Eric.ed.gov – Laying the Foundations: Early Findings from the New Mathways Project

National studies reveal that 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students are required to take developmental, or remedial, math courses upon enrollment, and only 20 percent of developmental math students ever successfully complete a college-level math course. Taking up the challenge is the “New Mathways Project” (NMP), developed by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin in partnership with the Texas Association of Community Colleges. This new initiative aims to change the standard pathways to and through colleges’ traditional math sequences. This report analyzes the development of the “New Mathways Project” (NMP) from spring 2012 through its first year of rollout at nine colleges in Texas in 2013-2014, as well as student outcomes at the colleges before and during the first year. Overall, this study found that the Charles A. Dana Center made significant progress in laying the groundwork for the implementation of multiple math pathways in Texas, helping to foment change in how two-year and four-year colleges view students’ math requirements. Appended to the report is “College Systems Implementing the NMP.” [This report was written with Elena Serna-Wallender.]