What are Math Pathways?
Math Pathway reform bolsters success and completion for students across the country. This approach prioritizes equal access to high-quality math experiences aligned to a student’s chosen program of study. Maine’s community colleges are engaged in this effort, and the University of Maine System is a partner in this work.
Secondary schools can choose to extend the central concepts of math pathways into the high school years. This will help more students find relevance and confidence in math and set students up for success in their future education and careers.
This approach requires:
- Offering math opportunities – beyond the traditional algebra to calculus sequence - in the 11th and 12th grades that prepare students for their college and career paths
- Modernizing Algebra II and offering equivalently challenging options that address different math skills in applied contexts
- Prioritizing equitable opportunities for student enrollment in different math classes
- Ensuring that education policies and structures allow room for and validate math pathways
Math Pathways Resources
Resources to explain the rational and evidence base for math pathways.
- Math Pathways: The Way Forward - This report describes the rationale and evidence for math pathways at the secondary level. Source: Center for American Progress, 2019.
- The Launch Years Project & Recommendations - This comprehensive resource kit contains the original Launch Years report and seven recommendations on secondary math pathways work. It also includes resources aligned with each recommendation. Source: The Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, 2019.
- Beyond Algebra: High School Math for New Generation - This page features a report and 50-state scan of math graduation requirements. The report highlights several states that have begun math pathways reform. Source: Just Equations, 2024 .
- The Case for Math Pathways (White Paper) - This brief summarizes research on the barriers that math pathways are designed to address at the post-secondary level. Many of the same inequities and student success issues parallel those in secondary education. Source: The Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, 2019.
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Introduction to Math Pathways Customizable Slide Deck - Introducing Math Pathways to administrators, teachers, and others. Source: Maine DOE, MCSS, R1CC