in 4, as phases 2-3 are getting underway to attempt coherence across institutions in a state
AMPSS and its partners can help you in each phase.
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

29. Integration with other efforts
Math pathways redesign must closely integrate with, or actually include at its core, these other aspects of undergraduate education:
Transfer and applicability
Remediation and developmental mathematics
Placement and advising
Guided Pathways and other “pathways”-type efforts
Teaching and learning
Alignment and partnership with K-12
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

31. AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success
“Improve the perceptions of marginalized students who do not see mathematics as part of their identities”
-- Nicole Joseph, Vanderbilt University at the Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership (MTEP) annual meeting 2017
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success

32. AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success
Contact us
AMPSS online: Howard Gobstein
AMPSS: Advancing Mathematics Pathways for Student Success