Resources

In this Steps to Success, authors Dr. Alycia Marshall and Nancy Shapiro describe how Maryland community college and university leaders have implemented a new, shortened statistics pathway as a math option for six community college and four universities. Download PDF

[UPDATED 2019] Mathematics pathways are designed to address three barriers to student learning and success: inappropriate placement, misaligned content and long course sequences. This brief summarizes the research on these barriers and presents evidence that well-designed mathematics pathways lead to increased student success. View Brief

Educate your students about the value and everyday use of statistics. The Statistics in Schools program provides resources for teaching and learning with real life data. Explore the site for standards-aligned, classroom-ready activities. Visit Site

The Emerging Issues in Mathematics Pathways: Case Studies, Scans of the Field, and Recommendations monograph brings together diverse voices to discuss critical topics, raise questions, and examine the future of mathematics pathways. True to the Dana Center’s strategy of engaging stakeholders across the system, this publication includes perspectives from college and university mathematics faculty, advisors, administrators, and system leaders along with Dana Center policy analysts, curriculum developers, and implementation specialists. View Monograph

Copies of presentations and resource handouts from STATS 2020: Revisioning Introductory Statistics for a New Generation, a one-day statewide convening for Maryland faculty and administrators focused on the teaching of introductory and developmental statistics courses and concepts. Visit Site

In USM’s recent publication, nine institutions tell the stories of their work in reforming undergraduate mathematics in Maryland. Five universities and four community colleges relate the challenges they encountered and the success they have enjoyed in the course of their work, developing new courses, redesigning existing curriculum, building collaborative relationships within and across campuses, and supporting student success. Download PDF

This webinar covered strategies for leading conversations about mathematics requirements across the programs of study at your institution with partner disciplines, hosted by colleagues at the Dana Center. Watch video

The Maryland Mathematics Reform Initiative (MMRI) is a collaborative effort between the public four-year University System of Maryland institutions and the community colleges in Maryland to develop and implement multiple, high-quality mathematics pathways. The focus is on the mathematics that is relevant for students’ chosen career paths while also ensuring that new courses have sufficient mathematical integrity and rigor to be deemed “college level.” This chapter presents a case study of the MMRI and the state’s efforts in undergraduate mathematics reform. Download PDF

Since launching in 2011, the Carnegie Math Pathways have demonstrated consistently and significantly higher success rates than the traditional course sequence in college-level developmental mathematics. This report provides descriptive statistics for 2016-2017 student outcomes as well as insights into potential areas for improvement, based on data from the Pathways’ sixth year of implementation. View Report

A common concern among those considering mathematics pathways is the degree to which students who begin their college-level work in non-STEM pathways might be hindered if they switch to a STEM major. This brief summarizes numerous studies examining the prevalence of students who changed majors from non-STEM to STEM fields and provides recommendations for serving those students. View Brief

This brief, written in collaboration with the Education Commission of the States, describes three math pathways models, lays out the evidence for their effectiveness, and gives recommendations for the effective implementation of math pathways. View Brief

This report describes the Mathematics Pathways to Completion project developed by the Charles A. Dana Center and the state-level structures, conditions, and processes that facilitate the statewide implementation of math pathways reforms. View Report

Nancy Shapiro, associate vice chancellor for education and outreach for the University System of Maryland, describes Maryland’s math pathways initiative, how the reform’s leaders took advantage of a First in the World grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and lessons learned from the work. View Post

The Charles A. Dana Center recently launched MathPaths, a video series bringing mathematics content to life by demonstrating how math is used in today’s workplaces. In MathPaths, scientists, engineers, and other STEM professionals share examples from their daily work to reveal the real-world uses of the mathematics that students study—or aspire to study. In particular, MathPaths videos connect concepts from the classroom (e.g., geometric reasoning, trigonometry, modeling with functions, rates of change, covariational reasoning, and so on) to actual STEM contexts, applications, and careers. Watch Video

The Program of Study Brief series examines what constitutes relevant math for various majors, including nursing, communications, criminal justice, and social work. All of these briefs can also be found under our Files section. View Brief

Webinar delivered to the National Association of System Heads  (NASH) describing the FITW MMRI project by Nancy Shapiro, USM and Alycia Marshall, AACC. Watch Video

Webinar hosted by the Dana Center on emerging research and practices in mathematics placement on June 8 2017. Watch video

This resource can assist state- and/or institutional-level working groups to define and develop effective communication and engagement strategies while examining effective messaging related to mathematics pathways. View Brief

This presentation from American Evaluation Association's 2020 conference highlights ways evaluators and clients can engage stakeholders and integrate their wisdom to frame how success is defined and measured. pdf | 2 MB

Final Evaluation Report for the FITW MMRI Project. This study examined the impact of the alternative developmental treatment course on students’ rates of passing developmental math, passing college-level credit-bearing math, and continuous enrollment. pdf | 276 KB

In this study, we use cost to students and cost to institutions to estimate the cost per student and assess the cost-effectiveness of MMRI–FITW statistics-based vs. traditional algebra-based approach to developmental mathematics education for increasing student enrollment in college credit-bearing mathematics. pdf | 267 KB

In this study, we use cost to students and cost to institutions to estimate the cost per student and assess the cost-effectiveness of MMRI–FITW statistics-based vs. traditional algebra-based approach to developmental mathematics education for increasing student enrollment in college credit-bearing mathematics. The results indicate participating in the MMRI–FITW statistics-based vs. traditional algebra-based approach reduces education costs by approximately 7 percent and is 36 percent more cost-effective for increasing student enrollment in college-credit mathematics. The article concludes with the implications of the cost-effectiveness results for scaling the MMRI–FITW statistics-based approach. Cost-Effectiveness of a Statistics-Based Approach to Developmental Mathematics Education

This research study describes the redesign of a developmental mathematics course at a U.S. East Coast university to decrease the amount of time it takes for students to complete their developmental requirement and increase the success rate of students who move on to college-level mathematics. Recommendations for colleges and universities are included. pdf | 1 MB

This blog post for the National Association of System Heads describes the University System of Maryland's statewide collaboration among five public universities and seven community colleges to redesign college-level mathematics pathways. Maryland’s Mathematics Reform Initiative: A Promising Experiment