Volume I Newsletter
October 30, 2020
This summer we undertook targeted work to advance developmental education reforms in our state with the goal of arming all 28 public undergraduate institutions in Louisiana with the tools and skills needed to successfully implement evidence-based corequisite math plans, at scale.
During the 2018-19 academic year, of the more than 40,000 students who did not meet the minimum 19 Math ACT sub-score for enrollment in college level math, 65% of were low-income, 62% students of color, and 20% adult students. Given that passing a college level math course during the first year of study is closely related to student persistence and completion, maximizing opportunities for early success in college math is critical for Louisiana to reach its attainment goal.
Despite the commitment and hard work of faculty, staff, and administrators, mounting evidence from around the country shows that traditional approaches to remediation raise artificial barriers to student achievement that can be lowered through well-designed, carefully implemented co-requisite models.
What’s exciting to me is that I continue to see people each and every day who are fired up about real system change, not just incremental change, who believe in education, who know that we can make a difference. And they don’t see any mountain that’s too hard, too high to climb. They’re ready to roll up their sleeves. They are innovators. They’re intellectually curious about the work. They just want to make it happen…Barriers are temporary. You can build a bridge over, you can build a tunnel under, but you have to get there… –Dr. Kim Hunter Reed
Led by math faculty from two and four year institutions across the state, the Math Forward Steering Committee, is focused beyond boutique approaches, grounded in equity, and oriented by respect for institutional missions and the unique contexts of Louisiana.
We are excited to move Louisiana forward.